Policy Regulation Is Needed: Making “Best” Practices Standard Practice

The author contends that voluntary programs like Natural Gas STAR are insufficient to achieve necessary methane reductions in the U.S. oil and gas sector, as emissions are projected to increase by 4.5% by 2018. Citing studies from NOAA, Harvard, and the University of Texas, the text asserts that actual methane leaks are substantially higher than EPA inventories suggest. Because proven reduction technologies are cheap or provide negative costs through captured gas, the author argues that federal regulation is required to move these 'best' practices to 'standard' practice by overcoming market barriers such as diverse ownership and lack of incentive.

• Voluntary programs, such as the EPA's Natural Gas STAR established in 1993, have failed to make emission reduction technologies standard practice, leaving nationwide emissions from many sources far higher than they would be under mandatory requirements.
• Methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas operations are projected to rise by 4.5% by 2018 due to industry growth, particularly in oil production, despite existing regulations.
• Multiple studies indicate that actual methane emissions from the oil and gas sector are significantly higher than official EPA inventories report, with some estimates suggesting total U.S. releases could be 50 percent higher.
• Reducing methane emissions is economically viable and low-cost; research suggests the industry could cut emissions by approximately 40 percent below projected 2018 levels at an average annual cost of less than one cent per thousand cubic feet of produced natural gas.

APA

Banks, J. (2014). Policy Regulation Is Needed: Making “Best” Practices Standard Practice. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2014/04/regulation-is-needed-making-best-practices-standard-practice/

Chicago

Banks, Jonathan. Policy Regulation Is Needed: Making “Best” Practices Standard Practice. Clean Air Task Force, 2014. https://www.catf.us/2014/04/regulation-is-needed-making-best-practices-standard-practice/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Banks |first1=Jonathan |title=Policy Regulation Is Needed: Making “Best” Practices Standard Practice |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=15 April 2014 |url=https://www.catf.us/2014/04/regulation-is-needed-making-best-practices-standard-practice/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{banks2014policy, author = {Banks, Jonathan}, title = {{Policy Regulation Is Needed: Making “Best” Practices Standard Practice}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2014}, month = apr, url = {https://www.catf.us/2014/04/regulation-is-needed-making-best-practices-standard-practice/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }