Climate TRACE Makes Real Time Tracking Of Pollution Possible For The First Time

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Climate TRACE, a global not-for-profit coalition of over 100 universities, scientists, and AI experts, has begun releasing new data monthly with just a 60-day lag. For example, the latest data release available from Climate TRACE at the end of March 2025 covers emissions through the end of January 2025. The data includes total greenhouse gases (represented as carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (NO2), and asset-level data on non-greenhouse gas pollutants including sulfur dioxide, black carbon, and more.

Each monthly data release will cover the entire Climate TRACE inventory — meaning there will be new data available at the global, country, sector, state, county, and asset level, as well as for the 9,000+ urban areas included in the Climate TRACE inventory. As new information becomes available, Climate TRACE will update its emissions totals (potentially including historical estimates) to reflect new data inputs, methodologies, and revisions.

Climate TRACE will also add new assets to the inventory as they come online or as it gains access to new techniques for estimating emissions from previously unquantifiable sources. These changes will be made on an ad hoc basis. All updates will be logged in the Release Notes that will accompany each monthly data release.

Is Climate TRACE A Big Deal?

Is this a big deal? Writing in Forbes, Ingmar Rentzhog, the CEO and founder of We Don’t Have Time, says these monthly reports will give climate data the urgency and transparency that financial markets take for granted. “This is more than data,” Rentzhog writes. “It’s the birth of a global climate dashboard, something akin to a Bloomberg Terminal for Earth’s health. Investors, regulators, insurers, and policymakers now have regular insight into exactly who is polluting, how much, and where. The era of vague commitments and unchecked greenwashing just got a powerful new opponent.”

Historically, global emissions data has suffered from delays of one to two years, Forbes says, which is far too late for effective action. Managing climate policy with outdated data is like trying to manage a financial portfolio using last year’s market prices. That’s something investors won’t tolerate, and people concerned about the health of the planet should not be asked to do so either.

Climate TRACE transforms this outdated approach. Its advanced network monitors over 660 million emission sources worldwide, including power plants, factories, farms, and ocean shipping. AI-powered algorithms analyze satellite heat signatures, spectral imagery, and operational data, providing accurate monthly updates.

The Climate TRACE coalition uses cross-referenced satellite imagery, machine learning algorithms, and independent validation with ground-based data sources to ensure accuracy. While not perfect, the methodology represents a major leap beyond self-reported inventories. This emissions inventory’s accuracy is akin to quarterly financial reports, transforming climate tracking from guesswork into rigorous accounting.

“Worldwide, we’re seeing the rapid rise in clean energy jobs overtake dirty energy jobs, and we’re seeing people all around the world continue to demand that we respect their future. And that’s why we are so excited to share this data from Climate TRACE with you,” says Al Gore, one of the founders of Climate TRACE.

Global Emissions Are “Beginning To Bend”

The data for January 2025, included in the first monthly report at the end of March, shows that global emissions “are beginning to bend.” Greenhouse gas emissions increased year over year in waste and manufacturing but decreased in transportation, power, and fossil fuel operations. Transportation saw the greatest change in emissions, with emissions decreasing by 1.6 percent on a year-over-year basis. The data shows the largest reduction in emissions — 1.1 percent — occurred in China and represents a reduction of 17.4 million tons of CO2e. Emissions in the US were down 0.29 percent, India was down a negligible 0.03 percent, Russia was down 0.18 percent, and the EU was down 0.53 percent.

“Financial markets rely on speed, transparency, and precision. Quarterly reports delayed by years would be absurd,” Rentzhog says. “Now, climate policy can finally mirror this urgency. Real time emissions data allows investors to evaluate companies based on actual performance, not public relations. Regulators can pinpoint precise interventions, and cities can compete on measurable impacts, not vague promises.”

Jay Inslee, the former governor of the State of Washington, said, “This is a tool to show the threat to our own children. And when they see this tool in city council races and community races all across the United States, politicians are going to have to yield to this technology. Seeing is believing, that’s the news.”

“This unprecedented level of transparency promises a sea change in climate accountability,” Rentzhog says. “It is empowering real time decision making, sharpening risk assessments, and helping the world act with the precision this crisis demands. Climate TRACE gives actuaries, insurers, regulators, and investors something they’ve never had before: verified, independent data updated every month. Actuaries warn that unchecked climate risk could halve the global economy within decades. This data may be our last, best shot at changing course.”

Expect Push Back From US Government

Information is power, and the current US administration wants no one to have any power other than itself. Its open hostility toward climate science is demonstrated by its plans to cancel the lease for Hawaii’s Mauna Loa Observatory — a cornerstone of atmospheric CO₂ monitoring for over 60 years. The carbon dioxide readings from that observatory are the basis for the so-called Keeling Curve. It is also known as the hockey stick graph, which motivated Dr. James Hansen to testify to the US Congress in 1988 about the onrushing climate catastrophe. The proposed EPA budget has drawn criticism from more than 1,900 scientists who warn the cuts will dismantle critical environmental protections all across America.

“Climate TRACE’s open source, satellite driven data doesn’t just inform, it disrupts,” Rentzhog warns. “It exposes the emitters. It reveals the truth behind the promises and it turns delay into a choice, not an excuse. But not everyone welcomes this kind of radical transparency. In fact, some would rather we stayed blind. Will it be allowed to thrive? Or will vested interests — political and industrial — try to suppress it before it reshapes the system? Because make no mistake — this data is power. And in the wrong hands, or kept out of public reach, it’s a power we could lose. If this data disappears, so does our ability to act before disaster strikes.

“Today’s near real time emissions tracking relies on a constellation of satellites, sensors, and AI models, many of which are controlled by governments or private entities. If access is cut off, censored, or restricted, we lose the transparency needed to hold polluters accountable. Without it, climate policy risks sliding back into the dark ages of delay, distraction, and disaster.

“The international community must defend it. Not just as a breakthrough in climate science but as a safeguard for truth in a time of disinformation. Because without it, we lose our clearest signal and our strongest leverage. The world must remain vigilant to ensure this powerful new tool isn’t silenced.

“The availability of real-time climate data marks a decisive shift in how the world can respond to the climate crisis. No longer reliant on outdated, self-reported inventories, policymakers, investors, and regulators now have access to timely, independent emissions data — updated monthly, with sector-specific and geographic granularity.”

So, tell us, CleanTechnica readers, what do you think the odds are that the Moron of Mar-A-Loco and his cabinet composed of the worst and the dumbest will allow this information to continue to be freely available? In an inter-office poll, our crack staff of reporters said the chances are “somewhere between slim and none,” but what do we know?