Global Energy Monitor

Global Energy Monitor

Abbreviation	GEM
Formation	2008 (2008)
Type	Non-governmental organization
Legal status	501(c)(3) organization
Purpose	Research and analysis
Location	San Francisco, California, United States
Region served	Worldwide
Executive Director	Ted Nace
Staff	80-90
Website	globalenergymonitor.org
Formerly called	Coalswarm

Global Energy Monitor (GEM) is a San Francisco–based non-governmental organization which catalogs fossil fuel and renewable energy projects worldwide. GEM shares information in support of clean energy and its data and reports on energy trends are widely cited by governments, media, and academic researchers.^[1]

History

Global Energy Monitor was founded in 2007 by writer and environmentalist Ted Nace. Originally named "Coalswarm", and affiliated with Earth Island Institute, the organization created a tracker database of global coal-fired power stations that became "widely respected" by academic researchers, media outlets, and governments.^[2] In 2018, GEM became an independent organization and expanded coverage to include natural gas pipelines, steel plants, coal mines, oil and gas extraction sites and renewable energy infrastructures.

Research

Global Energy Monitor produces information about energy infrastructures through datasets, maps, and online profiles of specific energy projects housed on its GEM.Wiki platform. The model has been commended for improving transparency and accuracy for climate governance.^[3]

GEM's data has several thousand users worldwide, including governments, international agencies, commercial and non profit organizations, academics, universities, and media outlets. This includes the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, International Energy Agency, Rystad Energy, Oxfam, Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Mercator Research Center, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Pembina Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, Urgewald, World Wide Fund for Nature, Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), and International Center for Climate Governance (ICCG), among others.^[4]

List of trackers

• Global Coal Plant Tracker – Global Coal Plant Tracker documents existing, proposed, cancelled, and retired coal-fired power plants worldwide.^[5][6]
• Global Coal Mine Tracker – Global Coal Mine Tracker documents existing, proposed, cancelled, and closed coal mines and projects worldwide.^[7]
• Global Coal Project Finance Tracker – Global Coal Finance Tracker surveys the financial institutions, both publicly and privately owned, that have provided funding for coal-fired power stations since 2010.^[8]
• Global Integrated Power Tracker
• Global Energy Transition Tracker
• Global Energy Ownership Tracker
• Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker – Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker aggregates information on gas projects such as pipelines and terminals.^[9]
• Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker
• Global Oil and Gas Extraction Tracker
• Global Coal Terminals Tracker
• Global Steel Plant Tracker
• Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker
• Global Solar Power Tracker
• Global Wind Power Tracker
• Global Bioenergy Power Tracker
• Global Geothermal Power Tracker
• Global Nuclear Power Tracker
• Global Hydropower Tracker
• Global Methane Emitters Tracker
• Europe Gas Tracker – Europe Gas Tracker is a comprehensive dataset of fossil gas infrastructure across the European Union.^[10]
• Asia Gas Tracker
• Africa Energy Tracker
• Portal Energético para América Latina

See also

• 350.org
• Climate Reality Project
• European Renewable Energy Council
• Greenpeace
• Climate TRACE

References

1. Milman, Oliver (April 25, 2019). "North American drilling boom threatens big blow to climate efforts, study finds". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
2. "The race to build a better battery". Radio National. March 2, 2019.
3. Green, Fergus; Kuch, Declan (November 10, 2022). "Counting carbon or counting coal? Anchoring climate governance in fossil fuel–based accountability frameworks". Global Environmental Politics. 22 (4): 48–69. doi:10.1162/glep_a_00654. ISSN 1526-3800. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
4. Carrington, Damian (March 28, 2019). "Global 'collapse' in number of new coal-fired power plants". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
5. "Coal's end game: The dirtiest fossil fuel is on the back foot". The Economist. December 3, 2020.
6. Harvey, Fiona (April 26, 2022). "Too many new coal-fired plants planned for 1.5C climate goal, report concludes". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
7. "Hundreds of planned coal mines 'incompatible with 1.5C target'". Carbon Brief. June 10, 2021.
8. "Malaysian bank to phase out coal finance, in a victory for campaigners foot". Climate Home News. August 12, 2020.
9. Galey, Patrick (April 25, 2019). "North America driving global oil and gas pipeline 'boom'". Phys.org. United Kingdom. Retrieved January 11, 2023. Provides link to associated report.
10. "Gas leaks—and it's worse than we thought". Natural Resources Defense Council. December 16, 2020.

Further reading

Major reports

• Boom and Bust (2020)
• Gambling On Gas: Risks Grow For Japan's $20 Billion LNG Financing Spree (2020)
• Gas Bubble 2020: Tracking Global LNG Infrastructure (2020)
• How Plans for New Coal Are Changing Around the World (2019)
• A Coal Phase-Out Pathway for 1.5 °C (2018)

Other reading

• Thurber, Mark (2019). Coal. Polity Press. ISBN 978-1509514014.

External links

• Official website
• Global Coal Plant Tracker
• Global Gas Plant Tracker
• Global Coal Mine Tracker
• Global Coal Finance Tracker Archived April 29, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
• Global Oil Infrastructure Tracker
• Global Steel Plant Tracker
• Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker
• Europe Gas Tracker