Methane is the second largest contributor to the climate crisis after carbon dioxide. On a pound-for-pound basis, methane traps 86 times more heat than carbon dioxide, making it far more potent and dangerous to our climate. The good news is that methane doesn’t stay in the atmosphere as long as other greenhouse gases, so decisive action to cut methane today can pay big dividends.
We’ve already taken some steps under this administration to rein in methane. With your help, we pushed the EPA to accelerate its work on new methane standards and convinced Congress to roll back a disastrous Trump-era policy that let polluters off the hook for their methane emissions. Despite this progress, we need further bold action from the EPA to address the problem.
We have the tools and technology to cut methane pollution from the oil and gas sector by as much as 65 percent below 2012 levels by 2025, but we need the government to act. Each year, the oil and gas industry releases 16 million metric tons of methane into the atmosphere, and without swift federal action, methane will continue to bake the planet.
Not only does methane pollution from the oil and gas industry jeopardize the continued habitability of our planet, its extraction poisons communities. Methane is released alongside toxic pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, and ethylbenzene, which can cause debilitating health problems for millions of people.
It's time to work together to cut methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. Join us in calling on the EPA to aggressively cut methane pollution.
