Scientists from the JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES) have made it possible to visualise the distribution of GHG emissions all over the world at local level through an add-on layer to Google Earth. Data used in the visualisation come from JRC and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency's (PBL) Emission Database for Global Research (EDGAR), and its dataset released in May this year (EDGAR v4.0).
This application brings environmental information closer to the world's citizens, though it takes a bit of technical knowhow to understand the data presented. Guess this one is more for analysts!
By simply entering a city name, the amount of greenhouse gases released since 1970 can be visualized. In addition, the main sources of GHG emissions in the year 2005 can be identified: industries (fuel combustion, process and waste emissions in energy and manufacturing industries); transport (road, rail, shipping); residential fuel combustion and waste handling; and agriculture.
On a large scale, the visualisation shows how emissions are unevenly distributed over the globe, even within countries and the different evolution of emissions in the world over time.
For instance, it is highlighted that in large parts of the globe, global man-made emissions in areas of 10x10 kms is less than 1 kton of CO2 equivalents (in Siberia, for instance), while in some countries the combination of high density population and large industries results in area values of more than 250 kton per year (e.g. Netherlands, Japan or Singapore).
This set of visual data provides a unique history of 35 years (1970-2005) of emissions by area and sector, covering not only carbon dioxide (CO2) but also GHGs: methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
The application was recently presented during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, at the EU Pavilion.
For more information, see: http://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu
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1 comment:
Seems like a good application .... If visual effects are also shown for the greenhouse gas emissions, we might see a colourful earth .... US will be black, Antartica white, EU red and what not
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