Meet the GHG MRV Challenge with Celebal Technologies

As the world continues to grapple with the challenges of climate change, accurate measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have become increasingly important. These metrics are critical to understanding the current state of emissions, tracking progress towards emission reduction goals, and identifying opportunities for improvement. We’ll take a closer look at the current state of greenhouse gas measurement, reporting, and validation from a data and analytics perspective, including the challenges and opportunities that exist.

The Current State of Greenhouse Gas Measurement, Reporting, and Validation

Greenhouse gas measurement, reporting, and validation are essential components of efforts to reduce emissions and mitigate climate change. These activities involve tracking and reporting the emissions of various greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O), from different sources, such as power plants, factories, transportation, and agriculture.

Organizations will increasingly be required to directly monitor GHG and consistently measure, report, and validate their emissions and provide evidence that they are making progress on GHG controls.?Additionally, the C-Suite of corporations are being asked to attest to their reported emissions and to materially demonstrate their commitment to GHG reduction.?This requires reliable data and technology to support reported emissions, verify reduction programs and evaluate forward-looking commitments.

Monitoring physical processes is the first step in understanding actual emissions.?New sensing and monitoring technology is evolving and becoming widely available at reasonable price points allowing organizations to supplement data collection and retrofit older control systems. ?Reporting is the product of data analysis and meets the needs of organizational stakeholders and regulatory bodies in a consistent and continuous manner.?Finally, verification is the combination of ongoing monitoring and reporting to provide evidence of GHG emission claims and demonstrate progressive reduction.

Remote sensing technologies, such as satellites and drones, are increasingly being used to monitor greenhouse gas emissions. These technologies provide a more comprehensive and accurate view of emissions, particularly in hard-to-reach areas or where traditional monitoring methods are impractical.?These technologies will be used by regulators to validate organization reporting and validate continuous improvement in GRG mitigations.

Key Challenges and Opportunities

Despite progress in greenhouse gas measurement, reporting, and validation, there are still significant data challenges that need to be addressed. These include:

1. Data quality and consistency: Ensuring the quality and consistency of data is essential for accurate greenhouse gas measurement and reporting. However, data quality can be compromised by a lack of standardization, inconsistent reporting practices, incomplete data, and antiquated control systems.
2. Data availability: In some cases, data on greenhouse gas emissions may not be readily available, particularly in industries that are historically less regulated or in industries tied to proprietary tools and data systems.
3. Technical challenges: There are technical challenges associated with monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, such as the need for accurate and precise measurement techniques, which can be costly and time-consuming.?Manual measurements can create challenges of timeliness, consistency and induce error.
4. Regulatory challenges: Evolving and inconsistent regulations can hinder greenhouse gas measurement and reporting as organizations hesitate to invest until regulators provide additional clarity on reporting and mitigation requirements.

Despite these challenges, there are also significant opportunities for improvement in greenhouse gas measurement, reporting, and validation. These include:

1. Data analytics: The use of advanced data analytics can improve the quality and consistency of greenhouse gas data, allowing for more accurate reporting and better decision-making. ?Digital twin and AI models can enable rapid visualization of emissions scenarios, allow remediation forecasting, and quickly identify anomalies leading to increased emissions.
2. Technology: Advances in technology, such as remote sensing technologies, low cost GHG monitors and automated data collection can provide more comprehensive and accurate data on greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in remote areas or with mobile fleets.
3. Collaboration: Collaboration between governments, corporations, and NGOs can help to standardize reporting practices and improve data quality.?Organizations can position themselves early with an understanding of their GHG contributions with MRV practice and more definitely drive collaborative reporting and remediation requirements.

Greenhouse gas measurement, reporting, and verification are critical components of efforts to mitigate climate change. While there are still significant challenges that need to be addressed, there are also opportunities for improvement, particularly in the areas of data analytics, technology, collaboration, and policy. By working together to improve greenhouse gas measurement and reporting, we can better understand the current state of emissions.

Dennis Carlson, Celebal Technologies, VP Energy & Sustainability

At Celebal Technologies, we partner with technology providers and customers to deliver state of the art data and analytics solutions to meet the GRG MRV challenge.?

Please reach out to our team if you would like to learn more:

[email protected]

Or message the author, Dennis Carlson, on LinkedIn to get a conversation started. Dennis Carlson | LinkedIn

Anupam Gupta Maulik Agarwal Anirudh Kala Jayanta (Jay) Banerjee Anshuman (Ansh) Tiwari