Overnight Energy & Environment

Energy & Environment — Biden touts tighter methane regulation at COP27

President Biden addresses the international COP27 summit. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency unveils its tighter methane rule, and Egypt’s government could risk the U.S.’ moral authority on climate. 

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EPA proposes stricter methane rule 

The Biden administration on Friday proposed to tighten regulations on the oil and gas sector aimed at controlling emissions of a planet warming gas called methane.  

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) projects that in 2030, the requirements would cut 87 percent of methane emissions from the pollution sources that it regulates when compared to 2005 levels.  

The proposal strengthens a Biden administration proposal from last year that was expected to have cut methane emissions from regulated sources by 74 percent in 2030 compared to 2005 levels. 


The EPA press release says that taken together, its two methane proposals would reduce about 36 million tons of methane emissions between 2023 and 2035, which it said is nearly the planet-warming equivalent of greenhouse gases emitted from all of the country’s coal-fired power plants in 2020.  

Methane, like carbon dioxide, is a greenhouse gas that warms the planet. Methane has a shorter lifespan than carbon dioxide, but is more than 25 times as potent. 

The details:  

The reactions:  

Read about the proposal here.  

ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM BIDEN  

The methane rule is one of several initiatives the administration is highlighting.

Here’s some of the others:  

Biden insists US will meet goals, calls for more action

President Biden insisted Friday the U.S. will deliver on its climate change commitments, addressing an audience at an international climate summit in Egypt that is skeptical of whether the U.S. will actually live up to its promises. 

“Today, finally, thanks to the actions we’ve taken, I can stand here as president of the United States of America and say with confidence: The United States of America will meet our emissions targets by 2030,” Biden said onstage at the COP27 climate conference in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt.  

Some background info on that:  

What else did he say?  

Read more about Biden’s speech here.  

Egypt’s human rights record questioned amid COP27

Human rights activists worry that Egypt’s government will use the COP27 United Nations climate summit in the country to launder its human rights record, and are calling on President Biden to use his appearance there to press Cairo to release political prisoners.  

“It’s very clear that the Egyptian Government has sought out a COP27 posting as a way to legitimize its dictatorship as a way to work the dictatorship’s re-entry into the international community as a legitimate form of government,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the group Democracy for the Arab World Now.

A White House readout of the meeting said that Biden raised “the importance of human rights and respect for fundamental freedoms” but did not give specifics. The Hill has reached out for more details.  

Observers, as well as members of his family, are concerned Abdel Fattah’s life is at imminent risk, and the UN’s own human rights watchdog has called for his release.  

The president is under particularly intense pressure to stand up to Sisi after activists sharply criticized his collegial meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, where the president unsuccessfully appealed for increased oil production.  

Lawmakers weigh in: In a letter Monday, 57 Congressional Democrats, led by Sen. Chris Coons (Del.), wrote to Biden urging him to address Egypt’s human rights record with Sisi’s government, warning that failure to do so would undermine the U.S.’ moral authority on climate issues.  

“We are … deeply troubled by the message it sends to the world that the Egyptian government is hosting COP27 while imprisoning tens of thousands of political prisoners – including many environmental activists,” they wrote. 

Read more about the controversy here.  

ON TAP NEXT WEEK

Lame duck Congress begins!

Wednesday: 

Thursday: 

WHAT WE’RE READING

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That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Check out The Hill’s Energy & Environment page for the latest news and coverage. We’ll see you next week.