By Carrie Pond
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-789142.mp3
Frankfort, KY – Kentucky will report its greenhouse gas emissions under a new agreement with the nonprofit Climate Registry. Kentucky Public Radio's Kristin Espeland has more.
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The Climate Registry is a network of North American states and provinces. Members agree to calculate greenhouse gas emissions using similar, consistent methods and report their emissions every year. The data could help lawmakers set targets for reducing those emissions. To participate, Kentucky must gather data from power plants, factories, and commercial transportation fleets. But Governor Steve Beshear's spokesman Jay Blanton says officials are confident the state can collect the data it needs, since entities like power plants already report emissions.
"This is obviously a voluntary reporting system, but we've had good cooperation from folks, in terms of what they report, in terms of emissions, and we don't anticipate any significant challenges there."
Experts believe this and other greenhouse gas registries are laying the groundwork in advance of federal climate change legislation.