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From the Texas Association of Business Chambers of Commerce Foundation:

Texas has long been the backbone of America’s energy economy, and that leadership is stronger than ever today. Texas is the nation’s top producer of crude oil and natural gas, accounting for roughly 43 percent of U.S. crude oil production and 28 percent of natural gas production, while also leading the country in wind electricity generation. This all-of-the-above energy leadership reflects decades of investment in infrastructure, innovation, and workforce development programs to meet the evolving needs of our dynamic energy industry.

But all of those investments share a common requirement that every business operation across every sector desperately needs: stability. For Texas businesses making multi-decade, capital-intensive decisions, predictable rules and consistent data – at both the state and federal levels – are critical regardless of political leadership in Austin or Washington.

That reality is central to the conversation around greenhouse gas emissions reporting requirements – which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has recently signaled its intent to roll back and, ultimately, eliminate.

However, it’s important to remember that emissions data is no longer just a regulatory exercise – it has become part of the basic infrastructure of doing business in global markets. Financial institutions, customers, and supply-chain partners increasingly rely on standardized emissions information to assess risk, performance, and long-term viability. For an oil and gas-producing state like Texas, consistency in how emissions are measured and reported is essential to ensuring that companies can compete on a level playing field rather than navigate a patchwork of shifting requirements.

This trend is also consistent with investor expectations. In 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission finalized climate-related disclosure rules that require public companies to disclose material climate risks, including greenhouse gas emissions when they are financially material. Importantly, tracking this data is not about ideology – it’s decision-useful, comparable information that allows risk across companies and sectors to be properly evaluated. Texas companies seeking capital cannot opt out of these expectations, but they can benefit from stable, well-understood reporting systems.

The EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program illustrates why consistency matters. For reporting year 2023, more than 8,000 facilities and suppliers nationwide reported facility-level emissions under the program. That data is widely used by researchers, markets, and policymakers, it has been integrated into how companies plan operations their operation and manage compliance. When a stable federal baseline exists, businesses can align internal systems once and avoid duplicative, conflicting demands from multiple private or international standards.

We recognize that the Administration has signaled its intent to roll back and eliminate certain reporting requirements, and we appreciate the opportunity to engage on reforms that appropriately roll back requirements where necessary while also preserving consistent, decision-useful emissions data that businesses rely on to plan operations, manage risk, and meet market expectations.

For Texas employers, the risk is not transparency but fragmentation. Weakening consistent reporting frameworks does not eliminate emissions data requests, but instead shifts them into less predictable, more costly channels. At the Texas Association of Business (TAB), we believe the business case is clear – preserving consistency in emissions reporting supports long-term planning, protects competitiveness, and allows Texas to remain the nation’s energy leader while meeting the practical expectations of investors and markets worldwide.

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