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techniques to process data from satellite images
of power plants and make that information
available to the public. The coalition believes that,
by publicizing such data, it can push plants to
voluntarily cut emissions. Furthermore, McCormick
and his team hope to inspire environmental
activism, influence environmental policies, and
verify that countries are complying with the Paris
Agreement, the international environmental accord.
CONFRONTING THE
CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE
The Paris Agreement, in fact, is at the heart
of the coalition’s mission, and central to any
discussion around climate change. In 2015, during
the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change’s 21st Conference of Parties,
representatives from nearly 200 countries
agreed on a general shift away from the use
of fossil fuels in order to limit the rise in global
average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above
preindustrial levels. “To achieve this temperature
goal,” according to the agreement, parties would
“aim to reach global peaking of greenhouse gas
emissions as soon as possible.”
There are many ways to curb greenhouse gas
emissions, but scientists agree the key involves
limiting pollution due to CO 2 , which enters the
atmosphere primarily through the burning of coal,
natural gas, and oil. In the United States, according
to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
CO 2 accounts for more than 80 percent of total
greenhouse gas emissions. Worldwide, that figure
is closer to 75 percent, with the bulk of emissions
coming from the energy sector.
While the Paris Agreement has been heralded
by world leaders as a much-needed action plan
for fighting climate change, recent studies have
shown that global CO 2 emissions are continuing to
rise. And one of the reasons, says WattTime data
analyst Grace Mitchell, has to do with the fact that
emissions can be hard to track. Countries have
signed the Paris Agreement, so, in principle, they’re
committed to change, “but they don’t have access
to the data they need to make informed decisions
about steps to take next.”
In the U.S., Mitchell notes, the EPA requires
that power plants use a “continuous emission
monitoring system” to ensure compliance with air
emissions standards. (In 2017, the United States
announced it would withdraw from the Paris
Agreement; under the terms of the accord, it is not
permitted to do so until November 2020.) Many
power plants in other developed countries are
equipped with similar systems, but that’s not the
case in states with limited financial resources—or
governments that turn a blind eye to polluters.
Mitchell is aware of one scenario, for example,
where the government claims it’s recording
this data, but activist groups don’t believe the
information is accurate. “Because there’s so little
transparency, there’s also a lack of trust,” she says.
A NEW MONITORING MODEL
GEMS is intended to serve as a free and
independent alternative to sensor-driven
technologies like continuous emission monitoring
systems, which have relatively high operational
and maintenance costs. The project, which started
in May 2019 as part of Google.org’s Launchpad
Accelerator program, is still in its initial stages. Their
plan, Mitchell says, is to begin by focusing on coalfired
plants because they have the highest carbon
emissions, and also due to their visible plumes that
satellites can detect. As the program is developed,
she adds, they’ll gradually move on to track other
polluters, including plants that burn oil and gas.
The monitoring system improves on a 2018
Carbon Tracker pilot program that used satellite
images of plumes created by a specific cooling
technology to successfully predict whether power
plants were operating or not. The partners’ first