WRI’s Statement on EPA’s New Regulation for Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its mandatory greenhouse gas reporting regulation for public comment. The rule requires large emitters of greenhouse gases across the U.S. economy to monitor and report their emissions to the EPA.

“Monitoring and reporting of emissions is a critical step in laying the foundation for successful climate policy in the United States. In order to be effective, climate policies require accurate and reliable emissions data,” said Pankaj Bhatia, director of the GHG Protocol Initiative at the World Resources Institute (WRI).

In December 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008, which directed the EPA to establish mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from appropriate sources in all sectors of the U.S. economy. The EPA will soon begin tracking emissions from sources such as power plants, factories, and oil refineries as a step toward reducing U.S. emissions. Many of these sources do not currently track or report this information.

“WRI welcomes this important milestone in the U.S. response to climate change and has been involved in EPA’s stakeholder process by participating in meetings and submitting written comments over the last several months,” Bhatia said.

WRI’s GHG Protocol Initiative has been developing standards for greenhouse gas monitoring and reporting and promoting their broad use worldwide for 10 years. Hundreds of companies in the U.S. and around the world are now reporting their GHG emissions on a voluntary basis using the Protocol’s standards and calculation tools, facilitating the move to mandatory reporting.

Bhatia added, “Mandatory reporting represents an important next step as the U.S. moves to a mandatory approach to reducing climate change.”

WRI will continue to provide expertise to the EPA through the public comment period before the regulation is finalized later this year.