NEWS/EVENTS
News Articles
September 29, 2009
EPA Finalizes the Nation’s First Greenhouse Gas Reporting; System/Monitoring to Begin in 2010
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a new program that will help in the fight against climate change. Beginning January 1, 2010, the EPA will, for the first time, require large emitters of heat-trapping emissions to begin collecting greenhouse gas (GHG) data under a new reporting system.
This new program will cover approximately 85 percent of the nation’s GHG emissions and apply to roughly 10,000 facilities.
Under the rule, suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHG emissions are required to submit annual reports to EPA.
"This is a major step forward in our effort to address the greenhouse gases polluting our skies,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “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."
EPA’s new reporting system will provide a better understanding of where GHGs are emitted and will guide development of the best possible policies and programs to reduce them. 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 future emissions.
The first annual reports for the largest emitting facilities, covering calendar year 2010, will be submitted to EPA in 2011.