EPA Puts Climate Cards on the Table: Regs Go Live in 2010

In a little more than a year from now,  the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require domestic emitters of heat-trapping emissions to report greenhouse gas (GHG) data under new regulations that will cover about 85 percent of the nation’s GHG emissions and include roughly 10,000 facilities.

“This is a major step forward in our effort to address the greenhouse gases polluting our skies,” EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said in a press release. “For the first time, we begin collecting data from the largest facilities in this country, ones that account for approximately 85 percent of the total U.S. emissions. The American public, and industry itself, will finally gain critically important knowledge and with this information we can determine how best to reduce those emissions.”

The EPA’s new reporting system, which will take effect on January 1, 2010, will provide a better understanding of where GHGs are coming from and will guide development of the best possible policies and programs to reduce emissions. The data will also allow businesses to track their own emissions, compare them to similar facilities, and provide assistance in identifying cost effective ways to reduce emissions in the future. This comprehensive, nationwide emissions data will help in the fight against climate change.

In addition to natural fluxes in atmospheric concentrations, GHGs are also produced by burning fossil fuels and through industrial processes. Fossil fuel and industrial GHG suppliers, motor vehicle and engine manufacturers, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of CO2 equivalent per year will be required to report GHG emissions data to EPA annually. This threshold is equivalent to about the annual GHG emissions from 4,600 passenger vehicles.

The first annual reports for the largest emitting facilities, covering calendar year 2010, will be submitted to EPA in 2011. Vehicle and engine manufacturers outside of the light-duty sector will begin phasing in GHG reporting with model year 2011. Some source categories included in the proposed rule are still under review.