1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Mandate Methane Emissions Control The US needs federal legislation to mandate methane emissions reductions from oil and gas operations. Recent data from MethaneSAT reveals that voluntary commitments are failing and that actual methane emissions are dramatically higher than companies report. MethaneSAT measured half of global onshore production and the findings are alarming. Actual methane emissions from the oil and gas industry are 50% higher than figures reported in the U.S. EPA's Greenhouse Gas Inventory. In basins where natural gas accounts for 20% or more of energy produced, absolute emissions were three times higher than reported in global inventories. The data exposes the inadequacy of voluntary commitments. Under the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter, 56 oil and gas companies pledged to achieve near-zero methane emissions by 2030 with a 0.2% emissions intensity goal. Yet not a single measured basin has reached this target. The discrepancies between reported and measured emissions stem from MethaneSAT's ability to detect smaller, diffuse emissions that companies fail to report, including leaky pipelines, aging infrastructure, and low-producing wells. In eight top U.S. basins, 40% of methane emissions came from areas responsible for less than 7% of production, demonstrating how low-producing wells contribute disproportionately to the problem. Strong regulations work. In the Delaware sub-basin of the Permian, New Mexico's side with strong state methane regulations showed methane intensity less than half that of the Texas side, which lacks such regulations. Voluntary commitments have proven insufficient. I urge you to support comprehensive federal legislation requiring mandatory methane emissions reductions, accurate measurement and reporting, and targeted programs addressing low-producing wells and aging infrastructure. The climate crisis demands immediate action, not aspirational industry pledges that remain unmet.