Climate Point: Biden announces new rules on methane emissions at COP26

Welcome to Climate Point, your weekly guide to climate, energy and the environment. I'm Erin Rode in Palm Springs, and this is my first time here in your inbox. Starting this week, Janet Wilson and I will alternate writing this newsletter.

I recently started on the environment beat at The Desert Sun, after covering local government here in the Coachella Valley and previously covering housing at the Ventura County Star. I'm from Southern California, and growing up amid wildfires, drought and air pollution sparked my interest in how climate change and environmental issues impact our daily life here in the Golden State. I attended the University of Southern California, where I studied journalism and environmental studies (after spending my first few years of college as an environmental engineering major, before realizing my dream job was in a newsroom, not at a wastewater treatment facility).

Anyway, enough about me — it's COP26 time! Leaders from more than 100 countries have been meeting in Glasgow, Scotland this week for the United Nations climate talks focused on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change. World leaders have secured two new agreements focused on protecting forests and reducing methane emissions. 

President Joe Biden announced a new Environmental Protection Agency rule to expand and strengthen measures to regulate methane leak detection and repairs for the oil and gas agency, which the White House estimates will cover about 75% of all methane emissions in the U.S. 

The announcement came as the U.S. and more than 90 other countries signed a pledge to reduce methane emissions gases by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.

"And I think we could probably go beyond that," Biden said.

But several countries that are major contributors to methane pollution, like China, Russia, Australia and India, did not sign onto the agreement, the New York Times reported. 

The other big agreement from COP26 is a pledge from more than 100 world leaders to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. The U.S. plans to commit up to $9 billion of U.S. international climate funding to this effort by 2030. 

COP26 will continue until Nov. 12. Biden touted his trip to Glasgow as a success, saying, "I can't think of any two days where more has been accomplished dealing with climate than these two days." 

But back at home, Biden's domestic agenda is still uncertain. On Monday, Sen. Joe Manchin continued to criticize Biden's $1.85 trillion budget proposal that would include $555 billion to fight climate change, dampening optimism that lawmakers were nearing a deal, USA Today reported.  

Here are some other stories that may be of interest. 

Must-reads 

"Sacrifice zones." In a first-of-its-kind analysis, ProPublica mapped the spread of cancer-causing chemicals from polluting sources into neighborhoods across the U.S. The EPA aims to protect "the greatest number of people possible" from an excess cancer risk greater than 1 in a million, but ProPublica's analysis found that 74 million Americans are exposed to higher levels of risk than this. ProPublica found more than a thousand hot spots of cancer-causing air, which disproportionately impact communities of color. Jane Williams, executive director of California Communities Against Toxics, called these communities "sacrifice zones." 

Extreme heat. In the latest story from the Los Angeles Times's investigation on extreme heat deaths, reporters Tony Barboza and Ruben Vives found that disparities in tree canopies and built environments have resulted in poor neighborhoods experiencing worse heat impacts than wealthier neighborhoods nearby. The amount of paved surfaces, tree cover, quality of housing and ability to pay for air conditioning or other cooling systems all play a role. On one summer day, the temperature in majority-white Silver Lake was 96.4 degrees, while in nearby East Hollywood, which is predominately Latino and Asian, the temperature was 102.7 degrees, according to the Times. Silver Lake's median household income is around $98,000 per year, compared to less than $27,000 in East Hollywood. 

Rachel Morello-Frosch, an environmental health scientist at UC Berkeley, told the Times that these man-made differences are "legacies of racist decision-making."

All about energy

Offshore wind. While the U.S. is second only to China in installed wind power, the U.S. has lagged behind on offshore wind development. That's set to change soon, as earlier this year the Biden administration set a goal of installing 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power along the East Coast by 2030. An important part of this plan is Vineyard Wind 1, an 800-megawatt wind farm located 12 miles south of Martha's Vineyard that will become the nation's first utility-scale wind farm. In a three-part series, Doug Fraser with the Cape Cod Times reports on how officials in southeastern Massachusetts are preparing to capitalize on the project. 

Solar wars. California families and businesses that install solar receive credit toward their monthly electricity bills through net metering, which credits them for the electricity they export to the utility grid. But some critics of the program say it essentially causes poorer families without solar to subsidize costs for wealthier families. As state officials work toward a decision on the future of the solar incentive program, Sammy Roth at the Los Angeles Times reported on the brewing fight over rooftop solar in California. 

In other solar news, some people and businesses are installing solar panels only to learn they can't use them due to the dated equipment on the electric grid, Ivan Penn reports for the New York Times. 

Hot takes  

Bad news for Grand Canyon's beaches. This year's monsoon season in the Southwest washed sand into the Colorado River, and controlled flooding from Lake Powell could have helped restore the Grand Canyon's beaches. But there isn't enough water behind the Glen Canyon Dam for controlled flooding. Arizona Republic

Fire weather. Climate change is now the primary driver of the atmospheric conditions fueling extreme wildfires, according to a study released Monday. Los Angeles Times 

Climate change in your wallet. Climate change is resulting in higher prices for consumers, from electricity bills to grocery bills. USA Today

And another thing 

Baby seal, Big Apple. New York City's 40-year effort to expand and clean up its park space is paying off with a return of wildlife, Lisa M. Collins reported in the New York Times. Native wildlife sightings have spanned the five boroughs and include enough species to fill a children's book: a coyote in Central Park, a bobcat in the Bronx, sea horses in the Hudson River, exotic insects in Brooklyn, a baby seal in Queens. This return of native wildlife prompted Kathryn Heintz, executive director of the NYC Audubon Society, to call New York "the greenest big city on Earth."