The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to permanently remove mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting from 46 different sources until 2034, a move that could reshape how emissions are tracked in regions like North Texas.
Texas emits higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions than any other state at 381 million metric tons, according to .
Louisiana, the country鈥檚 second-highest greenhouse gas emitter, outputs significantly less than Texas at 144 metric tons.
The Houston metro area makes up the largest portion of Texas鈥� output, but the Dallas-Fort Worth area contributes about without factoring in transportation contributions.
According to the EPA, North Texas鈥� total carbon dioxide equivalent, including transportation, exceeds a year. That does not include other greenhouse gases like methane or nitrous oxide.
Most of the carbon dioxide emitted comes from energy production and transportation as the top contributing sectors, according to most recent figures.
The move to deregulate comes after President Donald Trump signed an executive order nicknamed 鈥溾�� in January. The order is a part of a larger push to eliminate 鈥渦nnecessary regulatory burdens鈥� in the energy sector, according to the administration, which estimates in reporting.
The EPA says it can still track greenhouse gas emissions through without hearing from companies directly.
These greenhouse gases can contribute to rising global temperatures as they concentrate in the Earth's atmosphere trapping heat.
The EPA has tracked the data since 2010, during which time emissions slowly dropped.
While the EPA has not formalized the regulatory proposal, as it still has a few hurdles to clear before implementation, the order would remove reporting for electricity generation, cement, iron and steel production, petroleum refineries
The agency hosted a virtual public meeting Wednesday where speakers overwhelmingly opposed the rule change, largely citing public health concerns.
Sarah Bucic, a registered nurse, said she worries deregulation will open the door for companies to emit more greenhouse gases, impacting traditionally under-resourced communities.
"As nurses, we see on a daily basis the devastating impacts of climate change," Bucic said. "Removing emissions-tracking requirements for greenhouse gas emissions for large facilities like refineries will grossly distort the big picture of what is occurring in our environment, and will weaken our ability to anticipate and respond to risks to public health."
, elevated greenhouse gas emissions, particularly carbon dioxide, in communities near emitters.
Environmentalists fear once companies are no longer required to report their emissions, they will not be incentivized to reduce their greenhouse gas contributions.
鈥淵ou just can't ever trust a business whose primary interest is making money to then corrupt their own ability to make funds,鈥� Caleb Roberts, executive director of the North Texas-based Downwinders at Risk, told 四虎影院. 鈥淚t's just too much of a public health hazard to be put in the hands of individual businesses."
As a result, Roberts believes the communities surrounding these emitters will face the most harm.
鈥淭here's people right next door to these polluters who have been impacted, who will continue to be impacted,鈥� Roberts said. 鈥淭here are people here in the Dallas community, DFW at large and Texas that will be suffering because of this and we don't have to go globally to see that impact.鈥�
But critics of the regulation say it puts too much of a burden on businesses, and eliminating the greenhouse gas rule will be good for Texans as .
They also argue eliminating the rule would particularly help smaller energy companies, which face a "much larger relative burden to track their mission,鈥� according to Brent Bennett, policy director for the Texas Public Policy Foundation鈥檚 energy initiative .
"The whole program is being really set up as a prelude to imposing taxes on these facilities," Bennett said. "We think, in general, trying to impose taxes on these emissions is not good for our economy or for particularly the energy business that's so important to Texas."
He added the rule does little to address pollution on a large scale.
"We鈥檙e talking 1-to-100th of a degree less," Bennett said. "It's not measurable in the global context. If the goal is to reduce CO2 emissions, the effort should be focused on other things rather than just on kind of 鈥榯iki-tac鈥� items."
Roberts with Downwinders disagrees, arguing that framing the issue solely on a global scale disenfranchises those who live in communities near emitters.
"I think the framing of that is wrong," Roberts said. "We're not worried about a global scale here. What I'm talking about are people right next door to these polluters. It's an easy thing to spread the harm out over the world. Is this going to impact things locally?"
Emmanuel Rivas Valenzuela is 四虎影院's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Emmanuel at erivas@kera.org.
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