BLM repeals key rule against potent methane emissions

The methane waste rule—which targets one of the most potent greenhouse gases and requires oil and gas companies to capture leaked methane, update outdated equipment, and come up with plans to reduce waste—faced another obstacle as the Bureau of Land Management again moved to repeal the Obama-era policy. Inefficiency was so rampant that the wasted gas from 2009 to 2015 could've powered 6.2 million households for a year. The rule, if fully implemented, would’ve prevented 180,000 tons of methane emissions annually—the equivalent of taking nearly a million cars off the road. Trapping 80 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon in the near-term, methane was a key target of President Obama’s climate change initiatives.