WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday released the following statement on the U.S. Environmental Protect Agency’s (EPA) announcement of new safeguards to cut methane and other harmful pollutants from the oil and natural gas industry. This proposal comes as President Biden unveiled the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan at COP26 in Glasgow and joined the European Union in challenging the world to meet a Global Methane Pledge and reduce methane emissions 30% by 2030.

“Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas with catastrophic impacts on the climate, and the EPA’s new proposed rules to cut emissions will make a huge difference in confronting the climate crisis, protecting public health, and promoting innovation. The Biden administration understands we need bold, ambitious action to save our planet. I’m glad to see President Biden on the world’s stage leading by example and challenging our global partners to do the same,” said Murphy.

In April, Murphy released a statement on Senate passage of the Congressional Resolution of Disapproval of the Trump administration’s rollback of the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS), which reversed the Trump administration’s rollback of methane emissions regulations and reinstates the 2012 and 2016 Oil and Natural Gas NSPS. In January, Murphy joined a letter urging the Biden administration to restore strong federal methane emission standards for oil and gas production. In 2019, Murphy and U.S. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Super Pollutants Act of 2019,  a bipartisan climate bill that aims to reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) like methane.

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