A methane pollution fee on oil and gas faces a cloudy future under Trump

Oil and gas companies would have to pay a fee for releasing climate-warming methane into the atmosphere under new regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency. But it’s likely the incoming Trump administration and Republicans in Congress will try to weaken or eliminate the fees.

Methane is the main component of natural gas, and it is also produced when extracting crude oil. Methane is among the greenhouse gasses heating the planet, and it is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide.Scientific studies show the oil and gas industry releases about three times more methane than EPA estimates have shown. Methane leaks happen across the oil and gas production system, from drilling to transporting the fossil fuels. Sometimes, the methane is released intentionally. 

“EPA has been engaging with industry, states, and communities to reduce methane emissions so that natural gas ultimately makes it to consumers as usable fuel — instead of as a harmful greenhouse gas,” Michael Regan, EPA administrator said in a statement.

The fees are laid out in President Biden’s signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act. The EPA says they apply “only to waste emissions from high-emitting oil and gas facilities,” which means those under allowed limits do not have to pay fees. Violators would have to pay $900 a metric ton for anything released above the allowed limit. In two years, the fee would increase to $1,500 a metric ton.

The agency estimates the new fees will reduce methane emissions by 1.2 million metric tons through 2035 – “the equivalent of taking nearly 8 million gas-powered cars off the road for a year.”

The EPA says the fees are designed to work in tandem with rules finalized last year that reduce methane pollution from oil and gas operations. Republican-led states and industry groups already are challenging those regulations in court. The Supreme Court recently declined a request to block them from taking effect

But under President-elect Donald Trump, the future of the rules are in doubt, and the oil industry says it will work to make sure they are changed or even eliminated.

“This is the wrong approach on methane policymaking,” Mike Sommers with the American Petroleum Institute said in a call with reporters. “We look forward to working with the new administration and Congress on repealing the regulation as quickly as possible.”

Some in the industry dubbed the fees a “methane tax” and vow to eliminate them.

“The tax will lead to less energy security and higher energy prices for American families and businesses,” Anne Bradbury, CEO of the American Exploration & Production Council said, calling on the Trump administration and Congress “to repeal this punitive tax on American energy.”

While the fees may increase industry costs, the prices consumers pay are set by markets that include many more factors in addition to regulatory costs.  The Trump campaign did not respond to NPR’s request for comment on the fees.

One option for changing the methane fee regulation might be the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress “to overturn certain federal agency actions.” It’s also likely the fees will face a legal challenge from states and industry groups who allege the EPA is overstepping its authority.

Environmental groups praised the Biden administration for the new fees.

“It’s heartening to see this effort to make polluters pay for their leakage of the super climate pollutant methane,” Maggie Coulter with the Center for Biological Diversity said. “Ultimately, we know that curbing the climate emergency requires moving quickly away from fossil fuel extraction.”

The fees come as the Biden administration convened a summit with China at the United Nations’ annual climate meeting, COP29, in Azerbaijan to reduce methane emissions and other climate pollutants globally. This was a follow-up to the Global Methane Pledge launched last year at COP28, when more than 150 countries pledged to reduce methane pollution by at least 30% by the end of the decade.

“The American people value clean air and healthy communities,” Christina Deconcini with the World Resources Institute wrote in a statement. “If Donald Trump attempts to rescind the rule when he takes office, he would be putting Americans at risk.”