In a year already packed with climate U-turns, the Environmental Protection Agency’s latest proposal may be the most baffling yet — at least to those who’ve been pouring billions into carbon capture.

On Friday, the EPA proposed rolling back its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) — a move that, if finalized, could pull the rug out from under America’s entire carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry. And yes, the same CCS industry that the federal government has been promoting (and partially funding) as a cornerstone of U.S. climate and industrial policy.

“This is not an understatement,” warned Jesse Stolark, executive director of the Carbon Capture Coalition. “The long-term success of the carbon management industry … rests on the robust reporting mechanisms in place through the U.S. EPA.”

Translation: If CCS companies can’t prove what they’re storing underground, they can’t claim the 45Q tax credits — the primary financial engine behind most carbon capture projects in the U.S.

According to Stolark, hundreds of planned carbon management projects and $77.5 billion in current and near-term investments could be jeopardized by the move. That figure represents more than just balance sheets — it's jobs, infrastructure, and energy sector innovation. All now sitting on an uncertain foundation.

Wait, Why End Reporting Now?

The GHGRP, mandated by Congress back in 2008, requires major emissions sources across 46 categories — including power plants, industrial facilities, and oil and gas operations — to report annual carbon emissions. It’s the very mechanism the IRS and Treasury use to verify eligibility for 45Q.

So what’s changed?

According to the EPA, not much — except their interpretation of the law. The agency now argues that the Clean Air Act doesn’t actually require GHG reporting from most industries outside the petroleum and natural gas sectors. For those sectors, the agency plans to end reporting for natural gas utilities and suspend the rest until at least 2034, aligning with the administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

And yes, in case you were wondering — this rollback is expected to save companies $303 million per year, with $256 million of that in the pockets of oil and gas players, per the EPA’s own fact sheet.

If this sounds like a climate policy backflip, that’s because it is. This proposal comes just months after the Department of Energy rescinded $3.7 billion in Biden-era CCS and decarbonization awards, effectively turning off the funding tap even as the need for decarbonization grows louder.

The Natural Resources Defense Council didn’t hold back, saying Friday that this move reflects a broader pattern by the administration to “bury climate science data, fire scientific staff, shut down websites with climate information, discontinue satellites and halt atmospheric research.”

The Carbon Capture Coalition — whose members range from major utilities like Calpine, NRG Energy, and DTE, to unions and environmental groups — has warned that without proper monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), carbon capture doesn’t work. Not as a technology, and certainly not as a business.

And if the reporting stops? So do the credits. So does the accountability. And maybe, so does the future of CCS in the U.S.

Supporters of carbon capture don’t all agree on its role in solving the climate crisis, but most would say this: if you’re going to do it, you’d better do it right. That means tracking emissions, verifying storage, and enforcing transparency. Otherwise, you’re just trading smoke for mirrors.

With the EPA’s public comment period set at 47 days post-publication in the Federal Register, stakeholders now have a narrow window to push back.

Until then, the message from the carbon capture world is clear — no data, no deal.