To the dismay of anti-fracking activists, President Barack Obama has been a consistent supporter of natural gas as part of what he calls an “all of the above” energy strategy for the United States.

Obama supports natural gas for two important reasons: it burns more cleanly than coal, which has been used to produce about half the country’s electricity; and it’s found in abundance in the United States, thanks to hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling that have unlocked the massive amounts of gas from shale formations a mile underground.

But while natural gas has advantages, it also has drawbacks. The threat to the environment, particularly water if drilling operations are not done properly, is one risk associated with fracked natural gas that should be addressed by better regulations and improved technology to make the process safer.

A second downside to natural gas is that despite being cleaner than coal to burn, it adds potent greenhouse gases to the atmosphere if it leaks into the air before burning. Methane, a primary component of natural gas, has been getting more attention for its potential to worsen greenhouse gas levels.

For that reason, the Obama administration released new regulations this week requiring gas operations, including drillers and transmission line operators, to reduce methane leaks over the next decade. The target is to reduce methane leaks to about 40 percent below the levels found in 2012.

The new regulations come on the heels of a recent report suggesting that official estimates for methane leaks by the federal Environmental Protection Agency are understating the reality.

One reason for the higher estimates is that many leaks occur away from gas drilling pads, which is where the EPA analysis had been focused. The new study confirms concerns that methane is also leaking along the network of gathering lines, transmission pipelines and valves connecting wells to processing plants.

There should are good reasons to address methane leaks. Not only is the leaking methane adding a powerful greenhouse gas to the atmosphere, but the industry is wasting money by letting gas leak into the air that could otherwise be sold.

The good news is that reducing methane leaks is doable. Mark Brownstein, who headed the Environmental Defense Fund’s methane study, said, “None of this is rocket science. Most of it is auto mechanics.”

Still, the industry can be expected to resist the effort because of the costs involved. Beyond seeing the value of capturing more gas to sell, the industry can look to recent advances in technology to make the job easier. One such promising development is attaching methane leak detectors to drones that could offer a low-cost method of monitoring miles of pipeline for leaks.

Overall, the Obama administration’s push to target and reduce methane leaks is good policy. It will reduce greenhouse gases while also helping the industry eliminate one of the major criticisms of natural gas as an energy source.