US Government Moves to Roll back Greenhouse Gas Reporting Requirements
WASHINGTON – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is poised to eliminate reporting regulations requiring thousands of US companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, a move expected to be finalized next year. The rollback aligns with the Biden governance’s stated policy goals and follows through on promises made during President Trump’s election campaign to relax climate regulations.
The decision dismantles a key component of US climate policy, built on the scientific consensus that greenhouse gas emissions pose a threat to public health and prosperity. While existing legislation from 2022 maintains reporting obligations for methane emissions – a potent greenhouse gas – the EPA proposal targets broader reporting requirements. Republicans previously attempted to delay methane reporting through the “Big Beautiful Bill,” pushing the requirement for oil and gas companies to disclose methane emissions to 2034.
The EPA’s move extends beyond simply easing reporting burdens. The US government is also considering eliminating or destroying two NASA satellites currently measuring atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. This action would leave a critically important data gap, as a comparable European alternative is years away from providing similar data. The scrapped regulations previously required companies to report emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases, providing critical data for tracking the nation’s carbon footprint and informing climate policy.
