"For the past 15 years, the EPA has also collected data on carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases from sources around the country that emit over a certain threshold of emissions. This program is known as the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) and "is really the backbone of the air quality reporting system in the United States," says Kevin Gurney, a professor of atmospheric science at Northern Arizona University."
"Like a myriad of other data-collection processes that have been stalled or halted since the start of this year, the Trump administration has put this program in the crosshairs. In March, the EPA announced it would be reconsidering the GHGRP program entirely. In September, the agency trotted out a proposed rule to eliminate reporting obligations from sources ranging from power plants to oil and gas refineries to chemical facilities-all major sources of greenhouse gas emissions."
The Environmental Protection Agency stopped requiring polluting companies to report greenhouse gas emissions, eliminating a key national tool for tracking emissions and informing climate policy. The Clean Air Act requires states to collect local pollution data, and for 15 years the EPA also collected carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gas data from large emitters through the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), considered the backbone of U.S. air-quality reporting. The agency proposed eliminating reporting from major sources, citing $2.4 billion in regulatory savings. Climate NGOs may partially fill the resulting data gap, but legal authority, resources, data accuracy, and enforcement limits prevent a full replacement, and rebuilding comparable federal capacity will take time.
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