Trump is making it easier for fossil fuel companies to leak methane

<figure> <img alt="An image showing Trump" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Brandon Bell / Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/03/STK466_ELECTION_2024_CVirginia_F.webp?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">In its latest gift to oil and gas companies, the Trump administration is expected to announce plans today to weaken rules that guard against methane leaks.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Methane is a <a href="https://www.lung.org/blog/methane-pollution-myths">smog-forming pollutant</a> and a powerful greenhouse gas that's up to <a href="https://climateandhealthalliance.org/methane-health/">80 times as potent</a> as carbon dioxide on a 20-year horizon. It's the primary component of what the fossil fuel industry calls "natural gas" that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/3/23287271/methane-leaks-texas-permian-basin-oil-gas">routinely leaks</a> from oil and gas wells and pipelines.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reversing course on its previous efforts to plug those leaks. As part of President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda, the EPA plans to undo Biden-era <a href="https://www.epa.gov/controlling-air-pollution-oil-and-natural-gas-operations/epas-final-rule-reduce-methane-and-other">rules</a> that were ex …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/1019691/gas-leak-methane-rule-rollback-trump">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>