The Harvard Methane Initiative has released a new research brief, reviewing and analyzing the recent history of methane regulation in the United States. You may preview and download the brief at the bottom of this page.

The authors are Carrie Jenks, Executive Director of Harvard Law School’s Environmental & Energy Law Program; Sara Dewey, Senior Staff Attorney in the Program; and Cameron Dehmlow Dunne, a student at Harvard Law School.

Summary

The Biden administration viewed methane reduction as a key strategy for cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. Methane is roughly 27 to 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide in its global warming impact over a 100-year time horizon. In the U.S., the oil and natural gas sector, municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, and agriculture are the major methane sources. As methane detection technologies rapidly advance, operators in these sectors can install technologies and design their systems to reduce methane emissions and leaks. In addition, as demand for lower-emissions natural gas grows there is an opportunity to align regulatory and market incentives to drive reductions.

The U.S. government has in recent years taken a three-pronged approach that focuses on strong regulation, robust data collection, and federal funding to implement methane-emissions-reduction strategies, with a focus on the oil and natural gas sector and MSW landfills. However, the Trump administration is drastically shifting this approach, eliminating regulatory requirements and data sources and cutting funding meant to drive reductions.