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Special Programs Office (SPO)

Greenhouse Gas Measurements Program

The Greenhouse Gas Measurements (GHG) Program develops advanced tools and standards to accurately measure GHG emissions needed by businesses and governments to guide local and regional mitigation actions in the United States.

NIST Greenhouse Gas Measurement Program — NIST’s Greenhouse Gas Measurements Program develops advanced tools for accurately measuring emissions so industries and governments will have the information they need to manage emissions effectively.

What we do
The Greenhouse Gas Measurements Program is focused on measurement methods, data, and standards to track progress in achieving GHG emission reductions of 1 to 3 percent on an annual basis. In many applications, the fine spatial resolution of these measurements provide GHG emissions data at the city street, block, or building level with hourly time resolution. U.S. businesses and governments can use this information to support local and regional mitigation efforts.

How we achieve this
NIST works with external partners to make atmospheric measurements of GHGs for use in analysis, including atmospheric (top-down), emission (bottom-up), and biogenic modeling. The NIST Urban Dome Test Bed System allows NIST and other researchers to test various emissions measurement methods in cities with different characteristics.

What is our role?
NIST is in a unique position to help stakeholders through method development focused on urban emissions and biological carbon cycle uptake.