Climate TRACE (Tracking Real-Time Atmospheric Carbon Emissions)[1] is an independent group which monitors and publishes greenhouse gas emissions.[2] It launched in 2021 before COP26,[3] and improves monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of both carbon dioxide and methane.[4][5] The group monitors sources such as coal mines and power station smokestacks worldwide,[6] with satellite data (but not their own satellites) and artificial intelligence.[7][8]
| Type | Nonprofit |
|---|---|
| Website | climatetrace |
Time magazine named it as one of the hundred best inventions of 2020.[9] Their emissions map is the largest global inventory and interactive map of greenhouse gas emission sources.[10][11][12] According to Kelly Sims Gallagher it could influence the politics of climate change by reducing MRV disputes, and lead to more ambitious climate pledges.[4]
Developed countries' annual reports to the UNFCCC are submitted over a year after the end of the monitored year.[13] Developing countries in the Paris Agreement will submit every two years.[14][15] Some large emitters, such as Iran which has not ratified the agreement, have not submitted a greenhouse gas inventory in the 2020s.[16]
New data was released around the time of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference.[17]
Methods
editPower plant emissions are tracked by training software with supervised learning to combine satellite imagery with other open data, such as government datasets, OpenStreetMap,[18] and company reports.[19] Similarly large ships will be tracked to better understand emissions from international shipping.[20]
Members
editAs of 2023[update], the coalition consists of:[21]
- Nonprofits: CarbonPlan, Earthrise Alliance, Global Energy Monitor, Hudson Carbon, OceanMind, Rocky Mountain Institute, TransitionZero, and WattTime
- Companies: Blue Sky Analytics and Hypervine
- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ Gore, Al (12 December 2020). "Opinion | Al Gore: Where I Find Hope". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Climate TRACE to track real-time global carbon emissions". Yale Climate Connections. 17 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ Freedman, Andrew. "Al Gore's Climate TRACE tracking group finds vast undercounts of emissions". Axios. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
- ^ a b Roberts, David (16 July 2020). "The entire world's carbon emissions will finally be trackable in real time". Vox. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Methane: A Threat to People and Planet". Rocky Mountain Institute. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Transcript: The Path Forward: Al Gore on Climate and the Economy". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ Puko, Timothy (13 April 2021). "John Kerry Says U.S. Will Hold China to Account on Climate Pledges". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ Peters, Adele (15 July 2020). "This Al Gore-supported project uses AI to track the world's emissions in near real time". Fast Company. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "The 100 Best Inventions of 2020". Time. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ Cockburn, Harry (9 November 2022). "Global oil and gas emissions 'up to three times higher than companies claim'". The Independent. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "Emissions Map - Climate TRACE". climatetrace.org. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
- ^ "News - Climate TRACE". climatetrace.org. Retrieved 21 June 2023.
- ^ "4. Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Inventories in the Enhanced Transparency Framework". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- ^ "Reporting and Review under the Paris Agreement". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
Parties under the Paris Agreement are required to submit their first biennial transparency report (BTR1) and national inventory report, if submitted as a stand-alone report, in accordance with the MPGs, at the latest by 31 December 2024
- ^ Anna Schulz, Fernanda Alcobé. "Implementing the Paris Agreement: LDC gaps and needs in greenhouse gas inventory reporting". Publications Library. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
Developing countries update their GHG inventories, mitigation actions, needs and support received within their BUR
- ^ "Documents and decisions: Iran". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. p. 2. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
- ^ Ma, Michelle (22 July 2022). "This Al Gore-backed coalition is trying to hold climate polluters accountable". Protocol. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
- ^ "Organised Editing/Activities/Climate TRACE – OpenStreetMap Wiki". OpenStreetMap. Archived from the original on 27 May 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Satellites – Watttime". Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Al Gore spearheads new initiative to track and publish every ship's carbon footprint". Splash247. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Home". Climate Trace. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2021.