Methane Emissions In The Spotlight At COP27

Key Takeaways & Analysis

During the COP27 meeting of the UN Climate Change Convention, President Biden unveiled significant proposed enhancements to the Administration's existing methane regulation program, including a far-reaching and novel methane reduction program targeting so-called "Super-Emitters" in the oil and gas industry. The proposed regulations, crafted as a supplemental proposal to EPA's November 2021 methane regulatory overhaul, aim to reduce methane emissions an additional 12 percent from the 2021 proposal to 87 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The proposal is a major element of the Administration's strategy to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with the United States' "Nationally Determined Contribution" to meet the goals of the Kyoto Protocol and subsequent actions.