Trump Administration Rolls Back Methane Rules, Opens Door to Increased Climate Pollution

Statement by Jeremy Martin, Union of Concerned Scientists

Published Sep 11, 2018

WASHINGTON (September 11, 2018)—The Environmental Protection Agency issued a new proposal today to roll back rules meant to limit the release of methane from oil and gas extraction. This change would increase pollution and heighten the dangers of climate change, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Below is a statement by Jeremy Martin, senior scientist in the Clean Vehicles Program at UCS.

“The Trump administration has made it very clear that they put the preferences of the oil and gas industry ahead of safeguarding Americans’ health or protecting future generations from climate change. At a time when we need stronger rules to reduce emissions, this proposal would take us in the opposite direction. This is a willful decision to increase pollution and exacerbate climate change, in plain defiance of scientific reality and the mission of the EPA.”