Climate Change Transparency

On November 14, 2007 the Center for Global Development released the Carbon Monitoring for Action (CARMA) database, the world's most detailed and comprehensive information on carbon emissions resulting from the production of electricity. Power sector emissions make up 25% of the global total of carbon emissions (40% of total in the U.S.), and are a primary cause of global warming. The international development community is increasingly concerned about the impact of climate change, as it has come to recognize the far-reaching impacts it will have on poor people in many developing countries.

CARMA's goal is to put anyone in the world just a few clicks away from complete, tailored information about carbon emissions for any plant, any company, and any locale. CARMA provides data for all power facilities and companies, whether they are entirely coal-fueled or completely reliant on renewable energy sources. CARMA will equip millions of concerned global citizens – consumers, investors, political leaders, managers, professionals, and community organizers – with the information they need to take action and build a low-carbon future.

CARMA is overseen by CGD senior fellow David Wheeler, one of the world's leading experts on the public disclosure of information to reduce pollution. Wheeler's previous research, his experience while working for the World Bank in helping to apply this technique in Indonesia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, and an extensive body of research by others, have shown that public disclosure of critical information can have powerful effects on environmental performance. Wheeler recently released a CGD working paper, Moving Toward A Consensus on Climate Policy: The Essential Role of Global Public Disclosure that argues for an urgent and aggressive international effort to apply information disclosure techniques to the problem of greenhouse gases.

CARMA is CGD's contribution to this effort. The database includes information on more than 50,000 power plants, 4,000 power companies, and nearly 200,000 geographic regions in every country on Earth. Users can view carbon emissions data for the year 2000, the present, and future plans. And all of CARMA's data is updated quarterly to reflect changes in plant ownership and planned construction.

Visit CARMA, explore the site, sign up for the CARMA newsletter, tell your friends, and read and comment on the CARMA blog — the main source for analysis and news from the CARMA team.