The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has launched a tool to allow 28 industrial sectors to submit their 2010 greenhouse gas pollution data electronically.
More than 1,000 stakeholders, including industry associations, states and non-governmental organizations, have tested the Electronic Greenhouse Gas Reporting Tool (e-GGRT) to ensure clarity and user-friendliness, the EPA says.
The data collected with the tool will provide information about the nation’s largest stationary sources of greenhouse gas pollution. Industries and businesses can also use the data to help find ways to decrease carbon pollution, increase efficiency and save money, the EPA says.
Under EPA rules, fuel suppliers and the biggest stationary emitters of greenhouse gases must submit emissions data annually, with the first round of data to be submitted electronically by September 30, 2011. That deadline was pushed back from March 31.
The EPA has said that under its GHG Reporting Program, entities required to submit data must register e-GGRT no later than 60 days before the reporting deadline, or August 1, 2011.
The EPA expects to receive 2010 greenhouse gas data from approximately 7,000 large industrial greenhouse gas emitters, including power plants, petroleum refineries and landfills. The agency plans to publish non-confidential greenhouse gas data collected through the tool by the end of 2011.
