WATCH: Groundbreaking GEMMA live emissions dashboard launches in UK

The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measurement and Modelling Advancement (GEMMA) programme sets new standards for understanding human impact on our atmosphere. 

Britain’s metrology institute, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), already considered a global leader in ultra-precise measurement, is leading the research consortium behind the new project. Other organisations involved include the Met Office, National Centre for Earth Observation, and National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Bristol. 

Together, the institutes aim to create a single integrated network monitoring all greenhouse gas sources and sinks in the UK. The idea is to establish a clear understanding emissions origins in real-time, facilitating new steps to reduce and mitigate. To do this, all six tall tower atmospheric measurement sites in the UK will be used, alongside another under construction and an eighth just announced but yet to be developed.

Data from remote sensor instruments will also be included, as will meteorological readings. The result will be an in-depth picture of emissions rates, with information then shared online. A budget of £12m has been allocated to fund the initiative, paid for through UK Research and Innovation’s strategic theme of Building A Greener Future, the Natural Environment Research Council, NPL and Met Office. 

‘Climate change is one of the biggest societal challenges of our time and the UK led the world in declaring a net zero target by 2050. The scale and complexity of net zero demands the best available information and the GEMMA programme aims is to provide the big picture, integrated view that is necessary to enable and assure that UK investment delivers,’ said Richard Barker, Head of Environment at NPL. 

‘The GEMMA programme aims to use the latest developments in atmospheric measurements and modelling to determine the contributions of the different GHG sources and sinks to the overall UK inventory and how these change with time. It will be delivered through a unique collaboration that brings together key expertise from the academic and public sector research community,’ added Principal Research Scientist Tom Gardiner. ‘The output from the two-year project will deliver a blueprint for a long-term framework to provide a detailed, measurement-based assessment of the UK’s progress towards delivering Net-Zero.’

Read up on the construction industry’s failure to establish clear emissions reductions plans here.

Image: Max Bender