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The Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) by WRI is a set of comprehensive and comparable greenhouse gas inventories, together with other climate-relevant indicators.  CAIT can be used to analyze a wide range of climate-related data questions and help support policy decision making and discussions under the Climate Convention and in other forums.

CAIT is freely available to the public and requires only a simple registration (also free).

There are currently four CAIT products available:

• CAIT is the original CAIT product, and includes comprehensive socio-economic and natural resource indicators, together with the most complete set of international GHG inventories available, compiled from internationally recognized agencies.
  
• CAIT UNFCCC provides similar capabilities using inventories submitted by countries to the UNFCCC Secretariat in their National Communications.
  
• CAIT V&A features indicators and analysis tools designed to inform policy discussions concerning vulnerability and adaptive capacity.
  
• CAIT-U.S. provides U.S. state-level GHG inventories and indicators for state-level climate policy analysis.

Additionally, there are several dozen charts and figures available in the CAIT charts area, suitable for use in print or presentations.  Many of these are taken from Navigating the Numbers.

WRI believes that obtaining relevant, accurate and objective data is an essential component of sound decision making and policy development.  CAIT's primary purpose is to provide high-quality information accessible through easy-to-use yet powerful and transparent analysis tools, to support the many dimenions of climate change policy.

Project Website: cait.wri.org

Publications

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  Target: Intensity. An Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Intensity Targets (2006)

  An analysis of GHG Intensity targets, underlying indicators, rationales, real-world applications, and implementation issues.

  Timothy Herzog, Kevin Baumert, and Jonathan Pershing

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  Navigating the Numbers: Greenhouse Gas Data and International Climate Policy (2005)

  Provides a comprehensive assessment of the world's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the global, national, sectoral, and fuel levels and identifies implications of the data for international cooperation on global climate change.

  Kevin A. Baumert, Timothy Herzog, and Jonathan Pershing

News & Views

• China's Carbon Intensity Target. (April 27, 2007)

  For the first time, China is considering a target for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. Whether the target is good or bad depends on how you look at it.

• Emissions Growth in the United States and the European Union. (February 23, 2007)

  Are GHG emissions in the EU growing faster than in the US? Depends on how you look at it.

• The State of U.S. Emissions, Part I. (January 17, 2007)

  The first in a series of articles on U.S. state GHG emissions and implications for climate change policy. How do state-level emissions compare internationally?

• Greenhouse Gases and Where They Come From. (October 30, 2006)

  The "spaghetti chart" shows how GHGs come from just about every human activity.

• How U.S. State GHG Emissions Compare Internationally. (October 2, 2006)

  U.S. emissions are greater than Great Britain, Canada, Russia, India, Brazil & South Korea combined. This map shows how emissions add up.

• The Climate of a Post-Kyoto World. (March 28, 2005)

• CAIT, the Climate Analysis Indicators Tool. (September 16, 2004)

  An interactive information and analysis tool on global climate change developed by WRI.

• A Climate of Information. (January 21, 2004)

Project Partners

The following is a list of organizations that have worked in partnership with WRI on this project. Complete WRI Partner List.

• Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC): United States
• International Energy Agency (IEA)
• US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): United States
• Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC): United States