EPA publishes updated GHG data
U.S. EPA
October 25, 2013
BY Erin Voegele
The U.S. EPA has released its third year of greenhouse gas (GHG) data, which provides carbon pollution emissions data gathered from several thousand of the largest industrial operations in the U.S. The data can be broken down by industrial sector, GHG type, geographic region and individual facility.
“EPA is supporting President Obama’s Climate Action Plan by providing the high-quality data necessary to help guide common-sense solutions to address climate change,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Putting this data in the hands of the public increases transparency, supports accountability, and unlocks innovation.”
According to the EPA, its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program collects annual GHG information from more than 8,000 facilities in the U.S., as required by Congress. This is the third year of data collection.
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The 2012 data shows that emissions from power plants have decreased 10 percent in the two years since reporting began. The decrease is attributed to more natural gas firing and less coal use, in addition to a slight decrease in electricity production.
Ethanol plants, power plants and landfills are among the 8,000 entities for which GHG data is reported. The EPA’s online data publication tool, FLIGHT, allows users to view trend graphs by sector and facility. The data is also published through EnviorFacts.
Using the online tools, users can search for specific facilities using an online map. The tool also give the option to sort by state or industry.
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Users can data on carbon dioxide emissions (excluding biogenic emissions), along with data on other GHG emissions, such as methane and nitrous oxide. The source of emissions and fuels used are also reported. Users are also able to view a chart that includes total emissions for each of the three reporting years.
Access the online tool here.
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