US EPA proposes to end mandatory greenhouse gas reporting

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule on Friday to end the mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions by 8,000 facilities. This program, the EPA said, was burdensome for businesses but left the public in the dark about the environmental impact. The EPA said that mandatory GHG emission data collection was not necessary because it "wasn't directly related to any potential regulations and had no material impact on human health or the environment."

Why it's important

The rule is a response to an executive order that was issued on the first day of President Donald Trump's presidency. It aims to remove barriers to unleashing U.S. Energy, especially fossil fuels. This is just the latest in a long line of regulatory rollbacks that have undone previous U.S. attempts to combat climate changes. Earlier this year, the EPA revealed plans to repeal its "endangerment findings" which allowed it to regulate greenhouse gases from stationary and vehicle sources.

The proposal, if finalized, would eliminate reporting obligations for all large facilities, fuel and industrial gas providers, and CO2 injector sites.

The Trump administration also announced that it would pull the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, which requires all countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

KEY QUOTE

The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, according to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, is nothing but bureaucratic red-tape that doesn't improve air quality.

Key Context

The Trump administration also took steps to stop the collection of environmental databases by the EPA and other federal agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA's satellites that monitor greenhouse gases.

DETAILS

Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GRRP) requires that 47 categories of sources, covering 8,050 facilities and suppliers including power plants and refineries, chemical factories, fossil fuel/industrial gases suppliers and other suppliers, calculate and report their greenhouse gas emission annually. The program includes CO2 injection sites.

For companies that are subject to the waste emissions tax, the agency will continue to require methane emission data from large oil and gas operations.

REACTION

The carbon capture industry, supported by the Trump Administration, has said that the proposal would undermine a technology emerging from the industry.

Jessie Stolark is the executive director of Carbon Capture Coalition. She said that this announcement by EPA would not advance carbon storage, something Administrator Zeldin had publicly supported. This proposed rule puts at risk millions of dollars invested by American businesses in these technologies. (Reporting and editing by Richard Chang, Margueritachoy, and Valerie Volcovici)

(source: Reuters)