Rollback remains planned
US President Donald Trump is expected to announce on Tuesday plans to loosen Biden-era rules intended to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations, according to News4JAX and La Nación Costa Rica. The reported announcement would concern a planned policy change; the restrictions have not yet been described as repealed or replaced.
La Nación Costa Rica, citing a White House official, reported that Trump would make the announcement at a rally supporting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s Senate campaign. The report said the changes target controls on emissions across oil and gas activity, including extraction, processing, transportation and distribution.
EPA claims $45 billion in savings
The Environmental Protection Agency has said eliminating regulations introduced under former President Joe Biden would produce $45 billion in cost savings. Its statement did not explain how that figure was calculated.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin argued that regulatory burdens on energy producers make it harder for Americans to afford home heating and vehicle fuel. That is the agency’s stated case for the rollback; the reports provide no separate estimate of how the proposed changes would affect consumer prices.
Climate significance
Methane is the main component of natural gas and the second-largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide. It has accounted for about one-third of the rise in global temperatures since the pre-industrial era, equivalent to roughly 0.5 degrees Celsius, according to La Nación Costa Rica’s report.
A methane molecule traps substantially more heat than a carbon dioxide molecule, although methane generally remains in the atmosphere for seven to 12 years, compared with centuries for carbon dioxide. The International Energy Agency identifies the United States as the world’s largest source of methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, followed by Russia.
Julia Kane, a researcher at industry watchdog Fieldnotes, alleged that the changes would leave methane oversight without meaningful force while allowing companies to continue releasing and burning the gas. Her assessment represents the group’s criticism of the planned rollback, rather than an established outcome of a policy that has yet to be implemented.