Beyond the Emissions: A Call for U.S. Climate Action.

ayshasathar101
Jul 17
4 min read

The United States, has long been a global leader in innovation and development. And this progress has always come with significant environmental costs. The nation's reliance on fossil fuels has led to high per capita carbon emissions over the last years.

As a result, extreme weather events, including heatwaves, floods, and wildfires, have been increasing across the country.

So, in these confronts of the US, the need for a decisive action becomes ever more urgent.

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP), requiring large emitters to report their GHG emissions.

EPA proposed that , suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial greenhouse gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of GHG emissions submit their annual reports to EPA.

The gases covered by the proposed rule were carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), and other fluorinated gases including nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and hydrofluorinated ethers (HFE).

In 2011, the EPA began regulating GHGs under the Clean Air Act, setting standards for mobile and stationary sources of air pollution. But these regulations faced legal challenges and political opposition, particularly from industries concerned about the economic impact of such regulations.

The political landscape shifted in 2017 when the Trump administration began rolling back many environmental regulations, including those related to GHG emissions.

In March 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rules requiring publicly traded companies to disclose their Scope 1 & 2 emissions (direct and purchased energy), Scope 3 (value chain) emissions are encouraged, but not mandatory yet. And Climate-related financial risks along Governance and risk management frameworks.

All domestic and foreign registrants, except for asset-backed issuers, must provide the disclosures.

However, in March 2025, the SEC announced it had voted to end its defense of these rules amid legal challenges, leaving their final implementation uncertain.

While federal regulations on GHG disclosure have faced challenges, California's laws are independent and unaffected by federal actions. The state has rejected proposals to delay the implementation of these laws, and the legislature has upheld the original timelines.

California's SB 253 & SB 261

SB 253:

Tracks emissions ,Mandates disclosure of Scope 1, 2, emissions beginning in 2026. with Scope 3 by 2027, Requires emission data.
Organizations with $1B+ revenue
Reporting frequency is Annually
Reporting standard followed is Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Up to fines $500,000 per year

SB 261:

Tracks financial exposure ,Requires climate-related financial risk disclosure, aligned with the TCFD framework.
Organizations with $500M+ revenue
Reporting Frequency is Biennially
Reporting standard followed is Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Limited 3rd-party assurance starts in 2026,full audits by 2030.
Up to $500K/year fines for non-compliance.

This marks the first mandatory Scope 3 law in the U.S., pushing companies to scrutinize emissions across their full supply chain.

So, Is there a single, nationwide GHG emissions disclosure law in the U.S.?

No ,not yet.

The U.S. has federal rules, but individual states can create state-led disclosures, creating federal minimum and state-led leadership.

As of mid-2025:

No other state has passed GHG disclosure laws as robust as California.
New York and Washington have introduced similar bills, but they haven’t passed yet.
Some states (like Texas or Florida) are resisting ESG or climate disclosure policies.

Here’s a real life example spotlighting two young supply chain entrepreneurs, who reshaped real climate impact through supply-chain-aligned sustainability.

Back to the Roots founders Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora.

Back to the Roots, an organic gardening brand based in Oakland, California began as a garden kit startup run by two college friends. But when retail giant Walmart launched Project Gigaton, inviting suppliers to cut 1 billion metric tons of emissions by 2030, the founders saw a new path , not just for growth, but for carbon reduction.

They switched to recyclable packaging.
They audited their energy use.
They mapped their logistics.

The result?

“This is by far the most efficient we've been in terms of carbon emissions. We’ve scaled the company while keeping our footprint in check.” - Nikhil Arora, Co-Founder (BBC News).

Walmart says the success at Back to the Roots has been replicated across its network, helping to reduce greenhouse gases by 574 million tonnes since 2017.

Also, reported 35% drop in GHG emissions while scaling to nearly $100 million in revenue, And all this, documented through Walmart’s voluntary GHG emissions disclosure framework.

Early 2025 insights,

Lower manufacturing output drove the overall decrease in 2024 emissions, with industrial sector emissions falling by 1.8%.
In the oil and gas sector, continued reductions in methane emissions intensity led to a 3.7% drop in emissions.
Increased air and road travel partially offset these reductions, which drove up transportation sector emissions by 0.8%.
Demand for electricity led by the residential sector also rose by 3% and was met by higher natural gas, wind, and solar generation, while coal generation saw just a slight decline.
For the first time, combined solar and wind generation surpassed coal, although overall power sector emissions increased by a slight 0.2%.
In the buildings sector, emissions were up 0.4% due to slightly elevated fuel use.

Emissions in 2024 were approximately 20% below 2005 levels, and preliminary data indicates a 0.2% drop in total GHGs compared to 2023, positioning U.S. emissions around –20% from that of 2005.The modest 2024 decline underscores the urgency of accelerating decarbonization in all sectors.

To meet its Paris Agreement target of a 50-52% reduction in emissions by 2030, the US must sustain an ambitious 7.6% annual drop in emissions from 2025 to 2030, a level the US has not seen outside of a recession in recent memory.

As always, let this be a reminder to know that climate knowledge isn’t reserved for experts. It belongs to you, too.

Concept Writer and Researcher: Aysha Abdul Sathar

Reviewer: Pratiksha More