As Biden's term ends, the US introduces a methane tax on gas and oil emitters.
The U.S. administration of President Joe Biden finalized on Tuesday a fee for large oil and gas companies to reduce emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas. However, the incoming Trump presidency is likely to scrap the fee.
The methane tax is one of the last measures taken by the administration to combat the second most common greenhouse gas, after carbon dioxide. This gas tends to leak undetected into the atmosphere from drilling sites, gas pipes and other oil and natural gas equipment.
The fee will be $900 per metric tonne of methane emissions in 2024. It will increase to $1200 in 2025 and to $1500 in 2026. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the rule would only be applicable to facilities that emit more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.
The Biden administration released the rule during the United Nations COP29 Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. This included a side event that focused on methane.
The U.S. led the charge for a Global Methane Pledge. This voluntary pact was signed by more than 100 countries and aims to reduce global methane emission by 30% by 2030. China's climate engagement has made methane cooperation a central part of the world's largest oil and gas producer.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act mandated the fee. The EPA finalized the methane emissions standards for the oil & gas sector last year, but still had not finished the rules for the fee that penalizes companies who fail to meet those standards.
Michael Regan, EPA Administrator, said: "The final Waste-Emissions Charge is just the latest of a series actions taken under President Biden’s methane strategies to improve efficiency in oil and gas, support American jobs and protect clean air. It also reinforces U.S. global leadership."
Methane is more potent at warming the air than carbon dioxide, and it breaks down faster in the atmosphere. Therefore, reducing methane emissions will have an immediate impact on climate change.
This rule, according to the EPA, would reduce cumulative emissions of methane by 1.2 millions metric tons through 2035. That's the equivalent of taking 8 million gasoline powered cars off the roads for a whole year.
The American Petroleum Institute, a trade association for oil and gas, called on Congress in January to repeal the tax.
The prospect of a repeal is more likely after the November elections in which Republicans will be in control of the Senate and House, as well as the presidency. (Reporting and Editing by Marguerita Chy)
(source: Reuters)
