Greenhouse Gas Flow Monitoring Helps in Global Climate Change Effort - Jack Koeken

As of 2010 most of the world’s industrialised nations have recognised the climate change issues resulting from global warming that were presented in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Since that time, the members of the European Union (EU), the United States (US) Environmental Protection (EPA) Agency and other regional and governmental bodies worldwide have introduced a wide range of policies and regulations all designed to prevent further global warming.

Thousands of industrial process and manufacturing plants with global operations in regions and nations around the planet are now working to comply with a broad range of new regulations. In response, industrial process and manufacturing companies worldwide are implementing energy conservation and overall greener practices ranging from simple recycling of everyday materials to installing complex alternative energy systems.

It is widely accepted now that rising levels of waste greenhouse gases (GHG) that result from industrial production and the everyday living practices of billions of people are the primary causes of global warming. Methane and other GHG’s have been targeted as a primary area of concern and regulatory activity.

Methane is the primary GHG emitted from oil and natural gas systems and is more than 20 times as potent as CO2 at warming the atmosphere, while fluorinated gases are even stronger and can stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Nitrous Oxide (NO2) is also considered part of the problematic pollutant mix.

The EU, EU-15 Member States, now followed by EU-25 members, has either already implemented or is in the process of implementing a number of regulations designed to monitor and minimise the emission of GHGs and other climate threatening pollutants in compliance with the Kyoto Protocols. The US EPA in 2009 and 2010 also implemented new regulations entitled “Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases.” The new US regulations called for certain facilities emitting 25,000 metric tons or more per year of specified GHG’s to provide an annual report of their actual GHG emissions.