Tag Archives: “social cost of methane”

Among the important provisions of President Biden’s Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis is the requirement to review and revise estimates of the social cost of carbon (and nitrous oxide and methane).  The order establishes a working group, co-chaired by the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, the Director of OMB, and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. … More

Last week, EPA finalized its rollback of Obama administration regulations governing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.  The move is not exactly a surprise.  Regarding the purpose of the rollback, I stand by my take on the proposed regulations.  This regulation was promulgated for two purposes.  First, it provides generic red meat to those who think government regulation is inherently a bad thing. … More

Last week, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers vacated BLM’s rescission of the 2016 methane “Waste Prevention Rule.”  Although Judge Rogers found many flaws in the rescission rule, I think that two are key. 

The first is the Court’s rejection, under Chevron, of BLM’s limitation of the definition of “waste” to economic waste.  I think that the Court’s holding is correct,… More