By Valerie Volcovici and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Representatives from the oil and gas industry will discuss potential methane regulation and how companies can align with the Biden administration’s climate goals with national climate adviser Gina McCarthy on Wednesday, four people familiar with the meeting said.
The meeting, which will take place on Zoom, will focus on emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from oil and gas production and more broadly discussing the role of the oil and gas industry in the administration’s plans to decarbonize the U.S. economy, four sources familiar with the meeting said.
President Joe Biden’s administration is due to propose new regulation on methane from oil and gas operations by September, McCarthy told Reuters in a previous interview.
It will also unveil a new economy-wide emissions reduction target for 2030 to comply with the Paris climate agreement by April 22, when Biden convenes world leaders on climate change.
Representatives from industry trade groups including the American Petroleum Institute, American Gas Association and the American Exploration & Production Council, a group representing independent producers, and some of their member companies will participate.
API has started to shift some of its rhetoric on climate change as the climate-focused Biden administration came to power.
In January, the group said for the first time it would support mandatory methane regulations, a change from its previous support of voluntary actions. This month it came out in support of carbon pricing.
AXPC president Anne Bradbury, who will participate in the meeting, said the group believes “we are part of the solution” on climate change and will make the case for continued use of natural gas.
Industry groups have criticized Biden’s early executive orders canceling a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and pausing new leases for oil and gas drilling on federal land.
(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by David Gregorio)
