Why New Tech is Key for EPA Methane Rule Compliance

The EPA's methane rules for the oil and gas industry will depend on new technologies to monitor and verify climate impacts.
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In December the Environmental Protection Agency introduced regulations to limit the amount of methane that escapes into the atmosphere from the oil and gas industry. In theory, the path to reducing emissions should be relatively straightforward. Efforts will focus on stopping the routine venting of methane from wells, and on the plugging of leaks from pipelines and other infrastructure.

Yet, for the new rules to be effective, emissions will need to be measured across vast and geographically dispersed oil and gas infrastructure. Likewise, data from many different monitoring technologies will need to be reconciled so that efforts to reduce climate impacts can be verified.

On the podcast Arvind Ravikumar, co-director of the Energy Emissions Modeling Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, and Kleinman Center Senior Fellow John Quigley explore the new rules governing methane emissions in the U.S., and the technological challenges surrounding compliance.

Arvind Ravikumar is co-director of the Energy Emissions Modeling Lab at the University of Texas at Austin.

John Quigley is a senior fellow at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and former secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

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Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu

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