Trump Reboots Obama Climate Rules by Axing Methane Curbs (1)

The Trump administration’s withdrawal of curbs on methane emissions from oil wells and related equipment threatens to disadvantage U.S. energy producers touting natural gas as a green alternative to coal.

The final rules, unveiled Thursday by Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler in Pittsburgh, may provoke a backlash in Europe, where regulators are developing a methane strategy and eyeing tougher scrutiny of the carbon footprint of energy imports.

“For EPA to eliminate methane regulation makes a commercially risky situation even worse for U.S. producers and exporters,” said Ben Ratner, a senior director with the Environmental Defense Fund. “With the ...