Congress aims to eliminate methane fee that would hold large polluters accountable and protect public health
WASHINGTON – Congress introduced a resolution to eliminate the regulation implementing the waste emissions charge – a commonsense, effective policy that charges a fee only to operators that both exceed industry-aligned thresholds and are out of compliance with EPA methane standards. The charge has been part of the United States’ world-leading approach to capturing methane that would otherwise be wasted.
“We are disappointed in Congress’ misguided attempt to get rid of the waste emissions charge. Both the waste emissions charge and the Methane Emissions Reduction Program as a whole are important pieces that will create high-quality jobs while providing energy security by reducing the waste of natural gas,” said Reece Rushing, U.S. Federal Policy Director at Clean Air Task Force (CATF). “Methane reduction and mitigation has been met with wide bipartisan support for its benefits to public health and the climate, and we call on Congress to reject this attempt to get rid of a critical tool to achieve those benefits.”
As laid out by the waste emissions charge, owners or oil and gas operators that report to the greenhouse gas reporting program must pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed thresholds that were set by Congress and based off targets set by industry. Additionally, operators are exempted from the charge once they are in compliance with EPA’s recently finalized methane rule.
“If Congress were to take this action, it would be a short sighted one at best, ignoring the fact that the world is headed towards a global gas market that places a value on gas with low methane intensity. Having a waste emissions charge in combination with the waste emissions reduction program demonstrates to our trading partners our commitment to reduce methane emissions,” said Jonathan Banks, Global Director for Methane Pollution Prevention at CATF.
Contacto con la prensa
Samantha Sadowski, Directora de Comunicación, Estados Unidos, ssadowski@catf.us, +1 202-440-1717
Acerca de Clean Air Task Force
Clean Air Task Force (CATF) es una organización mundial sin ánimo de lucro que trabaja para protegerse de los peores efectos del cambio climático catalizando el rápido desarrollo y despliegue de energías bajas en carbono y otras tecnologías de protección del clima. Con más de 25 años de experiencia reconocida internacionalmente en política climática y un firme compromiso con la exploración de todas las soluciones posibles, CATF es un grupo de defensa pragmático y no ideológico con las ideas audaces necesarias para abordar el cambio climático. CATF tiene oficinas en Boston, Washington D.C. y Bruselas, y cuenta con personal que trabaja virtualmente en todo el mundo. Visite catf.us y siga @cleanaircatf.
