Regulating Methane Emissions

A byproduct of oil and gas production, methane is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat.  The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) took major steps toward addressing methane emissions by allowing Congress to penalize companies that exceed certain methane leakage limits, though this pertained only to certain types of facilities. The new federal rule, finalized in November 2024, aimed to eliminate 1.2 million metric tons of methane emissions by 2035 through creating a Methane Emissions Reduction Program with $1.36 billion in financial and technical assistance and establishing a Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) for methane. However, in March 2025, President Trump signed a joint Congressional resolution disapproving the final WEC rule. Global action is needed to tackle this critical driver of climate change.