Photo by Crystal Han | The Chronicle With help from Duke’s Energy Data Analytics Lab , a new database is providing the clearest picture yet of global greenhouse gas emissions. Dubbed Climate TRACE , the database maps human-produced emissions around the world to help policymakers craft more effective strategies for reducing global emissions. According to its website, Climate TRACE was built by a coalition of over 100 universities, scientists and artificial intelligence experts. Researchers in Duke’s Energy Analytics Lab specifically contributed to mapping emissions from the buildings sector, which includes fuel combustion in residential, commercial and institutional buildings. “Collectively, we’re hoping to make meaningful climate action faster and easier,” wrote Kyle Bradbury, director of the Energy Data Analytics Lab, in a March 7 email to The Chronicle. Housed within the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment and Sustainability, the lab studies how remote data, such as satellite imagery, can support sustainable development and inform climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. For Climate TRACE, the lab used a three-step process to create an emissions map for buildings. Researchers first identified the location of buildings around the world and sorted them by type, then gathered regional estimates of energy use intensity. They used that more detailed information to significantly enhance existing low-resolution data, including by accounting for seasonal variation in energy use. Bradbury noted that existing EDGAR emissions data , which is provided by the European Commission, is reported in roughly 11-square-kilometer regions. By integrating the new satellite data, the Energy Data Analytics Lab was able to further sharpen estimates for Climate TRACE into one-kilometer regions. The data gathered and analyzed by the Energy Data Analytics Lab for Climate TRACE is openly available to users in aggregates of 1-square-kilometer regions. Duke’s contributions to the database build on a study published in 2020, in […]
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