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FACT SHEET: Biden
Aug 14, 2023New Cabinet-level White House Methane Task Force will strengthen interagency and multi-stakeholder action to dramatically reduce methane emissions.
Today, the Biden-Harris Administration will convene the first ever White House Methane Summit around the urgent need to dramatically reduce methane emissions, especially from leaks in the oil and gas sector, as a way to protect public health, create good-paying jobs, save consumers money, and advance President Biden’s ambitious climate agenda. The President’s Investing in America agenda is accelerating adoption of technologies and tools to address methane emissions and helping the U.S. unlock a win-win opportunity for communities and the economy. Just this week, new analysis from the Blue Green Alliance found that full adoption of the Biden-Harris Administration’s proposed leak-reducing actions will create 10,000 net direct and indirect jobs each year, in sectors like manufacturing, construction, and operations and maintenance.Methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide and can lead to serious public health impacts, from asthma to cancer to premature deaths. Methane is responsible for one-third of the warming impacts millions of Americans are experiencing right now – from record heat waves to smoke-filled skies to flash flooding and more intense hurricanes. Methane leaks amount to billions of dollars’ of wasted natural gas every year. In the United States, 30 percent of methane emissions come from the oil and gas sector, which increasingly has tools to slash leaks.Today’s White House Methane Summit will focus on these significant opportunities:
Detecting Emissions Using Innovative Technologies & ToolsIdentifying methane emissions at their source is a critical first step to tackling climate and health impacts and setting and enforcing robust rules of the road, which is why the Administration is prioritizing the full use of the latest and most innovative technologies and tools available today.
Leading International Efforts on Methane ManagementAt the U.S.-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in September 2021, the President and the European Union announced the Global Methane Pledge: a global partnership to collectively cut emissions of methane by 30% compared with 2020 levels by 2030. President Biden has helped rally 150 countries to join the initiative, which now covers nearly half of all methane emissions and 70% of global GDP. If participants meet their goals, the pledge could eliminate over 0.2 degrees Celsius of warming by 2050.
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White House Methane SummitJust this week, new analysis from the Blue Green Alliance found that full adoption of the Biden-Harris Administration’s proposed leak-reducing actions will create 10,000 net direct and indirect jobs each year, in sectors like manufacturing, construction, and operations and maintenance.Establishing a New Cabinet-level Methane Task Force:Detecting Emissions Using Innovative Technology:Taking Common-Sense Actions to Mitigate Methane Emissions: Responding to Emissions Events: Leading International Efforts on Methane Management:Detecting Emissions Using Innovative Technologies & ToolsDeploying cutting edge technology to make the invisible seen: Developing data products to improve public understanding of methane emissionsTaking Common-Sense Actions to Mitigate Methane EmissionsPlugging orphaned wells on Federal, state, and private lands to protect public health and create good jobs: Improving leak detection and repair to prevent emissions events before they start:Updating decades-old federal leak detection and repair standards: Funding emissions management and technical assistance: Conducting research and developing future mitigation solutions: Responding to Emissions EventsUpdating facility emissions reporting requirements, including for “super-emitter” events: Utilizing advanced monitoring technologies to detect “super-emitter” events:Strengthening enforcement through interagency collaboration: Leading International Efforts on Methane ManagementAccelerating progress to deliver on the Global Methane PledgeVerifying emissions throughout the global supply chain: