Category: Greenhouse Gases

Is your Net Zero Data Strategy FAIR?

by Ideal Interface, posted in FAIR Data, Greenhouse Gases

The effort of reaching Net Zero by 2050 will need a combination of global investment and innovation on a scale never seen before.

Many business sectors and countries are already developing their plans to achieve this target, by significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and even looking at ways to reverse the effects. But these efforts need to be accurately measured, not only to assess their impact but also to provide proof that individuals, organisations and nations are indeed doing what they say they are doing. In short there is no decarbonisation without data.

Therefore we need new ways to make data related to Net Zero F.A.I.R. .. Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable. This means that every organisation’s data strategy now needs to explain, not only how it can collect and analyse data to achieve its targets, but also how it will allow its Net Zero data to be discoverable and sharable.

But what is F.A.I.R. Net Zero data?

Findable
Data that can be discovered can be more easily used. Therefore data providers should present their Net Zero Data sources in a searchable and browsable catalogue, categorising each with the relevant meta data, to explain what they contain.

Accessible
Providing data sources just using propriety approaches makes them harder to share with consumers. Therefore, Net Zero data must be made available via commonly used and open / free technologies such as: http(s), REST, JSON, XML, etc.
Note: Even providing a simple CSV file of carbon emission data can be more useful than providing it in a bespoke file type that only users of a specific application can utilise.

Interoperable
Data saved and made available in such a way that is it compatible both with other similar sources and future versions is usually much easier to work with. When Net Zero data is shared, it should therefore be done using an open standard, so that others can use it and do the same.
Note: If such a specific standard does not exist, different representatives from across a sector can work together to create such an open standard. But wherever possible, this should use or align with existing data standards (e.g. common date & time, geospatial, language or financial specifications).

Reusable
Data limited in its use by the owner, such as it is not allowed to be subsequently enriched or combined with other sources, can have less value that truly Open Data – that which is entirely free, perhaps with just the condition that the owner / source is credited somehow.
But if this cannot be the case (e.g. the Net Zero data has to be restricted in some way), then the license conditions for usage and re-sharing must be clearly documented and can only place the minimum level of restrictions possible on the data.

Finding new sources of Net Zero Data

by Ideal Interface, posted in About NZDM, Greenhouse Gases, Space

Net Zero data can be any data source that is related to the emission or impact of Greenhouse Gases by individuals, organisations or countries – regardless of their sector (e.g. Transport & Mobility, Energy, Defence, Healthcare, Retail, Technology, Manufacturing or Construction).

And as stated in The Paris Agreement, “Climate change is a global emergency that goes beyond national borders. It is an issue that requires coordinated solutions at all levels and international cooperation to help countries move toward a low-carbon economy.”

So finding new or interesting sources of Net Zero data is one way to address the climate crisis.

One example of a sector that can provide a rich source of multiple data sets to monitor the effects of GHG emissions and other effects of climate change is Space. Satellites in orbit above the Earth can observe and relay huge amounts of information back to base. Which in-turn can be transformed or processed as needed and then published via the Net Zero Data Marketplace.

A Net Zero Data Marketplace as the source of Space GHG data

As an example, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be launching a satellite in 2023 that will allow the identification and measurement of specific sources of methane and carbon dioxide from space. Kitted-out with a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer, it will measure atmospheric gases. The images taken will then be broken down into hundreds of colours, to reveal the spectral signatures of molecules such as methane and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. https://carbonmapper.org/

A data-driven approach to reaching Net Zero

by Ideal Interface, posted in About NZDM, Greenhouse Gases

The only way to fully achieve the agreed Net Zero by 2050 target is to balance the production of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions with their removal from the atmosphere. This is because even if the global population does all it can to reduce its carbon footprint, emissions of CO2, Methane, etc. will still happen.

The current commercial method of compensating for our emissions is called offsetting. This is where one party emitting a specific amount pays another party to do something that removes that same amount of GHGs from the atmosphere. Most carbon offsetting projects involve the long-term planting of additional trees, which naturally convert carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) from the air and soil as part of photosynthesis. Carbon offsetting has been subject to a lot of criticism, in that it does not change the behaviour of those that emit GHGs (as they can simply pay their way of trouble) and that many offsetting schemes are ineffective or double count & overestimate their value.
Therefore guidelines such as The Oxford Principles for Net Zero Aligned Carbon Offsetting have been produced:
https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-01/Oxford-Offsetting-Principles-2020.pdf

This document helps to outline how offsetting needs to be approached to ensure it helps achieve a Net Zero society, including the need for Clear retrospective emissions data and the requirement to disclose current emissions, accounting practices and targets to reach Net Zero often categorised according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol framework for reporting emissions data.

But we cannot completely offset our way out of climate change, especially as there may not be enough forest space to handle all the offsetting needed. But also becuase trees need time to plant & grow, whilst cutting emissions has immediate results.

As The Paris Agreement states “Climate change is a global emergency that goes beyond national borders. It is an issue that requires coordinated solutions at all levels and international cooperation to help countries move toward a low-carbon economy.”

Therefore a balanced and data-driven approach to Net Zero is needed. One that uses comparable and standardised data sets regardless of the country, sector or data collection & storage method used.

Greenhouse Gases – not just CO2

by Ideal Interface, posted in Greenhouse Gases

Greenhouse gases (GHG) are proven to contribute to global warming. This is thanks to their ability to act like the glass in an actual greenhouse, trapping heat and reducing the Earth’s ability to cool itself. This greenhouse effect is actually important, as without these gases that naturally exists in the atmosphere Earth might have been too cold for human life to start or flourish.

Unfortunately too many of them raises the global temperature creating climate change.

Usually Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is used interchangeably when GHGs are mentioned. This is for good reason, as it is the largest proportion of all GHGs that enter the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels, solid waste, trees and other biological materials (and also via certain chemical reactions such as the manufacture of cement).

However after CO2, Methane (CH4), a hydrocarbon that is a primary component of natural gas, is the next largest GHG and about 550 million metric tons of it are emitted into the Earth’s atmosphere each year. With half of the methane volume originating from human activities, there is significant efforts still to go in reducing this gas.

Nitrous Oxide (N2O) is a gas emitted during the burning of fossil fuels and solid waste, the treatment of waste water and in various agricultural, land use & industrial activities. It accounts for around 7% of all GHGs and can only be removed from the atmosphere when it is absorbed by certain bacteria or destroyed by ultraviolet radiation or chemical reactions.

Fluorinated Gases (Hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride) are synthetic and powerful gases that make up the smallest percentage. Unlike other GHGs, they have no significant natural sources and originate almost entirely from human-related activities.