On December 1, 2025, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) announced final regulations establishing a mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting program for fuel suppliers, waste haulers and transporters, electric power entities, and certain other industries as well as large emissions sources located in New York. The program is for data collection only and does not impose requirements to reduce GHG emissions or obtain emission allowances. The final regulations closely align with the proposed program announced in March 2025, and became effective on December 25, 2025.
These regulations — the New York Codes, Rules, and Regulations (NYCRR) Part 253, Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting (the NY Reporting Rule) — require subject industries and large facilities and emitting sources to monitor their annual GHG emissions, annually report such emissions and other data to NYDEC, and follow specified record-keeping requirements for supporting data.
The NY Reporting Rule shares a number of similarities with California’s Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Regulation (the California MRR), promulgated in 2009 pursuant to the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32). The California MRR requires electricity generators, industrial facilities, fuel suppliers, and electricity importers to report GHG emissions annually.The California program borrowed heavily from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). (40 CFR part 98.) The NY Reporting Rule also makes reference to and draws upon the GHGRP. California has collected almost two decades’ worth of data on GHG emissions and related industrial activity. In 2011, California promulgated an economy-wide Cap-and-Invest Program (formerly called the Cap-and-Trade Program) that requires most entities subject to the California MRR to cover their emissions by surrendering allowances.
With the adoption of the NY Reporting Rule, New York joins California in requiring large emitters to report, verify, and monitor their GHG emissions. The NY Reporting Rule requires reporting entities to submit first reports by June 1, 2027, for the 2026 emissions year. If applicable, third-party verification statements for 2026 emissions are due by December 1, 2027. Reports are to be submitted annually.
Relatedly, on January 28, 2026, NYDEC approved a spending plan for revenues generated from the program. The spending plan for the next three years is aimed at reducing energy costs for consumers and developing large-scale wind and nuclear energy generation.
This Client Alert identifies which facilities and entities are in scope, compares the NY Reporting Rule to existing regimes, and discusses potential impacts and next steps.
What Facilities and Entities Are in Scope?
The NY Reporting Rule requirements have two categories for in-scope entities, which are determined based on emissions source and degree of emissions in a given year: Reporting Entities and Large Emissions Sources.
Reporting Entities
These include:
- Owners and operators of a facility“Facility” is defined broadly to include “any physical property, plant, building, structure, source, or stationary equipment located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties in actual physical contact or separated solely by a public roadway or other public right- of-way and under common ownership or common control, that emits, may emit, or may cause to emit any GHG.” in New York that emits 10,000 metric tons (MT) or more of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per year, such as (but not exclusively), electricity generation facilities, stationary combustion facilities, landfills, waste-to-energy facilities, and natural gas compressor stations
- Fuel suppliers that generate any amount of GHG emissions per year and deliver fossil fuel or petroleum products to an end user in New York, such as natural gas, liquid fuels, petroleum products, and coal
- Waste haulers and transporters for which the estimated emissions from solid wastes transported to landfills or combustion facilities outside of New York exceed 10,000 MT CO2e emissions in any year
- Electric power entities that emit any GHG emissions or import megawatt hours into New York
- Agricultural lime and fertilizer suppliers that supply a quantity of agricultural lime and commercial fertilizer necessary to generate any GHG emissions per emission year
- Owners and operators of anaerobic digestion and liquid storage of waste facilities where wastes imported to, or generated at, the facility would generate 10,000 MT of CO2e per year, such as wastewater treatment plants and concentrated animal feeding operations
The NY Reporting Rule also provides for several exemptions. For example, retailers of fuel are exempt from the reporting requirements unless the retailer is a “facility” or “fuel supplier” as defined under the rule. Furthermore, the verification obligation does not apply to certain GHG emissions and facilities and certain owners and operators of facilities that are partly dedicated to residential use.
Large Emissions Sources
If a Reporting Entity exceeds a given higher emissions threshold, it will be considered a Large Emissions Source. These include:
- Facilities that emit more than 25,000 MT CO2e per year
- Suppliers of natural gas, liquefied natural gas, and compressed natural gas that supply more than 15 million ft³ per year
- Liquid fuel and petroleum product suppliers that supply more than 100,000 gallons of affected liquid fuels per year
- Coal suppliers that supply more than 500 US tons of coal per year
- Waste haulers and transporters that emit more than 25,000 MT CO2e per year, including the sum of emissions reported for out-of-state landfill facilities and out-of-state combustion facilities for all waste exported out of New York
What Are the Key Requirements?
If an entity meets the criteria of a Reporting Entity for a given year, it must report annual GHG data as well as industrial product data relevant to the emissions source, and it must prepare a GHG monitoring plan and retain specified records. Emissions reports are due by June 1 of the given reporting year, with first reports due June 1, 2027, for 2026 data. Each Reporting Entity must submit its GHG monitoring plan by December 31, 2026, or the first year that it is in scope of the NY Reporting Rule.
In addition, if an entity meets the criteria of a Large Emissions Source for a given year, it will be required to engage a third-party verifier accredited by NYDEC to verify the reported emissions and industrial product data. Verification statements are due annually, with first verification statements due December 1, 2027, for 2026 data and December 1, 2028, for 2027 data. Each year thereafter, verification statements must be submitted by August 10, starting with 2028 data, which will be due in 2029.
Reports are to be submitted via the New York State Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool (NYS e-GGRT), an electronic reporting platform being developed by NYDEC.
How Does the NY Reporting Rule Compare to Other Regimes?
California
The NY Reporting Rule appears to mirror the California MRR. AB 32 established comprehensive, long-term climate-based policies, including the California MRR. AB 32 also initially established the goal of reducing California’s GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Subsequent legislation has ratcheted down the goals, with the most recent target to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 or earlier.
The California MRR has been amended several times since its inception, with the most recent amendments becoming effective in April 2019. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is currently considering Proposed 2026 Amendments to the California MRR.On January 20, 2026, CARB posted a notice of public hearing and related materials for the Proposed 2026 Amendments to the California MRR. The public hearing will take place on May 28, 2026. The deadline to submit public comments is March 9, 2026, or at the public hearing. For more information, visit CARB’s rulemaking page for the Proposed Amendments to the Regulation for the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/rulemaking/2026/mrr2026. The California MRR classifies three types of reporting entities: industrial facilities that emit more than 10,000 MT CO2e per year; suppliers of natural gas, CO2, and transportation fuels; and electric power entities. These entities must report their annual GHG emissions to CARB. According to CARB, the California MRR program captures approximately 80% of the GHG emissions included in California’s GHG inventory.Agricultural emissions, high global warming potential gases, emissions from landfills and composting, and select fugitive emissions are not captured under the California MRR. Each year, CARB prepares a public summary of GHG emissions data reported under the California MRR.
While there are minor differences between the NY Reporting Rule and the California MRR — such as differences in third-party verification requirements — the rules are similar in many ways. Namely, both programs focus on transparency rather than mandate emissions reductions. However, these reporting requirements may help inform other state policies designed to address climate change and GHG emissions.
For example, the California MRR is a key component of the state’s Cap-and-Invest Program, a market-based system that is designed to reduce the state’s GHG emissions.In addition to considering changes to the California MRR, CARB is also considering amendments to the California Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Market-Based Compliance Mechanisms Regulation. On January 20, 2026, CARB posted a notice of public hearing and related materials for the Proposed 2026 Amendments. The public hearing will take place on May 28, 2026. The deadline to submit public comments is March 9, 2026, or at the public hearing. For more information, visit CARB’s rulemaking page for the Proposed Amendments to the California Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Market-Based Compliance Mechanisms Regulation, available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/rulemaking/2026/cap-and-invest2026. Under the Cap-and-Invest Program, CARB has set a declining cap on statewide emissions. Based on this cap, CARB generates a number of carbon credits — each representing 1 metric ton of CO2e — and entities acquire a certain number of tradable credits, or allowances. These credits determine how much CO2e an entity may emit.The Cap-and-Trade Program also uses offsets, a tradable compliance instrument that represents a GHG reduction or GHG removal enhancement of 1 metric ton of CO2e. Entities that emit 25,000 or more metric tons of CO2e per year are subject to the Cap-and-Invest Program. Thus, the data reported under the California MRR is used for compliance within the Cap-and-Invest Program.
The NY Reporting Rule is similarly intended to gather information in order to inform future programs in support of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. For example, the rule may help lay the necessary groundwork for a cap-and-invest program, similar to the strategy used by California.
Federal Government
The federal government is prioritizing deregulation, particularly as it relates to GHG regulations and climate change-related programs. On September 12, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule to end the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP).“EPA Releases Proposal to End the Burdensome, Costly Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Saving up to $2.4 Billion” https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-proposal-end-burdensome-costly-greenhouse-gas-reporting-program-saving-24. EPA claims that ending the GHGRP will save up to $2.4 billion in regulatory costs over a 10-year period, while maintaining the agency’s statutory obligations under the Clean Air Act (CAA). See EPA’s fact sheet here.
The proposal seeks to permanently remove program obligations for 46 of the 47 industries (also called “source categories”) currently required under the GHGRP to measure and report their GHG emissions to EPA. If adopted, the final language of the proposal will take effect 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register, and previously subject entities would no longer be required to report starting in 2026. The proposal is likely to face legal challenges, such as challenging EPA’s authority under the CAA.
Should the proposed changes to the GHGRP enter into effect, the NY Reporting Rule and California MRR may function to fill the gap left by the federal reporting requirements. NYDEC may also issue clarification as the NY Reporting Rule includes numerous references to the GHGRP.
Comparison of GHG Reporting Programs by Jurisdiction
Potential Impacts and Next Steps
Entities are required to begin collecting their GHG emissions data starting in January 2026. As an initial step, entities should review the NY Reporting Rule to confirm whether it applies to their business and, if so, whether they qualify for any of the exemptions. Reporting Entities will need to prepare a GHG monitoring plan and familiarize themselves with the NYS e-GGRT reporting tool.
The NY Reporting Rule obligations may require the dedication of significant time and resources for Reporting Entities, particularly those that do not yet have established internal processes for tracking GHG emissions or that need to engage consultants for support with compliance. By contrast, Reporting Entities that are already subject to the California MRR and the GHGRP, or entities that track GHG emissions under other voluntary or mandatory frameworks, are less likely to be burdened by the NY Reporting Rule requirements.
The NYDEC stated that questions on the new requirements can be submitted in writing to DAR.253MRR@dec.ny.gov or the NYDEC Division of Air Resources, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233. Additionally, the NYDEC has developed a GHG Estimation Tool to assist fuel suppliers with approximating whether they may be in scope.
ENDNOTES
1The California program borrowed heavily from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP). (40 CFR part 98.) The NY Reporting Rule also makes reference to and draws upon the GHGRP.
2“Facility” is defined broadly to include “any physical property, plant, building, structure, source, or stationary equipment located on one or more contiguous or adjacent properties in actual physical contact or separated solely by a public roadway or other public right- of-way and under common ownership or common control, that emits, may emit, or may cause to emit any GHG.”
3On January 20, 2026, CARB posted a notice of public hearing and related materials for the Proposed 2026 Amendments to the California MRR. The public hearing will take place on May 28, 2026. The deadline to submit public comments is March 9, 2026, or at the public hearing. For more information, visit CARB’s rulemaking page for the Proposed Amendments to the Regulation for the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/rulemaking/2026/mrr2026.
4Agricultural emissions, high global warming potential gases, emissions from landfills and composting, and select fugitive emissions are not captured under the California MRR.
5In addition to considering changes to the California MRR, CARB is also considering amendments to the California Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Market-Based Compliance Mechanisms Regulation. On January 20, 2026, CARB posted a notice of public hearing and related materials for the Proposed 2026 Amendments. The public hearing will take place on May 28, 2026. The deadline to submit public comments is March 9, 2026, or at the public hearing. For more information, visit CARB’s rulemaking page for the Proposed Amendments to the California Cap on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Market-Based Compliance Mechanisms Regulation, available at: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/rulemaking/2026/cap-and-invest2026.
6The Cap-and-Trade Program also uses offsets, a tradable compliance instrument that represents a GHG reduction or GHG removal enhancement of 1 metric ton of CO2e.
7“EPA Releases Proposal to End the Burdensome, Costly Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, Saving up to $2.4 Billion” https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-releases-proposal-end-burdensome-costly-greenhouse-gas-reporting-program-saving-24.
8While CARB is considering amendments to the California MRR and Cap-and-Invest Program, this chart discusses the rules in effect as of February 9, 2026.
