Twenty Democratic state attorneys general on Monday filed a motion to defend the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) oil and gas methane rule, in response to a lawsuit by Republican AGs.
Twenty-four GOP states, led by Oklahoma’s Gentner Drummond, recently challenged the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a separate challenge on March 8 at the request of the state Railroad Commission.
In their counter-motion, the 20 Democratic AGs, led by California’s Rob Bonta, expressed their backing for the final EPA rule, which marks the first regulation of emissions from existing fossil fuel facilities as well as new and modified facilities. Bonta was supported by the attorneys general of Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Washington, D.C.
In a statement, Bonta remarked, “Once again, we are seeing unfounded attacks on efforts to address climate change and combat methane emissions. The Biden Administration’s rule marks a crucial step forward, and I, along with attorneys general across the country, will not passively watch as essential solutions to address the urgent reality of the climate crisis caused by methane emissions are being directly challenged.”
Methane remains in the atmosphere for a shorter time than carbon dioxide but is approximately 80 times more effective at trapping heat. Data released by the International Energy Agency last week indicated that the leading methane-emitting countries collectively produced around 120 million metric tons of methane emissions in 2023, a slight increase from 2022. The U.S. ranked highest for methane emissions from oil and gas, while China ranked highest for emissions from coal.
