Federal regulators announced oil and gas companies will be required for the first time to pay a fee for excess methane emissions, a rule likely to be overturned once the Trump administration takes office in January. The move stems from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act's initiatives supporting clean energy.
Characterized as a super-pollutant, methane is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 100 years. The oil and gas sector is the largest industrial source of methane in the US, particularly due to its reliance on a process known as gas flaring, a cost-cutting and safety measure that burns off excess gas amid drilling operations.
The fee would charge companies $900 per metric ton of methane in the first year. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates the fee would reduce emissions through 2035 by an amount equivalent to removing 8 million gas-powered cars from the roads each year.
Relatedly, a Dutch appeals court overturned a 2021 ruling requiring energy giant Shell to nearly halve its emissions by 2030.
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