Biden administration pledges to reduce methane emissions

President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday revealed its plan to help slash global methane emissions by 30 percent by 2030. Biden is leading the alliance of 90 countries, including half of the major methane-emitting nations, at the climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland. Brazil joined the Global Methane Pledge for the first time while China, India, and Russia have not joined the pact.

What will the U.S. pledge include? The proposed regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency will target reductions from oil and gas wells nationwide instead of focusing only on new wells. They will require companies to oversee 3 million miles of pipelines, including transmission lines and others inside cities. Methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas scientists say is responsible for about one-third of current global warming from human activities. On Monday, Biden said he would also work with Congress to provide $3 billion to developing countries to help them adapt to climate change. More than 100 countries at the climate summit, including the United States, also pledged to end deforestation in the coming decade.

Dig deeper: Read Jordan J. Ballor’s WORLD Opinions column about this year’s climate summit.