Sponsor
Robert F. Onder
Representative · R-MO
Representative · R-MO
The bill narrows the statutory definition of covered greenhouse gases to reduce regulatory and permitting burdens for EPA and industry, at the cost of higher risks of increased pollution and climate-related damages and shifted regulatory responsibilities to states and localities.
Utilities, energy companies, and other businesses face fewer regulatory requirements and lower compliance costs because CO2, CH4, and N2O would no longer be covered by the statutory greenhouse-gas definition.
EPA and regulated firms face reduced permitting and administrative burdens because a narrower statutory definition limits the agency's scope to regulate these gases, potentially lowering government and industry permitting costs.
Urban and rural communities could experience higher local air pollution and worsened climate-related harms if CO2, CH4, and N2O are harder for EPA to regulate under the statutory definition.
Taxpayers and homeowners could face larger long-term economic costs — from property damage to health expenses — if reduced regulatory control over major greenhouse gases increases climate-related damages.
State and local governments, and the businesses they regulate, may need to develop their own rules to control these gases, shifting regulatory complexity and costs to subnational governments and regulated entities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Excludes CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide from a Clean Air Act statutory definition in 42 U.S.C. § 7602(g), narrowing the term's scope.
Official title: To amend the Clean Air Act to exclude carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide from the definition of the term "air pollutant".
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Robert F. Onder · Last progress February 12, 2026
Removes carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide from a statutory Clean Air Act definition, narrowing the legal scope of the term currently defined in 42 U.S.C. § 7602(g). The change would make those three greenhouse gases explicitly excluded from that statutory definition, which could limit agency authority to regulate them under provisions that rely on that definition.