NASA & Google Offer Different Paths to Monitor CO2 Emissions, Reductions

As countries contemplate pledges to make carbon reductions, one outstanding issue is that of verifying the actions they take.

A replica of the ill-fated NASA satellite, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, could theoretically monitor sources of CO2 from space.

NASA’s original satellite crashed when it was launched in February 2009. A replica, which would cost around $330 million, could be launched in just over two years, say NASA scientists.

A second tool is Google’s new program, Earth Engine, which promises to make satellite and other data accessible to countries participating in efforts to curb deforestation.

Deforestation is the biggest climate change source in the developing world, and industrial countries are proposing to pay billions to poor countries to stop deforestation. The Google system is designed to keep track of what forests are saved.

Google’s program won’t address the same issue as the satellite would, which is the issue of whether countries are actually keeping their pledges, whether they be to curtail power plant emissions or to preserve forest.

This subject was a sticking point during recent talks in Copenhagen, with Congress demanding verifiable reductions from China and India, and China resisting the notion that an international verification system should be in place.

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