House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) told Breitbart News that the Greenhouse Gas Protocol is being used to impose “radical” environmental standards on Americans, which drive up costs.
“The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is being used as a back door for unelected bureaucrats and far-left organizations to impose radical environmental standards on American businesses. While California is already forcing aggressive climate disclosure mandates on companies, these proposals would effectively let one state’s agenda set rules for the entire country, expanding red tape, driving up costs, and putting American companies at a competitive disadvantage instead of encouraging investment in new technologies and innovation,” Guthrie told Breitbart News.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) is a global standard for companies and organizations to measure and manage their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The protocol is a joint initiative of the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The GHG Protocol is an international standard for corporate accounting and reporting emissions into Scope 1, 2, and 3, based on the source.
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Guthrie is not the only one to have grave concerns about the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) wrote to Dr. Alexander Bassen, the chair of the Independent Standards Board for the GHG, about the GHG Protocol’s Scope 2 guidance. NAM urged the GHG Protocol to consider a “more balanced” approach that would allow for lower emissions while fostering more economic growth.
The California Air Resource Board (CARB) is in charge of implementing climate laws SB-253 and SB-261, which require large companies doing business in the state to disclose emissions in compliance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol accounting and corporate value chain.
The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) in February submitted comments on California’s reporting requirements.
BPI stated:
Although we recognize that the Proposed Initial Regulation only proposes August 10, 2026, as the first-year reporting deadline under SB 253, with future reporting deadline under SB 253 to be established in the Subsequent Regulation, we continue to be deeply concerned about the annual reporting deadline under SB 253, because of the complexity and challenges associated with GHG emissions reporting, particularly scope 3 emissions, as well as related assurance requirements.
These onerous California regulations, such as CARB’s Cap-and-Invest program, which put increasing limits on the state’s greenhouse gas emissions, have pushed energy producing companies such as Chevron, Phillips 66, Valero, and GAF Energy to leave California for states that have less burdensome regulations.
PBF Energy warned that if the CARB amendments are enacted as written, they “will inevitably drive in-state refining capacity to zero.”
This is why Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said that the energy companies’ exodus from California proves that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) would be a terrible president.
“This is Gavin Newsom proving, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he would be a terrible president because he just doesn’t understand the economy,” Lummis told Breitbart News.
“Honestly, when I visit California, I just think, this is one of the most beautiful, diverse places on Earth, and it’s destroyed itself,” she added.
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