Govind Tekale
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to eliminate its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), a system that has tracked carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions from over 8,000 industrial facilities since 2009.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said the move would save American businesses up to $2.4 billion in regulatory costs. He described the program as “bureaucratic red tape” that “does nothing to improve air quality.”
“Unlike other mandatory information collections under the Clean Air Act, the GHGRP is not directly related to a potential regulation and has no material impact on improving human health and the environment,” Zeldin stated in the agency’s press release.
The program currently requires power plants, refineries, chemical plants, and many other industrial facilities across 47 source categories to calculate and report their greenhouse gas emissions each year. These reports track emissions of gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide that contribute to climate change.
If finalized, the proposal would remove reporting requirements for most large facilities, all fuel and industrial gas suppliers, and carbon dioxide injection sites. However, certain oil and natural gas facilities would still need to report methane emissions under the Inflation Reduction Act’s Waste Emissions Charge (WEC) provision.
The EPA has indicated it will not collect this data until 2034, following amendments to the Clean Air Act signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025. This creates a significant gap in emissions reporting for a decade.
Former EPA officials and health experts have expressed concern about the proposal’s impact. Joseph Goffman, who served as assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation during the Biden administration, said: “Cutting the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program blinds Americans to the facts about climate pollution.
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Without it, policymakers, businesses, and communities cannot make sound decisions about how to cut emissions and protect public health.” The American Lung Association also opposed the change. Will Barrett from the organization stated that “measuring and reporting climate pollution is a critical step in reducing the deadly impacts of climate-driven extremes.”
The GHGRP data serves multiple purposes beyond regulatory compliance. Companies use it to demonstrate progress on emissions goals to shareholders and investors. Policymakers rely on the information to guide federal climate policies. Researchers and communities use the data to understand local pollution sources and their potential health impacts.
The carbon capture industry has also raised concerns. Jessie Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition, warned that “this proposed rule endangers millions of dollars in investments from American businesses in these technologies.”
The proposal is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to roll back climate policies. Earlier this summer, the EPA announced plans to repeal the “endangerment finding” that enabled regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and stationary sources.
Before any final decision, the EPA will open a public comment period to gather feedback on the proposal. Details about this process will be published in the Federal Register and on the EPA website.
The agency has emphasized that the change would allow regulated companies to “focus compliance expenditures on actual, tangible environmental benefits” while advancing the EPA’s mission of protecting human health and the environment.
