(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) It was reported that the Biden administration finalized environmental regulations that would target methane and other air pollutants that are generated by the U.S. oil and gas industry across hundreds of thousands of existing sources all across the country.
Alongside White House climate czar Ali Zaidi, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D–N.M., and other climate advocates, the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced the decision on Saturday morning during a press conference at the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai, Fox News reported.
According to the Biden administration itself, this “most critical” action could “slow the rate of climate change.”
“On day one, President Biden restored America’s critical role as the global leader in confronting climate change, and today we’ve backed up that commitment with strong action, significantly slashing methane emissions and other air pollutants that endanger communities,” Regan said, adding that the rule will “reduce climate pollution, protecting people and the planet.”
Republican lawmakers and Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., joined in their opposition to the decision by saying that the new methane rules will force lower oil and gas production while increasing costs for U.S. consumers.
“Within the next year, the EPA is planning to finalize multiple connected regulatory actions that will increase costs and reduce the production of American energy. Energy prices are projected to rise for American families because of new methane regulations, expanded emissions monitoring and reporting requirements, and a new tax on methane,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and Environment Subcommittee Chair Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, wrote to Regan on Nov. 7, 2023.
In October, Manchin wrote to Regan separately, saying that the rule showed that the Biden administration was determined to “target our flourishing oil and gas sector” and would put “energy and national security at risk.”
