On Wednesday, the White House hosted a meeting to discuss methane, a gas that contributes to the warming of the globe, and also established a task force that would exclusively concentrate on lowering the emissions.
In a statement released to the press, the administration of President Joe Biden said that the summit would discuss a variety of topics, such as the establishment of the task force, technology for detecting methane emissions, practical actions such as inspecting pipelines, responding to high-emission events, sealing abandoned oil wells, and leading global initiatives to address the problem. These were just some topics that would be covered at the summit.
Some scientists say that compared to carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect caused by methane is more than 25 times more powerful. It is responsible for around 20 percent of the overall global climate alteration. The oil and gas industry, agriculture, and landfills are the three primary industries responsible for most of the world’s methane emissions.
The White House has made public its intention to hasten implementing plans to cut emissions and to encourage the development of an all-encompassing federal strategy for locating methane leaks and coordinating data exchange. Additionally, it will aid state and municipal efforts in managing and enforcing legislation regarding methane emissions.
The fact that it was cabinet-level was indicated in the description, but no information on its members or agenda items was provided. Requests by the media for further details from the Biden administration were not met with a response from a representative of the White House.
The news statement issued by the government did not include any information on the meeting attendees. Despite this, the American Petroleum Institute released a statement expressing dissatisfaction with the fact that no oil and gas business representative was invited.
