Trump says he’ll roll back Biden-era methane rules for oil and gas companies

President Donald Trump said Tuesday his administration plans to ease regulations on methane — a potent greenhouse gas that is the second-biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Speaking at a midterm rally in Texas, Trump announced the rollback of methane emissions rules for oil and gas producers that the Biden administration finalized in 2024. “Tonight, I’m officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations to save consumers and energy producers,” Trump said, adding that Democrats had “crushed small oil and gas operators” with excessive regulation.

He did not provide further details. The Environmental Protection Agency previewed the changes this month, promising to loosen regulations on methane leaks at lower-production oil wells, among other changes. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said at the time: “Americans must be able to afford to heat their homes in the winter and fill up their car and drive to work. They can’t do that when the people producing the energy are weighed down by unnecessary burdens.”

Trump made the announcement just a week before the midterm elections, in which numerous polls show that high fuel costs are a key issue for many voters. Methane, the main component of natural gas, traps more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, though it also breaks down more quickly. Scientists consider methane to be about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over 20 years. Methane, which is also released from natural sources like wetlands, is responsible for roughly one-third of all global warming.

The Biden administration viewed eliminating methane leaks from oil and gas production as a relatively quick way to drive down emissions. The low-producing wells the rollback would affect (also called stripper wells) produce about 7% to 8% of U.S. natural gas, but they could account for about 50% of the methane that leaks into the atmosphere, research suggests. Many of those wells are near the end of their lives or at risk of falling below the threshold of profitability.

However, the National Stripper Well Association has been calling for the rollback, saying in a letter last month that “the costs associated with complying with these regulations will make the wells uneconomical to operate.” As part of the rollback, the EPA also plans to eliminate its Super Emitter Program, which aimed to create a system for third-party groups to report methane leaks from natural gas production. Such leaks cannot be easily seen with the naked eye, but they can be detected by satellites or special thermal imaging cameras.

The Trump administration paused implementing the program last year. Now, it is seeking to shutter it. Environmental and health groups decried the rollbacks, saying they would increase pollution in the atmosphere and increase the effects of climate change. Liz Scott, a senior director of national advocacy for the American Lung Association, said any rollback of methane regulations would also increase air pollution from volatile organic compounds, which are released alongside leaking methane during oil and gas production.

“The pollution that’s released alongside methane carries immediate health harms, particularly for communities living near oil and gas sites,” Scott told NBC News. “When you roll back protections on the leaking or flaring of methane, you’re also going to roll back the protections that communities rely on for those air pollutants.” David Doniger, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said methane leaks were one of the “dumbest” forms of pollution because the industry was losing the product it was selling and hurting the planet in the process.

“The industry doesn’t pay attention to leaks that it should,” Doniger told NBC News. “They would make more money capturing this stuff and piping it to the point of sale than by losing it.” Before the rollbacks can take effect, they must go through an EPA rulemaking process that includes a public comment period. If a final rule is implemented, the EPA could then face legal challenges, including challenges from a coalition of environmental groups that includes the NRDC.

“I would expect it to be another lawsuit,” Doniger said. The methane rollback is part of the Trump administration’s systematic effort to eliminate regulations designed to fight climate change. In February, the EPA repealed emissions rules for vehicles, which account for the most carbon pollution in the U.S. It announced last month that it would roll back emissions limits on coal- and gas-fired power plants. It has even upended its own endangerment finding, a legal decision that says greenhouse gases are warming the Earth in a way that threatens public health and welfare.

Zeldin has described his agenda as an effort to “drive a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion.” The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly severe. Much of the globe baked in extreme heat this summer: The months from June through August were the warmest ever recorded for the contiguous U.S. Last year was the third-hottest in modern history, according to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service.

The past 11 years have been the 11 warmest on record, Copernicus data shows.