EPA will soon propose a rule to slash the number of companies required to disclose their heat-trapping emissions. But it’s unclear how far the agency will go in overhauling the so-called Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.
The White House completed its review of the draft rule Monday, and EPA said the proposal would be published “once it has been signed by the administrator.” That is likely to happen soon.
EPA has hinted strongly that it plans to eliminate the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program for all sectors except oil and gas — which is covered by a reporting mandate from Democrats’ 2022 climate law. More than 8,000 major emitters in areas like power generation, municipal waste and hydrogen production report their climate pollution to EPA each year, feeding into the most comprehensive database of climate-warming emissions in the world.
In a March statement, EPA called the 15-year-old program “burdensome” and unnecessarily costly for American businesses and manufacturing. And in April, ProPublica reported that a Trump appointee ordered career staff to draft a rule that would limit reporting to major emitters in the oil and gas sector. (EPA declined to comment at the time.)
