The Harvard Methane Initiative released a new research brief by Carrie Jenks, Sara Dewey, and EELP Research Assistant Cameron Dehmlow Dunne reviewing and analyzing the recent history of methane regulation in the United States.
The Biden administration treated methane reduction as a central strategy for cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Methane is approximately 27–30 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 100-year time horizon, and major U.S. sources include the oil and natural gas sector, municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, and agriculture. Rapid advances in methane detection technologies have made it increasingly feasible for operators in these sectors to identify leaks and deploy cost-effective mitigation measures. At the same time, growing demand for lower-emissions natural gas has created opportunities to align regulatory and market incentives to drive further reductions.
In recent years, the federal government pursued a three-pronged approach to methane mitigation: stronger regulations, expanded data collection, and targeted federal funding, with particular emphasis on the oil and natural gas sector and MSW landfills. The Trump administration, however, is dramatically reversing this strategy by rolling back regulatory requirements, eliminating key data sources, and cutting funding intended to support methane emissions reductions.
This policy brief examines three core elements of U.S. methane policy: (1) the evolving status of federal methane regulations in the oil and natural gas and MSW landfill sectors; (2) the availability and reliability of methane emissions data; and (3) federal funding for methane reduction efforts. It also highlights the role of states, many of which regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and, in some cases, require more ambitious reductions than current federal policy.