One of the longstanding challenges in the fight to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is figuring out who is making them and how much.
A new tracker is helping to make sense of where major greenhouse gas emissions are coming from. The interactive map uses a combination of satellites, sensors and machine learning to measure pollution around the world.
Al Gore, who is a founding member of the initiative, said it is meant to serve as a more reliable and accurate alternative to companies self- reporting their emissions estimates.
He said that faking multiple sets of data is impossible with the artificial intelligence method.
Gore returned from Egypt where world leaders are meeting to discuss the climate crisis.
He thinks the tracker will help countries meet their pledges.
The emissions tool uses over 300 satellites and artificial intelligence to build models of emission estimates.
The highest emitting greenhouse gas sources are tracked. Gore said that included every power plant, large ship and large plane.
There is more to come. Gore wants to be able to track millions of major emitting sites.
He said that they would have all of them.
According to Gore, 75% of the world's greenhouse emissions come from countries that have pledged to be carbon neutral by the year 2050. He told NPR that they have tools that will allow them to reduce emissions.
The database can be used to inform countries about how much pollution is being released by companies they are working with or considering working with.
He said that it is not enough for companies to report. The oil and gas industry has been under reporting its emissions.
Gore said that their emissions are three times higher than they have said.
Recent research suggests that oil and gas producers in the US underreport how much methane they release.
That doesn't mean companies cheated. Governments and the public can't stay on track with their net zero pledge if they underreport.
The tool has been used by six regional governments in Mexico, Europe and Africa.
Gore said he was impressed by recent efforts around the globe to address the issue of climate change, despite the fact that the world is off track from its goal of cutting emissions.
Gore pointed to the Inflation Reduction Act in the U.S., which includes over $360 billion to tackle climate change. The law is the biggest climate legislation in the history of the world, according to Gore.
He praised Australia for voting in a new government that promised to shift away from coal and Brazil forelecting a new president who promised to stop destroying the Amazon.
There is hope but there is great danger. Can we summon the will to act?
Ana Perez and Adam Raney worked on the interview.
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