EDF files lawsuit opposing Trump EPA’s weakening of methane standards

(Washington, D.C. – June 9, 2026) Environmental Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit opposing the Trump EPA’s weakening of protections against methane – a climate super pollutant that is responsible for almost one-third of the warming of our planet. 

“The 2024 methane standards for the oil and gas sector are common sense protections against dangerous air pollution,” said Rosalie Winn, EDF Senior Director and Lead Counsel for Methane and Clean Air Policy. “The Trump EPA’s illegal weakening of these vital standards undermines efforts to keep our air clean, help keep people safe, and prevent the needless waste of American energy.” 

Methane is the primary component of natural gas. Reducing methane pollution from the oil and gas industry is the fastest way to slow down the rate of climate change. 

In 2024, EPA adopted standards to reduce methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. Then, this April, the Trump EPA moved to weaken those standards to allow additional flaring of natural gas.  

Flaring is the wasteful practice of burning off excess gas. The 2024 standards had reduced methane pollution by requiring operators to use technically available solutions to avoid unnecessary flaring. Operators have had two years to prepare to comply with the flaring standards.  

The Trump EPA had previously moved to delay methane protections, stopped enforcing them, and announced that it will propose a broader reconsideration of the methane standards as part of its deregulatory agenda. 

EDF’s Methane Waste Counter tracks how much natural gas has been wasted since March, 2025 – when the Trump administration announced it would no longer enforce oil and gas methane regulations. The cost is now more than $5.4 billion and rising. 

Yesterday EDF filed a petition for review of the Trump EPA’s weakening of the flaring protections in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.  

Separately, EDF and a dozen other environmental and community groups have filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s earlier delay of protections against methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. The groups filed their brief in that case last week.