Stay up to date on the latest from Climate TRACE as we share news, data, and insights that help the global
community make meaningful climate action faster and easier.
Tech firms, AI-driven platforms step in to track GHG emissions across US
Christy Lewis, of member organization WattTime, explains why more US cities and states will be seeking to fill data gaps in the near future, adding that many are likely still grappling with changes in information availability and will look for replacements soon.
Most human economic activities release greenhouse gases into the Earth's atmosphere. We use satellites and other remote sensing technologies to spot these emissions activities.
Earth Genome’s Mikel Maron on the importance of UX in communicating emissions data
We recently talked with Mikel Maron, Product Lead of Earth Genome, which leads the Climate TRACE user interface and platform development (aka the Climate TRACE website). On April 22 (Earth Day), Earth Genome won a 2025 Webby Award in the Sustainability & Environment category for the Climate TRACE site.
Hypervine’s Paul Duddy on mining and mineral extraction emissions
We recently talked with Paul Duddy, founder and CEO of Hypervine, which leads the Climate TRACE work on modeling emissions from mining and mineral extraction activities, including copper, iron, and bauxite.
Since our first data release in 2021, Climate TRACE has tracked greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and have now added non-GHG air pollutants for the world’s largest sources of emissions.
Climate TRACE data reveal high-impact opportunities for cutting greenhouse gas emissions
Today, Climate TRACE released its latest inventory which, for the first time, provides monthly emissions data for every country, state / province, and major individual source of emissions in the world. Climate TRACE now also tracks key non-GHG air pollutants for the world’s largest single point sources of emissions.
Al Gore and Climate TRACE to Release Data Revealing High-Impact Opportunities for Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
As emissions rise and devastating climate disasters impact more communities around the world, decisionmakers — especially those at the subnational level — are looking for opportunities to accelerate climate action. Now, with its latest data release, Climate TRACE can help public- and private-sector leaders identify emissions trends and pinpoint high-impact opportunities to reduce pollutants, including those that lead to deeply inequitable public health outcomes.
Duke’s Kyle Bradbury, PhD, on the need for building emissions data
We recently talked with Kyle Bradbury, Director, Energy Data Analytics Lab | Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University, which leads the Climate TRACE work on modeling emissions from fuels combusted within buildings based on satellite-derived data.
We dig into some of the latest Climate TRACE data and emissions estimates to examine national and facility-level emissions trends and decarbonization opportunities for this heavily emitting sector.
How MSC became the world’s largest container shipping company — and what it means for global emissions
Today Mediterranean Shipping Company is the world’s largest container shipping company and has remained privately owned and family-run. It has also earned accolades for sustainability, although the group’s sheer size means it’s also a consequential source of shipping-related emissions.
Global Fishing Watch’s David Kroodsma on “dark” vessels
In our latest Conversations with the Coalition Q&A, we catch up with the chief scientist of Global Fishing Watch, which is building an open-access picture of global fishing activity.
POSCO Gwangyang: the world's highest-emitting steel plant
In this edition of Views from Above, we spotlight South Korea's POSCO Gwangyang steel plant, the second-largest steel plant in the world by production capacity — housing 5 of the world’s 14 largest blast furnaces.
CTrees’ Sassan Saatchi, PhD, on forest carbon and emissions
In the latest Conversations with the Coalition Q&A, we catch up with the co-founder and CEO of CTrees, which measures forest carbon and activity worldwide.
Bełchatów Power Station: the largest thermal power plant in Europe
In this edition of Views from Above, we spotlight Poland’s coal-fired Bełchatów Power Station, which was the top GHG emitter in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System in 2022.
As part of an ongoing Climate TRACE series, we are interviewing individual coalition members about their work. We recently caught up with Lucas Kruitwagen, Chief Technology Officer, and Ashank Sinha, Head of Heavy Industry, at TransitionZero, which provides data on electricity, steel, cement and other industrial sectors to help create a global economy-wide emissions inventory.
Altana's Value Chain Management System now incorporates point-source greenhouse gas emissions data from Climate TRACE
Altana, the world’s first Value Chain Management System, announced a strategic collaboration with Climate TRACE, a non-profit coalition of organizations which has built a timely, open, and accessible inventory of site-specific greenhouse gas emissions data.
Climate TRACE and Clean Air Fund explore estimating PM2.5 and other non-GHG co-pollutant emissions from assets globally
Supported by the Clean Air Fund, coalition member Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHUAPL) explores the potential of adapting Climate TRACE methodology to PM2.5 and other non-GHG forms of air pollution.
The United States’ clean energy leader is also its number-one source of electricity emissions. Welcome to the Lone Star State, aka the China of the U.S. in terms of fossil fuel historical dominance — as well as record-setting wind and solar.
Views from Above: SOHSHU MARU (LNG tanker), The Bahamas
Built in 2019, SOHSHU MARU is an LNG tanker flagged to The Bahamas. Prominent Japanese companies Jera and MOL — which specialize in power generation and transportation/shipping, respectively — currently own the ship in a joint venture.
We recently sat down with Debbie Gordon, Senior Principal, Climate Intelligence at RMI, where she manages the team working on oil and gas solutions with a focus on mitigating methane.
The Climate TRACE database, mobilized by the global tech community, provides an inventory of emissions of more than 352 million assets, and its data is freely available to the public. Learn how to use the data base by watching this video.
Inside the Post-Pandemic Power Sector’s Emissions Ups and Downs
WattTime - Coalition member WattTime dug deeper into G20 countries’ power sector emissions trends for electricity generation — all cataloged in the detailed Climate TRACE data — and found three interesting trends 1) countries whose emissions climbed straight through the pandemic and have continued rising, 2) countries whose emissions fell but didn’t rebound, and which have continued falling, and 3) countries whose electricity emissions underwent sharp booms and busts.
We recently talked with Ted Nace, Executive Director of Global Energy Monitor (GEM), a nonprofit that develops and analyzes data on energy infrastructure, resources, and uses.
As Arctic ice thaws, questions around Arctic shipping heat up
Ocean shipping could climb significantly in the years ahead, with maritime trade expected to triple by 2050. But there are concerns that the changing climate will open up previously unnavigable or unviable trade routes — especially in the Arctic.
AI’s Paradox in the Power Sector—Unleashing Potential but Confronting Uncertainty
POWER - Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the power sector, offering unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and innovation. But as AI applications proliferate, new challenges are emerging. How will industry navigate the potential and challenges that accompany this digital revolution?
Testing the power of $500, and the tool tracking global emissions
Christian Science Monitor - Climate TRACE tracks millions of sources of greenhouse gas emissions. And a long-term study of universal basic income yields surprises.
The World’s Largest Cruise Ship Is a Climate Liability
Bloomberg - As massive ships like Royal Caribbean’s Icon of the Seas tack on more energy-intensive amenities, emissions from the cruise industry are climbing.
LGPS Central flags ‘coolest climate tech’ at COP28
IP&E - Responsible investment specialists at local authority pension pool LGPS Central have praised Climate TRACE inventory and visualisation of physical asset-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data as arguably the “coolest climate tech” at COP28.
The Visionary Leaders Backing the Builders of AI for Humanity
Forbes - Vilas Dhar from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation discussed how Climate TRACE has innovated transformative approaches to tracking emissions worldwide.
Former VP Al Gore unveils new global database serving as pollution watchdog: ‘They have simply ignored lots of emissions that we can measure’
The Cool Down - Al Gore and his global coalition, Climate TRACE, have created a way to help decarbonize supply chains, by showing accurate emissions in stunning detail.
Bloomberg Zero - Akshat Rathi spoke with Al Gore at the Bloomberg Green Summit at COP28 in Dubai to ask him how to break the stranglehold petrostates have over COP, why tackling climate change solves many other major problems, and why big emitters can no longer hide.
CNN - Vilas Dhar, UN AI advisory board member and president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, discusses how artificial intelligence can help people understand carbon footprints and track climate goals.
Axios House at COP28: AI’s Role in Decarbonization
Axios - Industry leaders globally weighed in on the opportunities and challenges of AI's efforts, including Climate TRACE, to reduce emissions and improve clean energy systems at an Axios House event during COP28 in Dubai.
Climate TRACE launches groundbreaking database to track global greenhouse gas emissions
EnergyPortal.eu - The global coalition has unveiled a groundbreaking database that provides detailed information about global greenhouse gas emissions.
Climate TRACE Unveils Open Emissions Database of More Than 352 Million Assets
The Climate TRACE inventory includes every country and territory in the world, every major sector of the global economy, and nearly every major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Tesla, Polestar, Boeing, and others have already moved swiftly to leverage the new dataset to pinpoint decarbonization opportunities in their supply chains.
Views from above: Gary Works (U.S. Steel), Gary, IN, USA
Located on the south shore of Lake Michigan and operational since 1908, Gary Works was once the largest steel plant in the world. According to Climate TRACE data, it was the steel industry’s largest source of GHG emissions in North America for 2021.
Cruise Ships Emissions During and Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
OceanMind and Climate TRACE take a look back at how the pandemic — and associated lockdowns — impacted emissions from the cruise ship industry, as well as how emissions have tracked since COVID-related travel restrictions have lifted.
Video: How to use the Climate TRACE platform to access global GHG emissions data
This overview of the Climate TRACE platform provides an introduction to the tool and a step-by-step explanation of how to use each part of the site to browse, search, and download global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data.
How Climate TRACE and the JIM Foundation are Bringing Greater Transparency to Financed GHG Emissions
"This partnership with JIM foundation will add an important layer of transparency to the issue of asset financing, so the world understands more about what’s driving the climate crisis and so banks, investors, and others can have the information they need to mitigate risk and reduce their financed emissions" shared Gavin McCormick, Climate TRACE co-founder.
Intel from Above: Spotting Methane Super-Emitters with Satellites
Data from methane-sensing satellites help shape Climate TRACE inventories and make hidden emissions visible.
A new report and web tool from our partners at RMI are designed to help users understand and assess satellite “completeness” as it relates to pinpointing and tracking large point-sources of methane. These sources are difficult to track but have an outsized impact on our climate.
As part of an ongoing Climate TRACE series, we are interviewing individual coalition members about their work. We recently caught up with Jeremy Freeman, Head of Research & Engineering, GEMS, at environmental tech nonprofit WattTime.
How Climate TRACE Guards Against the AI “Hallucination Problem”
Issues of AI algorithm accuracy and bias have come to the forefront of public consciousness, thanks to the popularity of large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and their hallucination problem.
A Texas Dairy Ranks Among the State’s Biggest Methane Emitters. But Don’t Ask the EPA or the State About It.
An Inside Climate News analysis leverages Climate TRACE data on methane emissions from individual dairies and feedlots and quotes Sam Schiller of coalition member Carbon Yield.
Steel Industry Makes ‘Pivotal’ Shift Towards Lower-carbon Production
A new report from Climate TRACE coalition member Global Energy Monitor highlights a notable shift toward lower-carbon steel production.
The report shows that 43% of planned steelmaking capacity is now based on lower-emitting electric arc furnace technology, up from 33% one year earlier.
How Can the Vantage of Space Give you Strategic Advantage on Earth?
This new report from EY explores how satellite data can be harnessed to make positive changes across sectors and use cases. WattTime.org's Lekha Sridhar spoke with the EY team to explain how this is unfolding in emissions monitoring and climate action.
What the Fossil Fuel Industry Doesn't Want You to Know
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore recently took to the TED stage to make a passionate argument about the need to quickly and completely transition away from fossil fuels and for polluting companies to adhere to the climate commitments they're setting, citing Climate TRACE data to make his point.
As part of an ongoing Climate TRACE series, we are interviewing individual coalition members about their work. We recently caught up with Sam Schiller, Co-Founder and CEO of Carbon Yield, which works with more than 100,000 acres of croplands to help them access the resources required to transition to regenerative agriculture.
Harnessing the Power of Decision-support Tools to Trigger Climate Action
What is climate action without the proper decision support tools? As history has shown us — not very effective. But those tools have advanced and are ready to be put to use at scale, and Climate TRACE data plays an important role.
Kearney Partners with Climate TRACE: Revamping Supply Chains to Reduce GHG Emissions
Companies worldwide are grappling with how best to measure and report on their emissions impacts, especially as so many set net-zero targets requiring consistent awareness of emissions reduction progress.
Global management consulting firm Kearney has the expertise to guide its clients toward their climate goals, and by integrating the Climate TRACE emissions inventory, they're now providing even stronger data insights.
Remote sensing involves gathering information from a distance. By detecting and monitoring data without having to make physical contact, remote sensing makes it possible to monitor things as varied as the health of a cornfield, a city’s air pollution, and plumes from a power plant.
As part of a new Climate TRACE series, we are interviewing individual coalition members about their work. Up first is Marisa Hughes from the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), where she manages the team of data scientists applying remote sensing and AI to estimate emissions from road transportation.
Al Gore Calls on South Korea to Prioritize Investments in Clean Energy
Former US vice president warns failure to address climate crisis would increase geopolitical tensions. He sites Climate TRACE data identifying two of the top five most-emitting power plants in the world are located in South Korea, as are two of the top five most-emitting steel plants, and three of the top seven most-emitting refineries in the world.
Intel from Above: a Q&A on Satellite Completeness with RMI’s Fran Reuland
Fran Reuland is a manager with the Climate Intelligence team at RMI, a member of the Climate TRACE coalition working on data in the oil and gas sector. We sat down with her for a brief interview on satellite completeness, the subject of RMI’s latest report, and Satellite Point source Emissions Completeness Tool (SPECT).
A crucial part of the Climate TRACE approach involves training machine learning algorithms with ground truth data. In this article, we look at what it is; when, where, and how we use it; and some common challenges we’ve had to address.
How to parse asset ownership in Climate TRACE data
Climate TRACE data cover not just where facilities are located, along with estimates of how much GHG emissions they release, but also who owns them. The ownership piece brings important transparency, detail, and accountability to emissions intelligence and climate action.
How to Understand Asset-level Emissions by Country
Since the launch, many users are leveraging the tool to look up the most-emitting facilities in their specific country. Yet sometimes, a funny thing happens: a known source of major emissions for that country appears to be missing from the Climate TRACE asset-level dataset!
Much more information is available in the CSV data downloads compared to what is available on the website dashboard. In this article we take a closer look at how the data are organized and what’s contained in the CSV files.
When Climate TRACE unveiled our inaugural dataset last year, it included sector- and country-level emissions totals for the years 2015–2020. This year’s Q4 2022 release represents a major upgrade.
More Than 70,000 of the Highest Emitting Greenhouse Gas Sources Identified in Largest Available Global Emissions Inventory
Climate TRACE coalition released the most detailed facility-level global inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to date, including emissions data for 72,612 individual sources worldwide.
World’s CO2 Hotspots Pinpointed by Al Gore-Backed Climate Project
With maps and data on 72,000 power plants, oil refineries, airports and more, the new website Climate Trace aims to offer “radical climate transparency.”
Who’s Driving Climate Change? New Data Catalogs 72,000 Polluters and Counting
A nonprofit backed by Al Gore and other big environmental donors says it can track emissions down to individual power plants, oil fields and cargo ships.
Gore Announces Fossil Fuel Emissions Inventory at UN Summit
A detailed inventory of the top known sources of greenhouse gas emitters found that the top 14 individual polluters are all gas and oil fields and their associated facilities, despite their emissions being “significantly underreported.”
This Global Emissions Inventory is Al Gore’s Secret Weapon at COP27
The Climate TRACE coalition unveiled a new, highly detailed inventory of global greenhouse gas emissions, which it hopes will help countries and companies looking for effective, targeted ways to decarbonize.
Al Gore-affiliated Group Finds Systematic Emissions Underreporting
A coalition of groups using satellite observations, artificial intelligence and machine learning revealed on Wednesday the most comprehensive facility-level accounting of global carbon emissions.
This Map Shows Exactly Where 70,000 of the World’s Biggest Polluters are Located
With data on cargo ships, oil fields, cattle feedlots, and more, the map could help businesses, investors, and policymakers know what sites to target first in order to reduce emissions.
Learn how Climate TRACE member Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory is creating automated, accurate, global, timely and actionable road transportation GHG emissions estimates for the top 500 emitting cities worldwide using satellite data and AI.
Clearing the path to easier, more-accurate Scope 3 emissions intelligence
An accurate and complete understanding of Scope 3 emissions is central to any life cycle assessment (LCA) of a company’s or product’s carbon footprint.
From Climate TRACE’s inception, using satellites to track human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to their sources has been a cornerstone of our technology-centric approach.
What are Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)?
Processing and drawing insights from earth observation data using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) is the backbone of Climate TRACE.
STARRS project launched to provide accurate emissions data for states and regions
The Climate Group and Under2 Coalition launch the “States and Regions Remote Sensing” (STARRS) project, using Climate TRACE data to help governments to improve their understanding of their current and historical GHG emissions.
Data project backed by Al Gore aims for real-time emissions monitoring
A technology and academic coalition backed by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore was set to unveil on Thursday data showing fossil fuel producers' previously unrecorded greenhouse gas emissions, and growing pollution from shipping and aviation. Other details about the precise sources of climate change are also shown in the material by Climate TRACE, drawing on data from satellites and high-level computer analysis.
Satellites may hold countries to their Paris pledges
Environmental agreements are hard to enforce without independently verified data. But the availability of high-quality satellite imagery — combined with advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning — allows for real-time monitoring of carbon emissions, deforestation and other activities.
A wave of carbon emissions data soon will be upon us
A radical increase in available carbon emissions data may be just around the corner. Should it happen within a matter of months as proponents hope, its effects will spread around the world to dramatic effect.
In November of next year, all of the signatories to the Paris Agreement will meet in Glasgow with a mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions much faster than they pledged to do in 2015. What will be new in Glasgow is transparency.
Why We Must ALL Invest In Solutions To Save Our Planet
Make no mistake about it, carbon accounting is the new sustainability. And thanks to innovators like Climate TRACE, which uses AI and satellites to pinpoint both quantity and sources of human-caused emissions, greenwashing will be a thing of the past.
What ML practitioners are doing about climate change
Last year, WattTime received a grant from Google.org’s AI Impact Challenge to see whether computer vision can track power plant emissions outside the U.S. from satellite imagery. In July, WattTime joined nine organizations and Al Gore to form Climate Trace, a group that wants to trace global emissions in major sectors of the economy, like power plants and shipping.
Climate TRACE to track real-time global carbon emissions
Combating climate change faces big challenges even beyond those that many people think about much. For instance, carbon emissions are not tracked as they happen, so policy makers and the public don’t know who’s polluting, when, and how much. That makes international agreements, like the Paris Climate agreement, tough to verify. That could soon change.
Climate TRACE, an alliance of climate research groups, is developing a new tracker using artificial intelligence that would allow the public to access international climate data in real time. They hope to have it ready to unveil at the COP26 climate change meetings in Glasgow, Scotland, in November 2021.
Real Time Emissions Data Is Finally Coming, Thanks to Al Gore's New Coalition
With all the alarming climate data out there, you’d think there’s some magical entity diligently measuring greenhouse gas emissions every second of every day — but the reality is, a lot of that data is simply estimates. To clear up the ambiguity and controversy surrounding emissions data reporting, a group of nine climate and tech groups and former Vice President Al Gore have come together to form the Climate TRACE coalition.
How a New Effort to Trace Emissions, Led by Al Gore, Could Reshape Climate Talks
Historically, there’s been no way for third parties to directly gather data on the greenhouse gas emissions of both public and private entities. Now, a new coalition of nine climate and technology organizations calling themselves Climate Trace say they have used satellite data, artificial intelligence and other technology to track greenhouse-gas emissions from across the globe remotely.
The entire world’s carbon emissions will finally be trackable in real time
One of the challenges in managing the greenhouse gas emissions warming the atmosphere is that they aren’t measured very well. The ultimate solution to this problem — the killer app, as it were — would be real-time tracking of all global greenhouse gases, verified by objective third parties, and available for free to the public.
