State oil and gas regulations meant to cut leaks of the highly damaging greenhouse gas methane slashed the unwanted emissions 70% after Colorado launched a series of first-in-the-nation compromises with the industry in the 2010s, says a new study by an environmental group.
Methane emissions from Colorado’s oil and gas production fell sharply from 2010 to 2017, according to the Environmental Defense Fund study. Researchers used data from the Japanese Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite, and the findings were backed by results from aircraft-based analysis in flights over the high oil production Denver-Julesburg Basin.
EDF advocates credit hard-fought collaborations among regulators, oil and gas trade groups and environmentalists beginning with 2014 legislation under then-Gov. John Hickenlooper. Another important methane law passed in 2017, and six more legislative compromises moved forward during Gov. Jared Polis’ administration, EDF officials said.
“The timing and magnitude of the decline closely align with Colorado’s methane regulations, suggesting they played a central role in driving reductions,” EDF said. The nonprofit advocacy group noted that Colorado’s oil and gas production actually increased during the time that methane emissions dropped, further evidence of the laws’ efficacy.
Rigorous, carefully negotiated rules like Colorado’s leadership on methane will be more important than ever for continuing gains on greenhouse gases and local pollution as the federal government rolls back mandates under President Donald Trump’s and the GOP’s direction, the EDF said.
“We are not getting the regulatory protection around methane, greenhouse gasses or climate from the EPA and the federal government at this time, and I think it’s more than ever incumbent on state regulators to take up that that responsibility to protect their residents,” said Nini Gu, regulatory and legislative manager of the EDF’s West region. “And Colorado has always been really great when it comes to oil and gas emissions regulations.”
Colorado officials and environmental groups say the state’s extensive rules and regulations on cutting greenhouse gas pollution, cleaning up ozone, and promoting clean power will stay in place despite federal rollbacks. Where the federal reversals have threatened Colorado policies, the Polis government and Attorney General Phil Weiser have launched a flurry of lawsuits to keep the status quo.
The new laws in the 2010s emphasized detection of leaks through regular infrared monitoring and other methods, and new leak control equipment.
Colorado’s industry trade groups welcomed the results of the study, for the same reasons the EDF underlined.
“Colorado is the nation’s fourth-largest producer of oil and natural gas. This new data confirms that emissions can be reduced while continuing to produce the abundant, reliable and affordable energy that Coloradans rely on,” said Lynn Granger, president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association.
“That progress reflects years of work by operators investing in new technologies, improving practices, and adapting to evolving requirements,” said Carly West, executive director of the trade group API Colorado.
Recognizing the success of the recent collaborative negotiations is important when Colorado lawmakers and regulators consider yet more rules, Granger added. They should “avoid adding costs or complexity that could hinder innovation, harm Colorado’s economy, or deliver little additional environmental benefit,” she said.
Hickenlooper, now a Democratic U.S. senator, pointed to the Colorado rules under his governorship as a national model adopted by then-President Obama’s administration (and now being reversed by the Trump administration.)
“Colorado was the first state to enact smart methane rules,” Hickenlooper said. “The data proves they work, delivering cleaner air for our communities and making real progress in confronting the climate crisis.”
The EDF report said satellite data from a similar analysis from the Permian Basin also “provided strong evidence that New Mexico’s oil and gas methane pollution regulations were effective in reducing emissions” even while production there increased in 2024 and 2025.