EPA Eyes End to Emissions Reporting, Raising Concerns for US Gas Exporter

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rulein the Federal Register that would eliminate reporting requirements for 46 types of sources under the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. If finalized, oil and gas facilities, suppliers, and injection sites wouldn’t have to report emissions data to the EPA after 2024. While the action aligns with the administration’s efforts to undermine climate action and ease regulations for corporations, it is facing pushback from an unexpected source: the oil and gas companies.

EPA’s move ties back to an executive order in January, titled “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” that aimed to reduce the costs for companies in complying with federal regulations. In this case, the administration’s target is greenhouse gas reporting for oil and gas producers, processors, and operators mandated under “Subpart W” of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which was revised by the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022.

Congress initially created the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule with the passage of the 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which stated that “greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere are causing average temperatures to rise at a rate outside the range of natural variability and are posing a substantial risk of rising sea-levels, altered patterns of atmospheric and oceanic circulation, and increased frequency and severity of floods, droughts, and wildfires.” Data collection was made official under section 114 of the Clean Air Act. Later, the Inflation Reduction Act amended the Clean Air Act to add reporting requirements for “methane emissions and [a] waste reduction incentive program for petroleum and natural gas systems.”

Dealing with emissions from oil and gas production has been a challenge in achieving both US and international climate goals, especially as countries try to transition to cleaner energy. Based on 2023 Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data, oil and gas producers are the second-largest contributors of CO₂ emissions behind power plants (Figure 1).

Figure 1

The change to the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program reporting requirements and other climate actions under the Biden administration were seen as a step forward. But like in other areas of the government, the Trump administration is removing the data to hide the problem. One potential snag in Trump’s plan is the oil and gas producers themselves. According to Politico, no major trade associations have requested that the EPA end the reporting requirement. That’s because beginning in 2027, companies importing gas into the European Union will be required to provide the very same emissions data.

To comply with the EU’s new policy, the emissions data must be verified by a third party, which in the past has been the EPA. Without EPA monitoring, companies will have to rely on outside certification through third parties, which will increase costs for those looking to transport oil and gas on global markets, as well as for climate-conscious purchasers within the US. Ironically, the new EU policies are linked to Trump’s pressure on European nations to stop importing Russian gas, instead favoring US suppliers.

Ultimately, oil and gas companies could be the ones to stop the EPA’s plan to end reporting requirements, even though their goals are different from a clean energy transition. That’s because, much like with his tariffs, Trump’s actions will end up costing these companies more, highlighting the complex and often counterintuitive consequences of deregulation. While ultimately an environmental justice movement should be based on the dismantling of the fossil fuel industry, we’ll take what we can get right now.

This first appeared on CEPR.

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