Ceres Senior Director of Federal Policy Zach Friedman testified today before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in support of preserving the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, arguing that maintaining robust, facility-level reporting is a fiduciary and taxpayer obligation, an economic safeguard, and a competitive imperative.
The Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program is the only standardized, facility-level greenhouse gas dataset in the U.S. It covers thousands of facilities across all major sectors and provides critical market infrastructure that investors, companies, and policymakers depend on to invest in American infrastructure, manufacturing, and exports.
“Removing that transparency means investors are left with inconsistent voluntary disclosures or third-party estimates. That increases uncertainty, increases the cost of capital, and undermines U.S. competitiveness,” Friedman said. “If U.S. companies cannot produce standardized, government-verified data, international investors face a blind spot in their risk assessment. They may discount American assets or shift capital elsewhere, regardless of domestic politics.”
Friedman also emphasized that dismantling the program would cost the U.S. its competitive advantage in 21st century technologies related to carbon capture, utilization, and storage as well as direct air capture—two rapidly expanding parts of global energy infrastructure that boast near unanimous bipartisan congressional support.
Read Friedman’s full testimony here.