Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA)

Description:

CARMA is a database containing information about the carbon emissions of over 60,000 power plants and 20,000 power companies worldwide. Power generation accounts for 40% of all CO₂ emissions in the United States and about one-quarter of global emissions. CARMA is the first global inventory of a major, emissions-producing sector of the economy. It cased being updated in 2012 but is available for downloading from the link. CARMA is produced and financed by the Center for Global Development, an independent and non-partisan think tank located in Washington, DC.The objective of CARMA.org is to equip individuals with the information they need to forge a cleaner, low-carbon future. By providing complete information for both clean and dirty power producers, CARMA hopes to influence the opinions and decisions of consumers, investors, shareholders, managers, workers, activists, and policymakers. CARMA builds on experience with public information disclosure techniques that have proven successful in reducing traditional pollutants.For power plants within the U.S., CARMA relies upon data reported to the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy by the plant operators themselves. CARMA also includes official reported emissions for many plants in the European Union, Canada, India, and South Africa and annual generation for all of the worlds nuclear power plants, as reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency. For non-reporting plants, CARMA estimates electricity generation and CO2 emissions using statistical models that have been fitted to detailed U.S. plant data and unit-level engineering and fuel specifications. CARMA v3.0 reports emissions for the year 2004, 2009, and the future (based on planned construction and retirements).
CARMA also aggregates data on individual plants to the level of companies and several geographic entities (continents, countries, states/provinces, and cities worldwide, with additional reports for U.S. metro areas, congressional districts, and counties). CARMA is meant to be a repository of the best available information on power sector carbon emissions. Our policy is to correct any errors or omissions if suggested revisions are verified by an independent third party.

Creator:

Confronting Climate Change Initiative

Publisher:

Center for Global Development

URL:

https://www.cgdev.org/topics/carbon-monitoring-action

DOI:

No DOI minted