In the climate debate, reducing the carbon footprint of the transportation sector has been the main focus of the White House and Congress, as CO₂ accounted for 80% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, there is another greenhouse gas emitter that has received as much attention if not more in recent months—methane, which accounted for 10% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States in 2019. So, what is methane’s impact on the climate and what are policymakers in Washington working on to reduce methane emissions?

Methane is a gas found in small quantities in the earth’s atmosphere and is the simplest hydrocarbon but the most powerful greenhouse gas. Globally, over half of the total methane emissions come from human activities. The two main business sectors involving methane emissions are agriculture and energy.

In the agriculture sector, domestic livestock, such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, produce methane as part of their digestive process. Also, when animal manure is stored or managed in lagoons or holding tanks, methane is produced. When livestock and manure emissions are combined, the agriculture sector is the largest source of methane emission in the United States. Consequently, agriculture has been a target of climate environmentalists, with some activists calling for reducing meat production and finding plant-based alternatives to beef or pork products. Beef has the biggest greenhouse gas footprint of any food type.

Natural gas and petroleum systems are the second largest source of methane emissions in the United States. Methane is the primary component of natural gas and is emitted into the atmosphere during production, processing, storage, transmission and distribution of natural gas and the production, refining, transportation and storage of crude oil.

Climate groups have stated that cutting methane is the single fastest way to curb climate change. Absent new climate legislation or congressional action—like a carbon tax, cap-and-trade system or similar measures—that would mandate emitters to internalize the costs of emissions and their impacts on climate, climate groups are pushing the Biden Administration to rely on emission rules to address the problem of methane emissions quickly. Hence, the White House advanced the U.S. agreement with the European Union aimed at cutting methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. In addition, the EPA will soon release new methane regulations that would cover both new and existing oil and gas infrastructure. These EPA rules are at the White House for review and are expected to be even stricter than the Obama-era standards set in 2016, which were reinstated earlier this summer after Congress took the unusual step of invalidating a Trump-era rollback and replacement rule on methane.

As the climate debate continues in Washington, we can expect to see more activity toward reducing greenhouse gases—whether it be carbon dioxide, methane or other greenhouse gases.