AG Brown opposes EPA scheme to rescind greenhouse gas emissions reporting

Attorney General Nick Brown co-led a multistate coalition of 16 attorneys general and two cities in filing a comment letter late Monday opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s proposal to rescind the vast majority of the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP).
 
The program collects comprehensive data on harmful greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources across the United States, providing policymakers, businesses, researchers, and the public with reliable information to track pollution and evaluate the effectiveness of climate policies.
 
In the comment letter, the coalition highlights how the rescission of the program would not only be unlawful but would also jeopardize public health and the environment. It would undermine the nation’s competitiveness worldwide by eliminating the U.S.’s longstanding source of reliable facility-level greenhouse gas data needed to plan emissions reductions effectively. 
 
“Climate change driven by pollution represents one of the biggest challenges our communities face today. Continual denial of the scope of this problem only threatens to make our country weaker, less healthy, and less prepared for the consequences,” Brown said.
 
The reporting program was established in 2009 by the EPA under the authority of the Clean Air Act, following a congressional mandate. The program requires facilities releasing 25,000 metric tons or more of carbon dioxide equivalent, along with suppliers of fossil fuels and certain industrial gases, to report their annual emissions.
 
It has been recognized as “the most comprehensive national inventory of greenhouse gas data in the world” and the “gold standard of emissions reporting,” covering about 85-90% of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions – providing benefits that dramatically outweigh the minor burden reporting poses to a covered facility. This data has informed regulatory actions, corporate sustainability strategies, and research on emissions trends across key economic sectors. 
 
Last month, the EPA issued a Proposed Rule seeking to virtually eliminate the GHGRP, arguing that it does not have the authority under the Clean Air Act to require emissions reporting and that the data collected isn’t necessary for any current or future federal rule or regulation. 
 
In the comment letter, the multistate coalition argues: 

• Lack of emissions reporting could lead to higher greenhouse gas concentrations, contributing to climate change, extreme weather events, and ecosystem disruption.
• Without emissions data, states and businesses would struggle to develop effective mitigation strategies, resulting in severe consequences for public health and the environment nationwide. At the same time, companies would face significant financial challenges in planning for emissions reductions, making it harder to compete with companies in countries that maintain robust emissions reporting and compliance systems.
• The Proposed Rule, if finalized, would be arbitrary and capricious and based on unexplained and unsupported changes in EPA’s interpretation of its statutory authority. 

Attorney General Brown co-leads this letter with the attorney general of California, and they are joined by the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the Chief Legal Office of the City of Chicago and New York City in filing this comment letter.  
 
A copy of the comment letter can be found here. 

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