A Good First Step – But We Have a Long Way to go on Oil and Gas

The Clean Air Task Force acknowledges the USEPA's 2015 proposal to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry as a significant first step, noting it introduces the first greenhouse gas standards for the sector. However, the authors argue that the proposed rules only reduce 2012 emissions by approximately 7.5% and will not be sufficient to meet the White House goal of a 40-45% reduction by 2025. They emphasize that because existing sites are predicted to represent 90% of the sector's total methane emissions in 2018, the EPA must issue emissions guidelines for existing sources under the Clean Air Act to achieve the necessary reductions.

• The USEPA's 2015 proposal introduces the first greenhouse gas and methane standards for the oil and natural gas sector, requiring practices such as capturing gas after hydraulic fracturing of oil wells, periodic leak detection and repair, and applying emissions reduction technologies at downstream natural gas transmission facilities.
• The proposed rules are insufficient to meet the Obama Administration's goal of reducing methane emissions from the industry to 40-45% below 2012 levels by 2025. The proposal is estimated to reduce emissions by 510,000 to 560,000 metric tons in 2025, which is approximately 7.5% of the 7,100,000 metric tons emitted in 2012.
• Industry growth complicates reduction targets; the White House predicted that without new rules, emissions would increase by 25% by 2025. Consequently, methane emissions in 2025 under the proposed rules would still be about 10% higher than 2012 levels.
• Addressing existing sources is critical for meeting climate goals, as a study by ICF International predicts that sites existing in 2011 will account for 90% of the sector's total methane emissions in 2018.

APA

Schroeder, D., & McCabe, D. (2015). A Good First Step – But We Have a Long Way to go on Oil and Gas. Clean Air Task Force. https://www.catf.us/2015/08/a-good-first-step-but-we-have-a-long-way-to-go-on-oil-and-gas/

Chicago

Schroeder, Darin, and David McCabe. A Good First Step – But We Have a Long Way to go on Oil and Gas. Clean Air Task Force, 2015. https://www.catf.us/2015/08/a-good-first-step-but-we-have-a-long-way-to-go-on-oil-and-gas/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Schroeder |first1=Darin |last2=McCabe |first2=David |title=A Good First Step – But We Have a Long Way to go on Oil and Gas |publisher=Clean Air Task Force |date=22 August 2015 |url=https://www.catf.us/2015/08/a-good-first-step-but-we-have-a-long-way-to-go-on-oil-and-gas/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{schroeder2015good, author = {Schroeder, Darin and McCabe, David}, title = {{A Good First Step – But We Have a Long Way to go on Oil and Gas}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2015}, month = aug, url = {https://www.catf.us/2015/08/a-good-first-step-but-we-have-a-long-way-to-go-on-oil-and-gas/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }