PCAST Calls for Nationwide Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Effort

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released a report on Feb. 20 recommending that government agencies create a “common operating picture” for tracking greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, to monitor progress toward the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Even though there is far more carbon dioxide in the air, methane is more potent, responsible “for approximately 30% of today’s climate warming,” PCAST says. The system would ideally be unified, centralized, complete, and on a national scale, but also have the ability to provide localized data when needed.

Another recommendation calls for a multi-decadal strategy to develop new and better emissions-monitoring sensors and satellites.

The report also “fully endorses” recommendations published last year by an interagency working group on emissions monitoring, which proposed establishing a National Greenhouse Gas Monitoring and Information Office.

This news brief originally appeared in FYI’s newsletter for the week of March 4.