News wire — U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil Corp reiterated its support for methane regulations on Thursday, a day after President Joe Biden’s administration came out with a slew of executive orders to address climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
The orders map out the direction for the Democratic president’s climate change and environmental agenda and reverse policies of his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, who sought to maximize U.S. oil, gas and coal output by removing regulations and easing environmental reviews.
Methane is the main component of natural gas. It is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide but does not remain in the atmosphere as long.
Exxon said that it has outlined emission reduction plans to reduce methane intensity by up to half compared to 2016 levels, which is expected to result in a 40 to 50 % decrease in absolute methane emissions globally.
The largest U.S. oil producer, under increasing pressure from investors and climate change activists, reported the emissions that result when customers use its products, for the first time this month.
The American Petroleum Institute, a powerful fossil fuel lobby, also came in support with Biden’s Environment Protection Agency earlier this week, after previously supporting the Trump administration rolling back methane regulations.
(Reporting by Rithika Krishna; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
