US methane emissions exceed EPA’s data

Methane emissions in the US are markedly higher than what the US Environmental Protection Agency reports, according to multiple recent studies. The latest report, from the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), found that methane emissions from US oil and gas sources are four times as high as what the EPA reports and eight times as high as industry targets. These findings mirror other recent studies on methane emissions, in which different scientists found emission levels well above EPA values from sources including landfills and livestock. The Biden Administration released details July 23 about increased federal efforts to measure and reduce air pollution, including methane emissions. Methane doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide does, but it has about 80 times the warming potential of CO 2 over a 20-year period and 28 times the potential over 100 years, the United Nations says . Methane emissions are