Former VP and extraordinary climate activist, Al Gore, gave an impassioned speech regarding the urgency of the global situation, an overview of the history of inaction and ended his talk by quoting Martin Luther King, saying “If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving!”
To listen to the full 58-minutetalk, go to:
https://youtu.be/_w2d-SnjXsU?si=Cy6gr-8hNhn-DUci
It was an inspirational moment in a sea of dread. The message is clear- don’t give up! Well worth a listen!
The following recaps the part of Al Gore’s talk that covers the Climate TRACE system-
This COP29 event was the first introduction of this new technology:
Climate TRACE
This is a system that uses satellite imagery to locate sources of methane and other greenhouse gas emissions to measure and report them in order to eliminate as many as possible as soon as possible. For example, landfills may release large amounts of methane, but when covered by concrete (best), clay or sand, will greatly decrease the measure of methane and they will not show up regardless of the size or footprint. Fossil fuel wells can leak, even when closed and capped. Finding these leaking wells and capping them properly is a relatively simple and inexpensive fix for this and will make a significant difference. Until now, it wasn’t possible to discover where these leakages were occurring. We can also see how cities (buildings) are the largest emitters. Climate TRACE updates worldwide information monthly.
It heralds a new process by which many discoveries will be made, responsibility assigned, and appropriate solutions instituted. This is known as ‘the low-hanging fruit’ of worldwide GHG (Green House Gas) reduction. It’s easy to see where the largest emitters are on the website model. Work can then commence with visible, tangible and meaningful results. The website can be targeted to small areas (cities, counties, etc.)for local reporting by residents.
Measurement is critical to public buy-in and is evidence of which are the most effective actions and where resources need to be allocated.
The Climate TRACE tool is free, accessible and available to all at https://climatetrace.org/.