By tackling methane emissions, driving innovation and supporting sustainable agriculture, President Biden is announcing bold steps that will advance the U.S. clean energy economy and create well-paying jobs. President Biden unveils a US action plan to reduce methane emissions which redoubles efforts across government to dramatically reduce methane emissions in the United States, lower consumption costs, protect workers and communities, maintain and create high-quality, union-friendly jobs, and promote innovation and the manufacture of new essential technologies in the United States.

Reduction of methane emissions: Methane emissions are a major contributor to climate change, which is why President Biden is taking critical and sensible action at home to reduce methane in the economy – while mobilizing the rest of the world to take similar bold action.

That’s why President Biden announced in September that the United States is joining the European Union in challenging the world to meet a global commitment on methane and reduce global methane emissions by 30% from the lower level. to 2020 levels by 2030. Mor more than 90 governments have now joined the pledge, including 15 of the 30 largest emitters of methane in the world: United States, EU, Indonesia, Pakistan, Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, Iraq, Vietnam, Canada.

New US action plan to reduce methane emissions is an ambitious whole-of-government initiative that uses all available tools – common sense regulations, catalytic financial incentives, transparency and disclosure of actionable data, and public and private partnerships – to identify and cost-effectively reduce methane emissions from all major sources . These actions will protect public health, promote American innovation in new technologies, and help tens of thousands of skilled workers across the country. The plan aims to reduce:

• Methane emissions from the oil and gas industry: The oil and gas industry is the largest industrial source of methane emissions in the United States, responsible for about 30% of total methane emissions. That’s why on January 20, 2021, the first day of his administration, President Biden issued Executive Order 13990, directing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue regulations under the Clean Air Act. to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

  The EPA is now proposing new regulations that will significantly expand and strengthen methane emission reductions for new oil and gas installations. In addition, for the first time ever, it will require states to develop plans that will reduce methane emissions from existing sources nationwide, including from approximately 300,000 oil and gas well sites. . Overall, the proposed requirements would reduce emissions from covered sources, equipment and operations by approximately 75%.

  The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration (PHMSA) is implementing the bipartisan PIPES law by improving and expanding pipeline rules that will, among other things, require operators to reduce methane leaks and excursions. And the Home Office (DOI) is focused on opportunities to tackle the ventilation and flaring of methane from oil and gas operations and well closures on public lands and waters.

• Landfill methane emissions: Landfills are the second largest industrial source of methane in the United States. Building on efforts earlier this year to put in place a binding federal safety plan to ensure emissions from large municipal landfills are reduced, the EPA is stepping up an initiative to reduce food loss and waste that contributes greatly to methane emissions from landfills. The EPA is also strengthening its voluntary landfill methane awareness program to meet a national methane emissions capture target of 70 percent for all landfills nationwide.
• Emissions from plugged oil and gas wells and reclamation of abandoned mines: As part of the presidential Build Back Better plan, the DOI will launch an aggressive program to plug hundreds of thousands of orphaned oil and gas wells, many of which still drain methane, employing union workers across the country. Build Back Better would augment the current abandoned mining land program, funding historic remediation efforts that would result in dramatic reductions in methane emissions from thousands of abandoned and currently runaway coal mines. This large-scale program would also enlist tens of thousands of skilled workers, particularly in energy communities across the country.
• Agricultural methane emissions: In his first executive decree on “Addressing the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,†the President called on the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to work with farmers and ranchers to identify voluntary and incentive approaches that advance climate goals. In response, USDA is pursuing several lines of work to reduce methane emissions from the agricultural sector, including (1) adoption of alternative manure management systems and other methane reduction practices; (2) expansion of on-farm production and use of renewable energy; (3) development of a partnership initiative on climate-smart agricultural products and (4) increased investment in agricultural methane quantification and related innovations

The United States is also announcing that it will join the High level panel for a sustainable ocean economy. This multinational initiative harnesses the power of the ocean to tackle the climate crisis, create jobs and ensure food security, and accelerate sustainable uses of the ocean. As a member of the Ocean Panel, the United States will develop a national plan to sustainably manage our ocean area under national jurisdiction. COP26 is an opportune moment to join this initiative.

The ocean supports all life on this planet, but its health is threatened by greenhouse gas emissions and other stressors. At the same time, the ocean is a source of climate solutions, ranging from reducing emissions from maritime transport and increasing offshore renewable energies, to protecting coastal ecosystems that store carbon and improve climate resilience. . This is a step in continued efforts to engage in ocean protection, including partnering with Palau for the Our Ocean conference in 2022.