The Policy Greenhouse

Sources: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-strengthens-proposal-cut-methane-pollution-protect, https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-11/8510_OilandGasClimate_OOOObRegText_Supplemental_20221005.pdf

While climate reform can be slow work, new support for the Methane reforms (proposed in 2015, went into effect 2021) from the Biden administration shows that these proposed changes may just come into effect sooner than anticipated. The biggest concern when it comes to bills that are aimed at “reducing” some sort of emission is often the loss of productivity. When it is proposed that a byproduct of manufacturing (like methane in energy manufacturing) be emitted less, we are often quick to assume that whatever negative economic impacts may result from these tighter regulations and hurt more people across the board than they help. What sets this new reform bill apart is that the restrictions of methane emissions will not come at the price of lost productivity, but rather at that of higher industry standards. As a whole, the methane emitted from the running of natural gas fracking or other mechanisms emerges as a byproduct of restrictable sources of error that can be monitored and fixed with vigilance. This bill calls upon the EPA along with reputable third parties to regularly test the drilling sites of companies in order to monitor the methane and  VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) emissions, and gives the testers the power to force energy companies to operate their sites in accordance with the new regulations. As a whole, it seems that because these new regulations are all about changing the way that machinery operates, any loss of employment or any other sort of negative economic impact is minimized. So all in all, because this reform does not cause the expected reduction in “economic productivity”, its beneficial environmental rewards can be reaped.