Statement on President Obama’s Goal to Reduce Oil and Gas Methane Pollution

Earthjustice responds to the Obama Administration's goal to reduce oil and gas methane waste by 40-45% below 2012 levels by 2025, arguing that the plan is insufficient because it lacks standards for existing equipment, which Earthjustice claims is the primary source of the pollution.

• The Obama Administration announced a target to reduce methane waste from the oil and gas industry by 40 to 45 percent below 2012 levels by the year 2025. The proposed plan to achieve this includes voluntary measures, informal U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance, and air pollution standards for new equipment, but it excludes standards for existing equipment.
• Methane is described as being over 80 times more potent than carbon pollution regarding short-term climate change. The oil and gas industry currently releases nearly 8 million tons of methane annually through intentional releases and unrepaired leaks, which is equivalent to the natural gas required to heat 6.5 million U.S. homes.
• Earthjustice argues that the Obama Administration must take stronger action to clean up existing sources to meet its reduction goals, as existing equipment is responsible for the vast majority of the problem. Earthjustice has previously sued the EPA for failing to stop methane waste by the oil and gas industry.

APA

Ballo, T. (2015). Statement on President Obama’s Goal to Reduce Oil and Gas Methane Pollution. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/press/2015/statement-on-president-obama-s-goal-to-reduce-oil-and-gas-methane-pollution

Chicago

Ballo, Tim. Statement on President Obama’s Goal to Reduce Oil and Gas Methane Pollution. Earthjustice, 2015. https://earthjustice.org/press/2015/statement-on-president-obama-s-goal-to-reduce-oil-and-gas-methane-pollution.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Ballo |first1=Tim |title=Statement on President Obama’s Goal to Reduce Oil and Gas Methane Pollution |publisher=Earthjustice |date=14 January 2015 |url=https://earthjustice.org/press/2015/statement-on-president-obama-s-goal-to-reduce-oil-and-gas-methane-pollution |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{ballo2015statement, author = {Ballo, Tim}, title = {{Statement on President Obama’s Goal to Reduce Oil and Gas Methane Pollution}}, publisher = {Earthjustice}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://earthjustice.org/press/2015/statement-on-president-obama-s-goal-to-reduce-oil-and-gas-methane-pollution}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }