COP28 Climate Summit Puts Spotlight On Turning Methane Pledges Into Action. According to Reuters, “Delegates at this year's U.N. COP28 climate summit are anxious to boost the world's climate change agenda with concrete plans for clamping down on the second-most prominent greenhouse gas – methane. While more than 150 countries have promised since 2021 to slash their methane emissions 30% from 2020 levels by 2030 under the U.S.- and EU-led Global Methane Pledge, few have detailed how they will achieve this.What is needed now is to turn those pledges into urgent action – with financial support for developing countries' efforts and national regulations over methane-emitting sectors such as oil and gas and agriculture, according to the United Arab Emirates' COP28 presidency.” [Reuters, 11/27/23 (=)]

New Report Says Oil And Gas Sector Must Slash Planet-Warming Operations To Avoid Climate Disaster. According to PBS, “The oil and gas sector, one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases, will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extreme weather events fueled by human-caused climate change, according to a report released Thursday. The current investment of $800 billion a year in the oil and gas sector will need to be cut in half and greenhouse emissions, which result from the burning of fossil fuels like oil, will need to fall by 60% to give the world a fighting chance to meet its climate goals, the International Energy Agency said. Greenhouse gases go up into the atmosphere and heat the planet, leading to several impacts, including extreme weather events.” [PBS, 11/23/23 (=)]

U.S. Targets Methane Emissions In New Batch Of Rules. According to Scientific American, “President Joe Biden pledged to use “all available tools” to rein in methane when he was elected three years ago. Now his promise is coming due. Federal agencies are poised to release a battery of rules in the coming months that crack down on the oil and gas sector for releasing the potent greenhouse gas. That includes regulations for leaky pipelines; energy production on public and private lands; and infrastructure related to processing, transporting and storing natural gas. Even liquefied natural gas terminals and offshore petroleum production facilities, which aren't covered by EPA's coming methane rules, could find themselves paying for excessive leaks beginning in 2025.” [Scientific American, 11/22/23 (=)]

Methane Rules Could Be Biden’s Deliverable At COP28. According to Politico, “The Biden administration is preparing a regulatory crackdown on methane, a major source of planet-warming pollution from the oil and gas industry. U.S. agencies are expected to roll out six rules on methane emissions in the next six months, writes Jean Chemnick — the first of which could land in early December as almost 200 nations are gathering for the global climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Methane, the major component of natural gas, traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. It accounts for roughly a third of global warming since industrialization, according to researchers. Concern that the world is producing and burning more fossil fuels — contributing more methane to the atmosphere — is pushing governments to act more aggressively.” [Politico, 11/22/23 (=)]