Combating Climate Change by Measuring Carbon Emissions Correctly

This briefing by RMI, authored by WattTime co-founder Gavin McCormick, argues that managing climate change requires shifting from average to marginal carbon emissions measurements for electricity. The author explains that because the grid's marginal resource changes every 5 to 15 minutes, timing and locating energy use and generation based on real-time marginal data can significantly reduce CO2 emissions without requiring new infrastructure investments.

• The author asserts that the electricity system is the largest single source of carbon emissions in the United States, but these emissions are not measured correctly, which hinders effective management.
• There is a critical distinction between average emissions factors (total emissions divided by total energy produced) and marginal emissions factors (the rate at which emissions change with a small change in electricity load). Using average factors can lead to incorrect decisions; for example, in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, while the average emissions factor is low due to hydropower, the marginal resource is often natural gas, meaning new electricity demand increases emissions at a rate of 840 lbs. CO2 per MWh.
• Harnessing the flexibility of end-use devices by timing their operation based on real-time emissions data can make them run an average of 15 percent cleaner than 'dumb' devices without impacting cost or quality for the user.
• Correct carbon accounting enables several specific emissions-management opportunities: adjusting the timing of energy use via Internet-connected devices (like EV chargers and thermostats), optimizing the location of generation and use, valuing energy conservation based on actual carbon reduction potential (e.g., prioritizing the displacement of coal over natural gas), and pricing carbon markets and RECs based on actual rather than average impacts.
• The location of renewable energy projects significantly impacts their carbon reduction value; for instance, a wind farm in West Virginia reduces twice as much carbon per MWh as an identical farm in California.

APA

McCormick, G. (2016). Combating Climate Change by Measuring Carbon Emissions Correctly. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/combating-climate-change-measuring-carbon-emissions-correctly/

Chicago

McCormick, Gavin. Combating Climate Change by Measuring Carbon Emissions Correctly. RMI, 2016. https://rmi.org/resources/combating-climate-change-measuring-carbon-emissions-correctly/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=McCormick |first1=Gavin |title=Combating Climate Change by Measuring Carbon Emissions Correctly |publisher=RMI |date=30 November 2016 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/combating-climate-change-measuring-carbon-emissions-correctly/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mccormick2016combating, author = {McCormick, Gavin}, title = {{Combating Climate Change by Measuring Carbon Emissions Correctly}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2016}, month = nov, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/combating-climate-change-measuring-carbon-emissions-correctly/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }