March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Chemical, steel, automobile and other energy-intensive factories would have to submit annual reports to the federal government on their greenhouse gas emissions under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposal that lays a foundation for fighting global warming.

About 13,000 facilities that account for as much as 90 percent of greenhouse gas emissions would have to comply, the EPA said in a statement today. The first reports would be submitted in 2011 and cover emissions in 2010, according to the proposal. Car and engine makers would begin their reports for 2011 models.

The agency’s action follows a directive passed by Congress in 2007 for a detailed inventory of the emissions that scientists say contribute to global warming. A lack of emissions data set back the European Union’s efforts at the start of its carbon market in 2005, Representative Edward Markey said.

“This is the foundation for any serious program to curb global-warming pollution,” said David Doniger, policy director of the climate center for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. “You have to know where it’s coming from and in what amounts.”

The EPA already tracks the total amount of emissions, though it doesn’t have a breakdown for each facility, Doniger said.

President Barack Obama supports a cap on emissions that would require industrial polluters to obtain a permit for every ton of greenhouse gases they release into the atmosphere. The cap would be set at or below the level of actual emissions at the start of the program.

Lacked Emissions Data

The European Union lacked detailed emissions data from companies in 2005 when it launched the world’s largest carbon market, said Janet Peace, vice president of markets and business strategy for the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. When the error was discovered in 2006, permit prices fell to pennies and companies that were given too many permits reaped windfall profits.

“They didn’t have very rigorous emissions data on which to base their allocation,” Peace said in an interview. “It’s always a benefit to go second.”

Bill Holbrook, a spokesman for the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association said his industry trade group is still reviewing the proposal and would like to see one standard for state and federal reporting requirements. Many states already have similar rules.

Automakers now report emissions on a voluntary basis and many facilities have switched to natural gas, said Wade Newton, spokesman for the Washington-based Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

‘Initial Failure’

“The European Union’s initial failure to accurately identify their emission levels severely handicapped their carbon pollution control system,” Representative Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said in a statement. “We must learn from the EU’s mistakes in moving forward.”

The agency estimates it would cost industries a total of $160 million to comply with the requirement in the first year and $127 million in subsequent years.

“Our efforts to confront climate change must be guided by the best possible information,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.

The EPA will take public comment for 60 days and hold two public hearings on the plan before settling on a final rule.

To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Dodge in Washington, at Cdodge1@bloomberg.net; Jim Efstathiou Jr. in New York at jefstathiou@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 10, 2009 16:32 EDT