Carbon Reporting Initiatives Pending
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by: DanielStouffer | Total views: 71 | Word Count: 457
The US Environmental Protection Agency has found that harmful chemicals, emitted as greenhouse gases by certain industries, play a major role in climate change. Thus a carbon reporting plan has been put forward by the EPA, and this serves as a major step towards the regulation and reduction of greenhouse gases.
A number of major industries are affected by the US government's carbon reporting protocols. Companies that emit more than 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases per year, together with automobile, steel, fossil fuel and chemical industries must comply. Warehouses and manufacturing plants that feature heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems or refrigeration and air-conditioning systems are covered.
A large amount of pollutants are emitted by certain industries, leading to the depletion of the ozone layer, an increase in global warming and adverse climate change. Many of the emissions are caused by man-made chemicals, featured in a number of processes and systems. As these emissions have taken such a toll on our environment, carbon reporting has been implemented for positive change.
Under the EPAs carbon reporting proposal, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, among them hydrofluorocarbons, methane, perfluorocarbons, nitrous oxide and sulfur hexafluoride, must be tracked so the federal agency can determine how much of these chemicals are discharged into the environment each year. This type of reporting has become a global effort, with similar treaties established in other foreign countries.
Complementing the carbon reporting plan is funding approved by the U.S. Congress to establish a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Registry by June 2009. This registry is in addition to the already established Climate Registry for calculating the release of carbon into the environment. Although participation in the Climate Registry is voluntary, 41 U.S. states currently participate.
Carbon reporting is a multifaceted process that requires an account of daily use of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases companywide. The equation also has to project the potential for greenhouse gas emissions and include the actual identification of carbon emissions caused by a leak or faulty operation.
Some 13,000 facilities across the United States account for up to 90% of greenhouse gas emissions, as calculated by the EPA, and fall under the carbon reporting proposal. Facilities that use heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems or refrigeration and air conditioning systems would do best to utilize a refrigerant management program. This type of program handles the tracking and reporting of emissions, which can be quite a tedious procedure.
The EPA expects the carbon reporting requirement to take effect in 2010. That would mean the first annual report would be required by 2011. To address these complex regulations, many industries are relying on refrigerant tracking software that automatically handles all the monitoring and reporting requirements. This ensures that the information is complete, accurate and submitted to the EPA on time.
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Daniel Stouffer has a lot of data about the importance of carbon reportingand how the refrigerant-tracker will aid you.
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