FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2023
Contact: Jama Joseph, jama.joseph@weact.org, (646) 951-1648
Washington, D.C. – On December 2, 2023 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final rule to reduce methane and other harmful pollution from the oil and gas industry. Clean Air for the Long Haul, a Cohort of Environmental Justice groups, cautiously welcomes this decision, but would also encourage further action towards regulating clean air and climate pollution across sectors.
This decision is an important one, as oil and gas operations are significant sources of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas causing climate change. Alongside methane emissions, the industry is a major contributor to smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and air toxics like benzene and toluene that cause adverse health impacts from respiratory illnesses to cancer and premature deaths. Environmental Justice communities are particularly impacted by the fossil fuel industry and face the most severe of climate impacts.
The EPA projects that the rule would avoid an estimated $58 million tons of methane emissions from 2024-38 and avoid 16 million tons of smog-forming VOC emissions and 590,000 tons of air toxics, helping to tackle climate change and protect public health. In response, the Clean Air for the Long Haul released the following the statement:
“From the South Bronx to Kansas City; from Milwaukee to the deep south, the communities we serve are on the front lines of the climate crisis and disproportionately bear the brunt of pollution from the fossil fuel sector. With measures to better address leaks and stronger requirements on flaring, the final rule tackling methane emissions will go a long way toward fighting climate change and reducing the health and safety risks our communities face from oil and gas infrastructure and operations. Now we need to make sure the EPA works closely with industry and states to implement and enforce the rule.”
“The EPA must also ensure the highest levels of transparency and accountability from emitters and deep reductions in emissions from existing sources, including inactive or abandoned wells. For the environmental justice communities living near and overburdened by these sites, this is a matter of life and death. We also encourage the Biden Administration to strengthen and finalize other important clean air, vehicle, power sector regulations, to honor national commitments to climate action and environmental justice, and move us closer towards a renewable energy future.”
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Clean Air For The Long Haul, a nationwide coalition of environmental justice groups, coordinates federal rulemaking campaigns, centering overburdened communities, to reduce air pollution from power plants, cars, and trucks. The coalition seeks to catalyze the environmental justice movement through federal emissions reductions targeting United States power and transportation sectors. Coalition member organizations include: Alternatives for Community and Environment, Clear Air NOW, Coalition of Community Organizations, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Duwamish River Community Coalition, GreenDoor Initiative, New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance, South Bronx Unite, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, West End Revitalization Association, and Wisconsin Green Muslims.