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Friday, Mar 29th

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You are here: Opinions Viewpoints Child advocates support EPA methane rules, call for stronger protection

Child advocates support EPA methane rules, call for stronger protection

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“We need strong rules that put an end to methane pollution from the oil and gas industry in order to protect today’s children,” James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children said, when he expressed support for stronger Environmental Protection Agency methane rules Nov. 2.

Jimenez said children are disproportionately harmed by methane pollution. Voicing his organization’s support for stronger methane rules, he said the children will suffer “increasingly dire consequences of the climate crisis” if methane is not captured.

“Methane mitigation not only keeps potent greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, but it also decreases air pollution, which improves health, and creates jobs,” Jimenez stressed.

He added that capturing methane can create jobs, since it can be marketed and converted into heating fuel, bringing more revenue to New Mexico schools and increasing profits for the oil and gas industry.

Jimenez praised the EPA’s plan to reduce methane pollution from the production, processing, storage, and transmission of oil and natural gas, calling it an important first step. But he also pointed out that even with the current technology, the political will to take action to address climate change has been lacking.

These steps “need to be strengthened as the fossil fuel industry does not seem to be ready to invest in these necessary changes unless and until they are required to do so,” he said.

By Sharon Kayne
Communications Director
New Mexico Voices for Children