The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has unveiled a proposal to eliminate mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from more than 8,000 facilities, a move the agency says will reduce burdens on businesses but which critics warn will erase a key source of transparency on pollution.
The proposed rule would roll back the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which requires power plants, refineries, chemical plants, industrial gas suppliers, and CO2 injection sites to calculate and submit their emissions annually. It has been in place since 2010 and covers 47 source categories.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin defended the plan, calling the program “bureaucratic red tape that does nothing to improve air quality.”
The agency argued that collecting the data is unnecessary because it is not directly tied to regulation and has “no material impact” on protecting health or the environment.
The proposal responds to a directive issued on President Donald Trump’s first day in office ordering federal agencies to dismantle rules that could hinder energy production, particularly from fossil fuels. It continues a series of sweeping regulatory rollbacks targeting Obama-era climate policies.
Earlier this summer, the EPA moved to repeal the landmark “endangerment finding” that gave the agency authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
The administration has also announced plans to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, which requires countries to reduce and report their emissions.
Environmental advocates warn that eliminating mandatory reporting would strip the public and policymakers of crucial information about emissions from some of the nation’s largest polluters. Critics also note that the Trump administration has moved to end the collection of environmental data at other agencies, including shutting down greenhouse gas monitoring satellites at NASA.
The agency said it will continue requiring methane emissions data from major oil and gas operators that are subject to a waste emissions charge, but most other facilities would no longer be obligated to report.
The EPA is expected to open the proposal for public comment before issuing a final rule.
