- GHGSat’s Vanguard satellite monitors carbon emissions from individual facilities.
- Vanguard complements existing satellites, detecting elusive methane plumes from diverse sources.
Canadian company GHGSat successfully launched Vanguard. It is a satellite detecting carbon emissions from individual facilities like coal plants and steel mills from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This marks the first instance of such space-based monitoring.
The satellite complements the existing network focused on identifying methane plumes, addressing the challenge of detecting the elusive greenhouse gas from diverse sources. With carbon dioxide constituting nearly 80 per cent of U.S. human-induced greenhouse gas emissions, Vanguard’s facility-level focus fills a crucial gap in current monitoring.
Stephane Germain, CEO of GHGSat, highlighted that Vanguard’s data would underpin standard practices for monitoring and measuring carbon dioxide emissions. This would help contribute to the accuracy of government inventories, scientific modelling, and enhancing corporate greenhouse gas reporting for investors. This innovative use of space-age technology reinforces the global effort to hold industries accountable for their environmental impact.