Bottom Line on GHG Emissions Registries

This fact sheet by the World Resources Institute explains the function, types, and regulatory status of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions registries, specifically focusing on the legal requirement for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish a national mandatory registry by mid-2008.

• A GHG emissions registry is a database used to collect, verify, and track emissions data from individual emitters like companies or facilities, distinguishing it from national or state inventories which provide top-down comprehensive summaries of total emissions without attributing them to individual parties.
• By mid-2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is legally required to develop a national GHG registry. This follows a December 2007 appropriations bill that provided $3.5 million in funding and mandated a draft rule within nine months and a final rule within 18 months.
• Prior to a comprehensive national system, the United States relied on a patchwork of voluntary registries—such as the Climate Registry and the Department of Energy’s 1605(b) Voluntary Reporting Program—and limited mandatory systems, including the EPA's Acid Rain Program and state-level reporting in Maine, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
• In the context of a cap-and-trade program, a registry is essential for ensuring compliance, maintaining market efficiency through transparent data, allowing for informed allocation decisions, verifying early action credits, and building public confidence.
• Effective registries require rigorous monitoring guidelines to ensure data is accurate, complete, transparent, consistent, and verified. Quantification is achieved through direct measurement, such as continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS), or calculations using emission factors and activity data.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Bottom Line on GHG Emissions Registries. https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-ghg-emissions-registries

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Bottom Line on GHG Emissions Registries. n.d. https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-ghg-emissions-registries.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Bottom Line on GHG Emissions Registries |url=https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-ghg-emissions-registries |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendbottom, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Bottom Line on GHG Emissions Registries}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-ghg-emissions-registries}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }