The White House and Department of Energy launched a pilot project Wednesday to measure the greenhouse gas emissions of industrial products like steel and concrete, a move applauded by environmentalists and a major industry association but opposed by conservative allies of former President Donald Trump.
“The United States, trading partners, manufacturers, and consumers need a fair, coherent system for measuring the GHG intensity of energy-intensive industrial products,” DOE said in a release. “An accurate, coordinated GHG intensity measurement approach will bolster the Biden-Harris Administration’s climate goals.”
The White House Task Force on Climate, Trade and Industrial Competitiveness is leading the pilot, and DOE is assisting to “build rigorous, timely, and accurate statistics” on emissions, according to a release.
“We’re now making progress in building the data infrastructure we need to accelerate this clean manufacturing strategy, enabling us to track and propel reductions in industrial emissions and support the competitiveness of clean manufacturing as the emissions intensity of traded goods becomes increasingly important,” said national climate adviser Ali Zaidi.
