Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 8/23/21

President Joe Biden and Democrats on the Hill are focusing on methane emissions as a key piece of their climate agenda, Pro Energy’s Zack Colman reports this a.m.

Call to action: Carbon dioxide gets most of the attention in climate talks, but methane is the second biggest contributor to global warming among greenhouse gases. Emboldened by a scathing report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released earlier this month, Democrats see tackling methane gas as good politics, as well as good for the planet.

That’s a big political gamble, especially in rural areas. While oil and gas production is the main reason methane emissions have boomed since 2007, agriculture (namely livestock operations) remains a massive source of the potent greenhouse gas, accounting for 40 percent of methane emissions worldwide. This is leading to concern among Republicans and farm-state Democrats about regulatory efforts to tackle the problem.

The plan: Senate Democrats plan to include a “methane polluter fee” in their $3.5 trillion budget resolution that would hit energy producers that vent or burn off excess methane and compressors used to pressurize and transport natural gas, Zack writes.
Mark Brownstein, senior vice president for energy at the Environmental Defense Fund, drew connections to ongoing wildfires, droughts and floods in reasoning the public is ready to embrace a fee on methane emissions. He noted that already available technology can reduce oil and gas methane emissions 75 percent from current levels, and that the evolution of remote sensing by drone and aircraft has also reduced costs for curbing methane.

Republicans are not sold. They are preparing to fight Democrats’ efforts by saying it would increase costs to everyday Americans for things like home heating, electricity and groceries.

Treading lightly: The Biden administration for months has been careful to avoid spooking the powerful farm industry with any talk of stricter regulations on emissions. Instead, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has focused on voluntary incentives for farmers to adopt more climate-friendly practices.

But any comprehensive policy to curb methane will need to address agriculture. The IPCC report found that atmospheric concentrations of methane are at their highest level in 800,000 years. That set off alarm bells among climate scientists, as methane traps heat 86 times more effectively than carbon dioxide over a period of 20 years. The report asserts that lowering methane emissions is the best option to fight climate change.