Updated GHG Reporting Data Now Available

On February 5, 2013 U.S. EPA announced the availability of greenhouse gas (GHG) data submitted during 2011 pursuant to 40 CFR Part 98 (Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule).  The 2011 data set is available for public review on U.S. EPA’s web-based Facility Level Information on Green House Gases Tool (FLIGHT), which can be accessed at http://ghgdata.epa.gov/ghgp/main.do.  The reported data is presented from what U.S. EPA categorizes as large emitters of GHG, which are facilities that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) per year.  FLIGHT provides access to 2011 GHG emission inventory data reported last year by facilities in 41 source categories, which includes 12 new source categories reporting for the first time.  GHG emission data from 2010 that was reported the previous year by facilities in the original 29 categories is also still available, allowing users of FLIGHT to make comparisons and begin to observe trends. 

According to U.S. EPA Assistant Administrator Gina McCarthy, with this second GHG data release and the transparency provided by FLIGHT, better informed communities and businesses can now track and compare GHG emissions from specific facilities, allowing them to identify opportunities to cut pollution, minimize wasted energy, and save money.  Perhaps a tall order, but to that end FLIGHT offers many features and is searchable by all users in a variety of ways, including by:

• Geographic region, state, and local community.
• Facility and industry type.
• Fuel type and GHG gas emitted.
• Individual facility name.

Any FLIGHT user can prepare customized views of the data and then share it with a large audience over social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook.  Users can also download the data in a spreadsheet that will allow them to sort, analyze, and manipulate it on their own.  In addition, this year accessibility to the data has been expanded through another of U.S. EPA’s online databases, EnviroFacts.