Petition to President Joe Biden & Michael Regan, EPA Administrator:
As people of faith and conscience in New Mexico, are writing to express our gratitude for your leadership in finalizing the rule to cut methane pollution and other harmful air pollutants from the oil and gas sector. This bold action is a critical step toward addressing climate change, protecting public health, and creating new jobs.

These common-sense protections address one of the single largest sources of climate-destabilizing pollution in the U.S. and the world. Methane is 80 times more powerful at warming the climate than carbon dioxide, and over one-third of the warming the world is experiencing today is due to methane emissions from human activities.

Reducing methane emissions is essential to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius, slow the rate of climate change, and prevent its worst impacts such as more extreme weather events. The EPA estimates that this rule will prevent an estimated 58 million tons of methane emissions from 2024 to 2038, getting us ahead of the current 20-year time horizon for reaching 1.5° of warming.

In addition to its climate benefits, this rule will also improve air quality and protect public health. Methane gas is emitted from oil and gas equipment alongside other dangerous emissions, including smog- and soot-forming volatile organic compounds and air toxins like benzene, a human carcinogen. These pollutants disproportionately impact the health and safety of low-income communities and communities of color in places such as Southern California, Texas, Louisiana and Northwest New Mexico as well as low-income communities and the elderly in Appalachia. EPA’s rule will reduce substantial quantities of these emissions in addition to methane.

By cutting methane, we also reduce exposure to volatile organic compounds that can worsen asthma, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and lead to a suite of other health problems. The EPA estimates that this rule will avoid up to 1,500 premature deaths and 100,000 asthma attacks each year. With critical and enforceable safeguards in place, we can help protect environmental justice communities and those living on the frontlines by reducing the exposure to pollution of workers and the communities living closest to extraction.

This rule is also a win for the economy. The transition to a clean energy economy is already underway, creating new jobs and economic opportunities across the United States. This new methane emissions rule will further accelerate this transition by encouraging the development and deployment of innovative methane detection and mitigation technologies. An analysis by the BlueGreen Alliance found over 10,000 net direct and indirect jobs a year will be created by efforts to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas sector through 2035.

We commend you for taking this bold action to address climate change and protect the health and well-being of our communities. Now the work begins to ensure effective implementation of these federal rules. Speedy adoption and significant enforcement by regulatory agencies is essential to protect the climate and the health of environmental justice communities, oil and gas workers, and those living on the frontline of extraction.

Thank you for your leadership.

Sincerely,

[ADD YOUR NAME]