The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Sept. 12 a proposal to end a greenhouse gas reporting program, citing ineffectiveness and high costs for American businesses.
“The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is nothing more than bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin in the statement.
“Instead, it costs American businesses and manufacturing billions of dollars, driving up the cost of living, jeopardizing our nation’s prosperity and hurting American communities. With this proposal, we show once again that fulfilling EPA’s statutory obligations and Powering the Great American Comeback is not a binary choice.”
The GHGRP requires 47 source categories, covering over 8,000 facilities and suppliers in the country to submit their greenhouse gas emissions data report on a yearly basis, said the EPA.
Moreover, Trump had modified CAA sections under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, postponing certain emissions data collection under the Act to 2034, the EPA stated.
In light of these policy changes, the EPA has initiated a reconsideration of the GHGRP and sought public opinion on the matter. If finalized, the proposal is expected to remove reporting obligations for most large facilities, all fuel and industrial gas suppliers, and CO2 injection sites, said the statement.
“By canceling subparts of the GHGRP that are inextricably linked to the election of the federal Section 45Q tax credit, this proposed rule endangers billions of dollars in investments from American businesses in these technologies.”
Stolark said that carbon management project developers have already invested around $77.5 billion in existing and near-term projects, far higher than the $2.4 billion in savings cited by EPA.
The long-term success of the carbon management industry, he said, rests on “the robust reporting mechanisms in place through the US EPA,” and he called for the EPA to rescind the proposed GHGRP removal.
