Biden Administration Finalizes Rules Limiting Methane Pollution from 石油, Gas Operations

Statement by 朱莉·麦克纳马拉, Union of Concerned Scientists

2023年12月2日出版

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今天,美国.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized standards to limit methane emissions and other harmful air pollutants 从新的和现有的石油和天然气业务. Methane is a potent global warming pollutant and oil and gas operations are the nation’s largest source of industrial methane emissions. Strong methane standards will drive critical near-term progress in meeting U.S. 617888九五至尊娱乐目标, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the rule’s broader pollution reduction requirements will result in vital public health gains. These rules are also being released in the context of COP28, the annual U.N. 617888九五至尊娱乐谈判正在迪拜进行, 阿拉伯联合酋长国, 限制甲烷排放的承诺在哪里, 包括作为全球甲烷承诺的一部分, 会是为期两周的谈判的一部分吗.

以下是……的声明 朱莉·麦克纳马拉, the deputy policy director for the 617888九五至尊娱乐 and 能源 Program at UCS.

“The finalization of these methane standards addresses a glaring regulatory gap. 太久了, oil and gas companies have been allowed to spew methane and serious health-harming pollutants without any limits—all while shoving the towering costs of that pollution onto people and the environment. These rules are an important step in curbing that harmful practice.

“There’s absolutely no excuse for the outsized pollution coming from oil and gas operations. As standards from proactive states have made clear, cost-effective process changes and pollution control technologies exist and can immediately enable meaningful pollution reductions. 此外, these standards will result in significant public health relief for communities surrounding oil and gas operations—disproportionately communities of color—which continue to pay the heaviest price.

“Cleaning up methane pollution from fossil fuel operations is a threshold requirement for meeting U.S. 617888九五至尊娱乐目标, 这些标准, alongside other critical pending administration actions to limit methane pollution from fossil fuel operations, will be an important contribution to meeting the goals of the Global Methane Pledge. But make no mistake: These rules don’t mean that fossil fuels are now “clean.” No matter how tightly the United States regulates pollution from upstream oil and gas activities, there will still be relentless harms from ongoing fossil fuel production and use—and fossil fuel producers will still be responsible for all the damages they cause. For the health and well-being of people across the country, 这个世界, this must only be an intermediate step on the path to a sharp wind-down of fossil fuels.”