Practical Tools for Climate Action
On Tuesday, February 18, the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC-USA) held an educational program, in partnership with the team at Arizona State University and the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, designed to bridge the gap between climate education and journalism.
The critical panel session explored practical tools designed to empower governments, journalists, youth, and individuals to drive climate action and accountability. Journalists learned about the sources of climate change and tracking and measuring emissions through Climate TRACE, now right down to the facility level in your country; impacts of climate change and how data can help reduce those impacts through disaster preparedness; new ways to hold actors accountable and mitigate solutions; new ways to put in place solutions with engagement of people in the places affected by participatory mapping; and the way these tools are built, curated, and shared and how journalists can learn more about them—and use them to best effect
Journalists had the pleasure of hearing from two speakers.
Patricia Solís, Executive Director of the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience and Associate Research Professor in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. Solís is also co-founder and director of YouthMappers, a consortium of student-led humanitarian mapping chapters on more than 400 university campuses in 80 countries. Her disciplinary expertise centers on the application of participatory geospatial technologies for environment and development projects, especially related to extreme heat. Solís also serves a diplomatic appointment as President of the PanAmerican Institute of Geography and History for the Organization of American States.
Gavin McCormick Executive Director of WattTime, the nonprofit that first developed Automated Emissions Reduction (AER) technology. McCormick also cofounded and co-leads Climate TRACE, a coalition of over 150 collaborating nonprofits, universities, and tech companies pooling their expertise in AI, satellites, and emissions to jointly monitor global emissions. Today, Climate TRACE publishes free open data each month on global emissions, including detailed estimates of each of the 660 million highest-emitting facilities worldwide. Gavin has a Master’s degree in environmental and behavioral economics from UC Berkeley.
This webinar was moderated by Alan Herrera, who oversees AFPC-USA’s editorial operations. Below readers can find detailed takeaways from the panel session.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT CLIMATE TRACE
McCormick describes Climate TRACE as a collaborative emissions-tracking platform, similar to Wikipedia, where multiple organizations contribute to a single dataset. However, unlike Wikipedia, Climate TRACE—which has a contributing member in the ASU Global Futures Lab—ensures that emissions are neither double-counted nor overlooked. The coalition works to comprehensively measure emissions from all sources worldwide, providing a reliable, centralized database.
Among the key findings:
Unexpected transparency in national reporting: Initially tasked by the UN to investigate potential underreporting under the Paris Agreement, Climate TRACE found that countries were generally honest in their emissions reports, contrary to expectations.
Oil and gas industry discrepancies: While most industries' emissions data align with satellite observations, the oil and gas sector stands out for systematically misreporting its emissions globally. Surprisingly, coal companies do not show similar discrepancies.
Underestimated landfill emissions: Landfills contribute far more emissions than previously thought, largely because many unmonitored sites exist worldwide with no clear ownership or accountability, leading to their exclusion from inventories.
McCormick emphasizes that Climate TRACE is committed to providing neutral, fact-based emissions data rather than acting as an activist organization or “climate police.” While they work with UN agencies to independently verify national emissions reports, they do not dictate how the data is used.
In the corporate sector, many companies seek accurate emissions data not for publicity but to drive real actions. For example, major buyers like GM, Tesla, and Boeing use Climate TRACE to track emissions from steel production, allowing them to prioritize suppliers with lower carbon footprints. Climate TRACE’s role is strictly to provide transparent data, ensuring that organizations, governments, and businesses have the information they need to take their own climate-related actions.
“We're not in the business of pushing solutions, but we do make sure that everybody who is interested in taking next steps has exactly what they need to do whatever their climate goals are,” he said.
Gavin McCormick
McCormick explained how Climate TRACE functions as a comprehensive emissions tracking tool, comparing it to CompStat in policing—organizing data to drive better decision-making. While they know their data is being used by cities, companies, and governments, they don’t always get direct feedback on its impact. Recently, Climate TRACE has focused on directing emissions-reducing actions, such as identifying high-emission landfills that can be cheaply and effectively capped to cut emissions. They’re working with organizations like the World Bank to ensure funding is allocated to the most impactful projects.
During the demonstration, McCormick highlighted how Climate TRACE’s interactive map allows users to explore emissions data for any city, state, or country, breaking down sources by sector and ownership. A new feature coming soon will also provide science-backed solutions for reducing emissions at specific sites, helping policymakers and organizations take concrete action.
McCormick explained that Climate TRACE is a philanthropically supported nonprofit, with all its data available for free. Much of its funding comes from Al Gore, who is deeply committed to the project and is actively fundraising from foundations to sustain it. Beyond resources, McCormick highlighted the challenge of coordinating 150 different organizations. Unlike past attempts to track emissions via satellites—most of which failed due to hierarchical leadership—Climate TRACE “operates without a CEO or a single entity in charge.” Instead, it uses a collaborative, decentralized approach, where organizations exchange data based on mutual benefit. This networked structure fosters long-term stability, similar to Wikipedia, allowing the project to scale and endure despite its complexity.
He went on to say that Climate TRACE has revealed that the biggest challenge with emissions data isn’t dishonesty but outdated and crude estimates. Many national inventories are years out of date—some by 20 years, with even the global community relying on data that is typically two to three years old.
To address this, Climate TRACE consolidates the best available data from various organizations into a single, accessible database, eliminating the need for users to navigate multiple sources. The system is designed to provide more detailed, up-to-date emissions tracking, and starting March 2025, it will update monthly for all emissions sources worldwide. This shift offers policymakers and climate advocates an unprecedented opportunity to work with near-real-time data, helping drive more informed and immediate climate action, particularly in advancing environmental justice efforts.
ALL ABOUT YOUTHMAPPERS
Solís described YouthMappers as a global, student-led movement that leverages OpenStreetMap—a free, crowd-sourced mapping platform—to support humanitarian and climate resilience efforts. Unlike proprietary mapping tools like Google Maps, OpenStreetMap is created by the people, for the people, and fills critical data gaps, particularly for the 1 billion people worldwide who are not represented on official maps.
YouthMappers, which began about 10 years ago, has grown into a network of 425+ university chapters in 82 countries. The initiative trains and mobilizes students to map climate vulnerabilities, such as flooded roads, hurricane-hit communities, and disaster-prone areas, ensuring that organizations like the American Red Cross can rapidly assess damage and deploy resources.
Patricia Solís
A striking example is their response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, where local students were unable to map due to power outages, but students from Texas, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Uganda stepped in remotely to map damaged buildings—helping determine how much aid was needed. Solís said that YouthMappers has impacted 62 million people, “proving that by investing in young people’s capabilities and giving them the right tools, they can drive meaningful action in climate preparedness, disaster response, and resilience-building worldwide.”
A key example of how YouthMappers fosters cross-border collaboration and empowers students to contribute to sustainable development and climate resilience in their own communities comes from Sierra Leone.
In Sierra Leone, where students from universities—some lacking electricity themselves—worked with their Ministry of Energy to map electrified and non-electrified areas. Using street-view imagery captured on phones, they partnered with Meta’s AI system to analyze thousands of images, distinguishing utility poles from trees to create a detailed map of electricity coverage. This data helped inform plans to expand solar microgrids, ensuring universities and communities gained access to power, which is vital for heat-related health risks and sustainable development.
Beyond mapping, YouthMappers is also a workforce development initiative, equipping students with AI, GIS, and data analysis skills that lead to real-world impact. Success stories include a Nigerian student who launched his own space technology startup and was recognized in Forbes Africa’s 30 Under 30; a group of Malawian women who started their own drone company; and a Bangladeshi student selected as a youth representative for the Gates Foundation’s GIS board.
Solís also provided several examples of how YouthMappers has helped develop and deploy cutting-edge mapping tools, including the first U.S. deployment of MapSwipe, a tool from Heidelberg University, to identify vulnerable communities in Arizona—particularly mobile home residents at high risk of extreme heat. She emphasized that “YouthMappers is not just about training but also about pushing technological boundaries,” contributing to AI development and large-scale humanitarian mapping. Their work has enabled them to collaborate with tech companies and develop group-based AI mapping tools, making these technologies more effective and accessible. Solís also underscored that vulnerable populations exist everywhere, not just in the Global South.
AN OBSERVATION FROM MCCORMICK
McCormick drew a connection between YouthMappers’ work and Climate TRACE’s mission, emphasizing how mapping human settlements and wealth distribution can reveal critical insights about emissions and environmental justice.
He explained that emissions tend to cluster in areas where people are not wealthy enough to demand stricter regulations, meaning that lower-income but not the most vulnerable communities often have the highest emissions levels. This insight has practical implications for climate action, as retrofitting a factory in Kenya (rather than in a wealthier region) is often more effective in reducing emissions. Like YouthMappers’ efforts to make invisible communities visible, Climate TRACE is working to “flip the script” on how we identify the best, fastest, and most cost-effective ways to mitigate emissions. He suggested there are even deeper connections between mapping and climate action that could be further explored.
ON DATA
Solís emphasizes that ethics, accuracy, and accessibility are core principles in YouthMappers’ approach to data collection and sharing.
YouthMappers follows ethical guidelines developed with youth leaders, ensuring that data is collected with, by, and for the local communities. The principle of "do no harm" is central, especially in conflict zones, where mapping is left to humanitarian organizations or avoided altogether. Data is open, publicly available, and subject to correction, following a wiki-style principle where multiple contributors verify accuracy. This openness ensures reliable and continuously updated information.
She points out that mapping gives communities the power to be seen, which is especially important for marginalized groups. Initiatives like Everywhere She Maps highlight the unique spatial experiences of women, ensuring that gendered perspectives are included in mapping efforts. In some regions, mapping is illegal or dangerous, and YouthMappers prioritizes student safety, avoiding operations in high-risk areas. YouthMappers and its partners prioritize ethical mapping practices, and their ethical statement is publicly available for reference. Ethics and data quality remain dynamic, ongoing conversations in all their projects.
In his own response, McCormick highlighted the importance of purpose-driven data collection and transparency in ensuring data accessibility and impact. Above all, he agreed with the importance of diverse data creators, though he notes that his team is still working on improving diversity. He stressed that the purpose behind gathering data is crucial, especially in the context of emissions data. While many focus on easier-to-collect data from wealthy countries, this bias excludes poorer countries, where the most significant harm occurs. He said that all areas, even those that are hard to measure, “need to be considered.”
Additionally, McCormick advocates for transparency when data is uncertain. Rather than withholding data, his team publishes the best available data, acknowledging its potential errors and inviting collaboration for further validation. His team works to estimate emissions from every facility globally, a stark contrast to other datasets that often leave large portions of the world unmeasured due to uncertainty. This comprehensive approach ensures that no facility causing climate change is ignored.
ON WHAT “KEEPS THEM GOING”
Solís says that what keeps her going is the inspiration she draws from the young people she works with. While they are often described as leaders of the future, she believes they are already leading in the present. She emphasizes that the youth have told her that her role is to be “a good ancestor,” and that is what she strives to do.
McCormick is motivated by two key observations. First, he finds that climate change continues to be worse than expected each year. Second, he is “consistently amazed” by the faster-than-expected progress in reducing emissions, especially with trends like solar energy and electric vehicles. He's excited about the possibility of climate efforts becoming a winning fight, something that's never happened before.
