Activists say Obama action on methane emissions 'misses 90% of pollution'

Barack Obama has defied a Republican Congress to move ahead on his climate agenda on Wednesday, cracking down on methane emissions from America’s oil and natural gas boom.

In a further use of the president’s executive authority, the White House unveiled a strategy aimed at cutting methane – one of the most powerful heat-trapping gases – by 40% to 45% over the next decade.

However, the plan applied only to future oil and gas wells and infrastructure – and not the thousands of existing sites which are leaking methane, campaigners noted.

“While setting methane standards for the first time is an important step, failing to immediately regulate existing oil and gas equipment nationwide misses 90% of the methane pollution from the industry,” Conrad Schneider of the Clean Air Task Force said in a statement. “The administration is proposing to fight methane pollution with one hand tied behind its back.”


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http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jan/14/obama-executive-action-curb-methane-emissions