Reno claims US first with real-time emissions tracking

This article was originally published by Sarah Wray on Cities Today, the leading news platform on urban mobility and innovation, reaching an international audience of city leaders. For the latest updates, follow Cities Today on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, or sign up for Cities Today News.

The City of Reno, Washoe County and the State of Nevada have announced a software partnership to track energy and emissions data in real-time.

They claim Reno is the first city in the country to undertake real-time carbon tracking in line with the standards set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The governments are working with start-up Ledger8760 to use its carbon mapping technology to track hourly, daily and monthly carbon emission data against reduction targets outlined internally and in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve said: “The first phase of the project will provide the City of Reno with an accurate baseline of our emissions in a form that complies with IPCC reporting, establishing the City of Reno as a leader in meeting the transparency aspirations of the Accords.

“The ongoing, real-time data analysis will capture successes to demonstrate the City of Reno’s progress over time toward its mitigation climate goals, while also identifying data-driven practices and opportunities to accelerate its mitigation effort.”

The initiative could serve as a model for other US cities, Schieve said.

Single dashboard

Ledger8760 measures energy, emissions and utility information from thousands of public and proprietary data points. The software will track the Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 emissions for the City of Reno and Washoe County, as well as energy and emissions from the Nevada State Capitol, Nevada State Legislature, the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, and The Nevada Department of Transportation.

“Up until this point, organisations have had limited access to a data set of their emissions and energy usage, and they haven’t been able to see the full picture,” commented Adam Kramer, CEO of Ledger8760. “Through the data sets tracked with Ledger8760, leaders and stakeholders can now have a single dashboard with a full visualisation of their energy and emissions output, along with the related costs, across their organisation that will be both accurate and actionable.”

Heat is on

Reno and Las Vegas have been identified as among the fastest-warming cities in the US by Climate Central, a group of scientists and journalists who research and analyse climate change data. Cities in Nevada have faced extreme heat during the recent US heatwaves.

Reno’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan sets a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent by 2025 and 40 percent by 2030, from 2008 levels. The state of Nevada aims to become net zero by 2050.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak said: “As we continue to battle drought, diminishing water supplies and wildfires across the West, we are reminded daily of how critical our fight is to slow climate change. If we can accurately measure our impact in real-time, we can more efficiently reduce our carbon output. This is how we fight climate change and protect our state.”