In the United States the administration of President Barack Obama is looking for ways to tackle climate change in the face of staunch opposition by rival Republican lawmakers.
As part of that campaign the White House has pledged to clamp down on US emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas produced by cattle and natural gas production that contributes to climate change.
The bid is the latest by President Obama’s administration to find ways to tackle climate change in the face of staunch opposition by rival Republican lawmakers.
The United States is the largest greenhouse gas emitter after China.
Methane makes up some nine per cent of US emissions but the environmental effect is some 20 times as potent as that of the most common greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide.
Cow manure is a leading source of methane, and the White House said that the dairy industry and federal departments would unveil in June voluntary plans to reduce the sector’s emissions by 25 per cent by 2020.
Separately, the Environmental Protection Agency will meet experts on methane emissions from oil and gas to see if there is a need for more regulations, which would be unveiled by the end of 2016, the White House said.
Within the current year, the agency will propose new standards on landfills and a separate federal body, the Bureau of Land Management, will update regulations to reduce venting and flaring from oil and gas production on public lands, it said.
The White House did not set an overall goal on reducing methane but said it was committed to President Obama’s target of cutting overall greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent by 2020 from 2005 levels.
Environmental groups praised the White House plan, although they noted that many details remain incomplete.
“The important thing is they charted a specific pathway forward, which we think should lead and will lead to additional standards for reducing methane leakage,” said David Doniger, director of the climate and clean air program at the Natural Resources Defence Council, an environmental group.
“A federal strategy to reduce venting, flaring and leaks of natural gas is good for the environment and good for national energy security,” said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defence Fund.
Industry groups reacted warily. While they support continued efforts to reduce methane emissions, officials cautioned against new regulations.
Many environmentalists say that the commitment by the United States and other countries is nowhere close to the reduction levels needed to avert worst-case scenarios of climate change.
President Obama has pledged action on climate change but increasingly focused on actions he can take without Congress.
A proposal for broader restrictions on greenhouse emissions died in the Senate in 2010 amid opposition by lawmakers close to industry.
