EDF: American Petroleum Institute Methane Reversal Lacks Credibility

EDF statement on American Petroleum Institute reversal of its longstanding opposition on sensible federal safeguards to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

January 13, 2021
Jon Coifman, (917) 575-1885, jcoifman@edf.org

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) “API’s credibility on methane regulations evaporated when it spent the Obama and Trump years attacking sensible regulatory measures to reduce emissions, even as many producers, utilities and investors took leadership positions. There is no reasonable debate on whether the federal government should regulate methane emissions. A broad coalition of stakeholders supports federal methane regulation of new and existing sources, and what matters now is speed and ambition.

“Any trade association efforts to weaken rulemakings will fall on deaf ears as the Biden administration overcomes years of lost time and achieves maximum emission reductions to protect the climate and communities, while helping industry improve. We encourage companies to demonstrate leadership by offering the data, experience and solutions to support ambitious policy responses that take advantage of emerging technologies and practices to cut emissions dramatically and pragmatically.”

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