Washington, DC [US], December 2 : The US has finalized a rule to significantly cut the oil and gas industry's emissions of methane, a powerful planet-warming gas, CNN reported.
This comes as scientists and climate advocacy groups have pressed nations to rapidly reduce the methane emissions as global temperature soars.
The announcement came amid a wave of pledges at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai on Saturday, including one from 50 major oil companies that have committed to slashing their methane emissions by the end of the decade by capping leaks and monitoring wells.
Methane, the main component of natural gas and a byproduct of fossil fuel drilling, is a potent source of climate pollution with more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere.
The oil and gas industry is one of the main sources of global methane emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.
The US' new rule will be implemented by the EPA. It is expected to slash methane emissions by nearly 80 per cent through 2038, compared to what they would have been without the rule. The EPA estimates it will stop about 58 million tons of methane from escaping into the atmosphere during that period - the equivalent of taking more than 300 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year.
The rule will crack down on methane leaks from industry in several ways. In a major new development, it will end routine flaring of the natural gas that is a byproduct of drilling oil wells and will phase in a requirement for that gas to be captured instead of burned. The rule will also require stringent leak monitoring of oil and gas wells and compressors, and cut down on leaks from equipment like pumps, storage tanks and controllers.
It will also rely on independent, third-party monitoring - using satellites and other remote-sensing technology - to find very large methane leaks.
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan and White House National Climate Adviser Ali Zaidi unveiled the rule at COP28 on Saturday.
As per Regan, the US rule signifies "strong action" from the Biden administration by "significantly slashing methane emissions." The US is the world's largest oil producer, drilling and selling 21 per cent of the world's oil last year.
"From mobilising billions in investment to plug orphaned wells, patch leaky pipes, and reclaim abandoned mines to setting strong standards that will cut pollution from the oil and gas sector, the Biden-Harris Administration is putting the full weight of the federal government into slashing harmful methane pollution," Zaidi added in a statement, as per CNN.
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