New rules regarding a methane emissions reduction scheme are currently being developed, which call upon federal agencies to create both mandatory and voluntary policies. The Environmental Protection Agency projects to issue proposed regulations by this summer, and have these finalized and fully regulated by 2016. At this stage, the administration’s goal is to: ‘cut methane emissions from oil and gas production by up to 45 percent by 2025 from the levels recorded in 2012’ (New York Times, 2015).
Schemes such as this one will allow for the further development of environmental policy in the United States through increased awareness, advocacy and the enforcement of more sustainable practice. However, is this plan really the correct route to take, and are methane emissions really a substantial problem within the realm of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions debate? There are strong arguments both for and against the Methane Reductions Scheme, however in my opinion the pros in favor of it out way the cons. It is an important segment of policy that is in making a sustainable future much more attainable for the United States in association with the implementation of other new regulations.
Methane is labeled a major target for concern because whilst it only accounts for just nine percent of the Unites States’ total greenhouse gas pollution, it is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. "Per mass, methane is absorbing up to 100 times more mass than carbon dioxide," (Bob Howarth, a Cornell University Earth systems scientist who has served as a methane expert for the National Academy of Sciences).
Link to more info on methane: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/343/6172/733.summary?sid=34c77214-037c-4ba1-bb85-e5d65d2651aa
On the global scale, 60 percent of methane emissions are anthropogenic, whereas 40 percent occur naturally (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2014). In the United States, livestock is the largest cause of manmade emissions, followed by natural gas systems, then landfills, coal mining, manure management and petroleum systems. All of these fields of methane production will be focused on within the scheme. The new regulations will aim to restrain methane leaks from the entirety of fossil fuel drilling including gas wells, valves and pipelines as well as the production and transportation system. Methane emissions in the other sectors will also be capped through specific policy.
‘The Obama Administration estimates that the plan could reduce global warming emissions by up to 90 million metric tons, contributing to the president’s goal of reducing total U.S. emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020’ (New York Times, 2015).
There are also strong opposing arguments to the proposed regulations. From the industry perspective, the methane problem is non-existent and regulations would be costly, ineffective and pointless. The oil and gas sector argue that energy producers already have economic incentives to capture methane and store it for the production of energy and heat, so they have already been making an effort to reduce emissions.
As EPA’s latest GHG Reporting Program highlights, these reductions are substantial. According to EPA, “reported methane emissions from petroleum and natural gas systems sector have decreased by 12 percent since 2011' .”Investments in new drilling, extraction, and production technologies have increased productivity, lowered costs, and captured methane to sell’’ (The Hill, 2014).
"Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems." Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
"Methane Emission Reductions: An Industry Priority Goes Unrecognized."TheHill. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
"Obama's Carbon Pollution Rules Look Stronger Than They Are."Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2015.
Davenport, Coral. "Obama Is Planning New Rules on Oil and Gas Industry’s Methane Emissions." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Jan. 2015. Web. 21 Feb. 2015.