Climate & Environment · Energy · 19 outlets (L 4 · C 5 · R 9 · 1 not rated)
Trump announces rollback of Biden-era methane rules for oil and gas
President Trump announced plans to weaken or end Biden-era methane emissions rules for oil and gas companies at a rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday evening.[4, 7, 19] The EPA proposal would revise regulations the Biden administration had imposed to curb methane leaks, a major driver of climate change.[5, 6, 16] Trump said the rollback would save consumers and energy producers $45 billion while unlocking 210 million barrels of oil, Fox Business reported.[13]
The Guardian reported that Trump said his administration is "terminating" the rules and that critics warn of climate danger.[4] The announcement came during a Texas campaign stop meant to boost Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, according to The Hill and the Washington Examiner.[8, 19] The Wall Street Journal reported that small fossil-fuel producers had opposed the regulations.[17]
Covered by The New York Times, NBC News, The Wall Street Journal and 16 more
Of the 18 rated outlets that covered it, 4 are left of center, 5 are center and 9 are right of center (8 of them in the Right group). 1 more is not rated.
Left 4 of 42
Center 5 of 33
Right 9 of 38
← LeftMore right- than left-leaning coverageRight →
Where the outlets sit
0Left4Leans left5Center1Leans right8Right
Left: none.
Leans left: HuffPost (−1.06), The New York Times (−0.70), The Guardian (−0.70), NPR (−0.68).
Center: NBC News (−0.49), ABC News (−0.19), Yahoo News (+0.07), The Hill (+0.10), UPI (+0.17).
Leans right: The Wall Street Journal (+0.63).
Right: The Washington Times (+1.27), Washington Examiner (+1.34), Fox News (+1.52), Fox Business (+1.66), The Daily Caller (+1.91), Washington Free Beacon (+2.03), The Daily Signal (+2.20), Conservative Review (+2.76).
Not rated The Verge. Not placed: they have no lean score.
Each dot is an outlet that covered it, placed by its audience-lean score (Eady et al. 2025), which measures who shares its links, not how accurate it is. The ticks under the line are all 113 rated outlets Tare reads.
President Trump announced a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule at a campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, on Tuesday night, saying he was “officially terminating Biden’s expensive and unnecessary methane regulations.” The proposal would ease Biden-era requirements that oil and gas facilities monitor operations and prevent methane leaks. It would create separate standards for low-output “marginal” wells, ease limits on flaring excess gas, and eliminate the Super Emitter Program that used third-party reports of large leaks. The EPA has said the plan could save the industry $45 billion and allow additional oil and gas production from 2027 to 2050. The proposal is not final; the agency plans a public comment period of at least 45 days.[1, 3, 6]
Background
Methane is the main component of natural gas and traps far more heat than carbon dioxide over short periods. The Biden administration issued rules in 2023, effective in 2024, requiring monitoring and leak prevention; it projected they would cut tens of millions of tons of methane. Marginal wells make up most U.S. wells and a large share of industry methane emissions while producing a small share of oil and gas. Small producers and groups representing stripper wells have said compliance costs of several thousand dollars per well per year would force many to close. The Trump EPA has previously delayed the rules.[1, 3, 6]
How the coverage differs
The New York Times emphasized methane as a “super pollutant” driving climate change and noted that marginal wells produce roughly half of industry methane emissions despite low output. Center outlets such as The Hill reported both the climate effects of the original rules and administration estimates of industry savings and extra production, while placing the announcement in the context of a Texas rally for Senate candidate Ken Paxton. Right-leaning outlets including The Daily Caller, Conservative Review, The Daily Signal and Washington Free Beacon highlighted costs to small producers, possible well shutdowns, $45 billion in savings, and claims the change could lower energy prices; they quoted industry groups saying the Biden rules were unworkable. The Verge focused on methane’s potency as a greenhouse gas.[1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12]
What's still unclear
The full proposed text has not been published in the Federal Register, so exact new standards, timelines and legal justifications remain unconfirmed. Estimates of industry savings, extra production and climate effects come from the EPA or the prior administration and have not been independently verified in the coverage. It is not yet known how many wells would stay open, how commenters and courts will respond, or whether fuel prices would change.[3, 6]
Written by Grok from the full articles, at a reader's request. AI can get details wrong; check the sources.
