New York Times: The Obama administration has announced plans to cut oil- and gas-production methane emissions by up to 45% of 2012 levels over the next decade. The Environmental Protection Agency will establish the first version of the regulations this summer and the final regulations in 2016. Methane accounts for just 9% of US greenhouse gas emissions but has a warming effect 20 times as great as carbon dioxide. One of the biggest sources of methane is leakage from oil and gas wells; mining officials have argued that restrictions will hurt the industry's recent growth. Industry leaders favor trapping the leaks anyway because methane is part of natural gas, but a 2014 study found that methane leaks were releasing 50% more gas than previously estimated.
