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Greenhouse Gas Tracking To Become Mandatory In The United States

By Daniel Stouffer

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 24Feb2010 Word count: 618 Viewed: 264 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) tracking and reporting will soon become mandatory in the United States, with the first reports due in early 2011 for the emissions data collected for the 2010 calendar year. The proposed federal law affects businesses and governments with heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems or refrigeration and air-conditioning systems, as well as those who produce industrial chemicals, fossil fuels, cars and engines, and any organization consuming electricity. It is the responsibility of companies to review and comply with the new EPA GHG regulations or face substantial fines down the road.

Greenhouse Gas tracking is outlined in The Climate Registry Protocol, which details the requirements for mandatory monitoring and tracking. The fundamental ideas stimulating GHG reporting are part of the U.S. Clean Air Act, aimed at improving air quality and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes mandatory reporting of the gases contributing to global climate change from about 13,000 facilities nationwide. These facilities account for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions within the United States and present a logical starting point for emissions reductions in the US. The regulation would cover companies that either release large amounts of greenhouse gases (GHG) directly or produce or import fuels and chemicals that when burned emit large amounts of carbon (CO2) gases.

One of the major focuses of the Greenhouse Gas tracking protocol is refrigerant gases used in refrigeration and cooling systems by numerous facilities, including manufacturers, food processors, retailers, grocery stores, office buildings, municipalities and hospitals, just to name a few. Because of their chemical makeup, refrigerant gases contain significant levels of carbon in the form of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). Use of these compounds has been regulated under the U.S. Clean Air Act for several years.

Greenhouse gases absorb and release radiation into the atmosphere, setting off a global warming effect on earth. The purpose of Greenhouse Gas tracking is to pinpoint the main origins of greenhouse gases and monitor the amount discharged into the atmosphere. This provides environmental officials with a base line in which to measure all future usage and evaluate progress. With this accurate information, it can be determined if the guidelines are effective in lowering the harmful effects of these substances to the ozone layer.

Greenhouse Gas tracking involves measuring direct and indirect emissions and keeping extensive records on its usage, maintenance, leak containment and disposal. Heating and cooling systems, as well as other energy consumption, are defined as direct emissions.

Greenhouse Gas tracking was among the major goals of the Obama administration as the United States aims to protect the future of the environment by reducing the carbon footprint of today. By taking no action, the earth's makeup would significantly change, with humans and animals adversely affected and marine and plant life severely damaged.

Greenhouse Gas tracking will become law because it was determined that certain manmade compounds contribute substantially to global warming. The substances are carbon dioxide, chlorine, bromine, nitrous oxide, chloroflurocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, methane, methyl bromide, methyl chloroform, sulfur hexafluoride, hydroxyl, perfluorocarbobs, halons, carbon tetrachloride, fluorine, and the fluorinated gases hydrofluorinated ethers and nitrogen trifluoride. The mandatory law is aimed at reducing the use of these substances to lower the effects of global warming.

Although Greenhouse Gas tracking was optional for large emitters in the United States, it becomes mandatory in 2010 with the regulation requiring companies and municipalities to submit exact information on how much of the global warming substances they use everyday and if any leaks occurred.

The requirements are so extensive that vendors who are knowledgeable in the area have developed software programs and web-based applications to assist companies in complying with the law across distributed facilities down to the individual asset level.

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