EPA Official Who Once Lobbied Against Methane Rules Now Leading Effort to Weaken Them
Key Takeaways
- ▸EPA official Aaron Szabo authored industry arguments against methane rules in 2022 as an oil and gas lobbyist before being appointed to oversee those same regulations
- ▸In his current role, Szabo is actively soliciting input from oil industry groups to weaken methane pollution controls that would have reduced emissions by 80%
- ▸The Trump administration is pursuing an aggressive deregulation agenda that includes repealing the scientific basis for EPA authority to limit greenhouse gas emissions
Summary
An EPA official overseeing federal climate regulations was revealed to be the unnamed author of industry arguments against methane pollution rules just four years ago when he worked as an oil and gas lobbyist. Aaron Szabo, now an assistant administrator at the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, authored a January 2022 comment letter opposing methane controls on behalf of the American Exploration and Production Council while registered as a lobbyist for oil company Ovintiv. His name was discovered in PDF metadata of the industry letter, though it did not appear in the document itself.
In his current role under the Trump administration's "unleash American energy" agenda, Szabo is now overseeing efforts to revise and weaken the same methane regulations he previously argued against as a private industry representative. Internal emails and documents show he has been actively soliciting input and specific regulatory language from oil industry groups that would benefit from looser methane rules. Critics argue this represents a clear case of regulatory capture, with Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse stating that Szabo "can do Big Oil's dirty work from inside the EPA."
Methane regulations are particularly significant for climate policy, as the gas is responsible for one-third of global temperature rise since preindustrial times and traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide. The Biden administration's EPA rules would have cut industry methane emissions by nearly 80%, making it one of the fastest ways to reduce global warming. The Trump administration has already delayed compliance deadlines and is pursuing broader deregulation efforts, including attempts to repeal the endangerment finding that classifies greenhouse gases as pollutants.
- Methane is a climate superpollutant responsible for one-third of global warming since preindustrial times, making these regulatory changes potentially significant for climate outcomes
