EPA plan to halt emissions reporting faces satellite-powered reality check

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to let fossil fuel facilities stop reporting greenhouse gas emissions, but satellites, aircraft, and other independent tools are already tracking methane and carbon dioxide leaks worldwide.

Karin Kirk reports for Yale Climate Connections.

In short:

• The Trump administration is considering ending requirements for companies to report greenhouse gas emissions, citing regulatory burdens.
• Independent monitoring programs like NASA’s EMIT, Carbon Mapper, and Climate TRACE use satellites and aircraft to detect and map methane and CO2 emissions with public data access.
• These tools enable journalists, communities, and researchers to identify polluters, verify corporate claims, and uncover unreported leaks.

Why this matters:

Accurate tracking of emissions is critical for understanding where greenhouse gas pollution originates and how it changes over time. Without public reporting, communities, scientists, and policymakers lose a key accountability tool. Independent satellite and aircraft monitoring helps fill that gap, offering a check on both government and industry. The data also shows how widespread and persistent emissions are, revealing leaks from oil and gas infrastructure, coal plants, and landfills that might otherwise go unnoticed.

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