CV NEWS FEED // The Biden administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled new standards which critics say amount to an unprecedented crackdown on oil and natural gas.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan and White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi announced the plan on Saturday at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.
The EPA stated in a press release that the move “will sharply reduce methane and other harmful air pollutants from the oil and natural gas industry, including from hundreds of thousands of existing sources nationwide.”
Regan called the action “historic.”
“On day one, President Biden restored America’s critical role as the global leader in confronting climate change, and today we’ve backed up that commitment with strong action,” he said.
Zaidi added:
Under President Biden and Vice President Harris’s leadership, the U.S is turbocharging the speed and scale of climate action, at home and abroad, including our collective efforts to tackle super-pollutants like methane. The Biden-Harris Administration is putting the full throw-weight of the federal government into slashing harmful methane pollution.
According to The Daily Wire:
Under the new rule, the [EPA] will require oil and gas companies to end routine flaring of natural gas and capture gas instead of burning it. Flaring is the conventional method oil and gas companies have used for controlled burning of natural gas since the beginning of oil production around 160 years ago.
Leaders in the oil and gas industry criticized the rule.
American Petroleum Institute (API) Vice-President Frank Macchiarola said that it “could create barriers to innovation and hamper U.S. energy production, which could lead to higher energy costs.”
The EPA’s newest proposal is the latest in a series of controversial moves the Biden administration has taken against the oil and gas industry.
Last week, The Heritage Foundation’s Diana Furchtgott-Roth wrote about a White House plan that many critics have characterized as an “electric vehicle (EV) mandate.”
“Because Congress will not pass laws mandating purchases of EVs, Biden has proposed regulations from the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency,” she stated. “These regulations would penalize automakers for selling gasoline-powered cars.”
In response to the proposals, thousands of automobile dealers penned a letter to the administration calling on it to reconsider the mandate.
“With each passing day, it becomes more apparent that this attempted electric vehicle mandate is unrealistic based on current and forecasted customer demand,” the dealers wrote:
Some customers are in the market for electric vehicles, and we are thrilled to sell them. But the majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change. They are concerned about BEVs being unaffordable. Many do not have garages for home charging or easy access to public charging stations. Customers are also concerned about the loss of driving range in cold or hot weather. Some have long daily commutes and don’t have the extra time to charge the battery. Truck buyers are especially put off by the dramatic loss of range when towing.
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And finally, many people just want to make their own choice about what vehicle is right for them.
