UNFCCC

UNFCCC is the acronym widely used to refer to the “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change“.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international treaty that provides an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to address the challenge posed by climate change. Part of the activities under the convention is the aim of achieving an international and legally binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

The coordinating institution of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the UNFCCC secretariat.

Website: www.UNFCCC.int

IPCC

 

IPCC is the acronym widely used to refer to “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change“.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a body established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for the assessment of climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic consequences.

Website: www.IPCC.ch

GWP

 

GWP is the acronym widely used to refer to “Global Warming Potential“.

The Global Warming Potential of a greenhouse gas indicates to what extent functionally, in regards to their green house gas effect on a 100 year time line, it is functionally equivalent to a certain amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

In colloquial terms, it describes the heat trapping ability of a greenhouse gas in the atmospheric cover of a planet. And it does that in relation to the heat trapping ability of CO2 by assigning a factor. The global warming potential, for example, of CO2 is 1 and the global warming potential of methane is 21. So methane has a 21 times higher heat trapping ability than CO2 on a 100 year time line/ time horizon.

For the purpose of GHG accounting, the global warming potential of a certain greenhouse gas provides the conversion factor to convert a specific amount of greenhouse gas emissions into CO2e (CO2 equivalent) emissions.

Global warming potentials for greenhouse gases

(Source: Environment Canada)

IPCC Global Warming Potentials – 100-Year Time Horizon
Greenhouse Gas

Formula

Second Assessment Report

Fourth Assessment Report

Carbon dioxide CO2 1 1
Methane CH4 21 25
Nitrous oxide N2O 310 298
Sulphur hexafluoride SF6 23 900 22 800
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
HFC-23 CHF3 11 700 14 800
HFC-32 CH2F2 650 675
HFC-41 CH3F 150
HFC-43-10mee C5H2F10 1 300 1 640
HFC-125 C2HF5 2 800 3 500
HFC-134 C2H2F4
(Structure: CHF2CHF2)
1 000
HFC-134a C2H2F4
(Structure: CH2FCF3)
1 300 1 430
HFC-143 C2H3F3
(Structure: CHF2CH2F)
300
HFC-143a C2H3F3
(Structure: CF3CH3)
3 800 4 470
HFC-152a C2H4F2
(Structure: CH3CHF2)
140 124
HFC-227ea C3HF7 2 900 3 220
HFC-236fa C3H2F6 6 300 9 810
HFC-245ca C3H3F5 560
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Perfluoromethane CF4 6 500 7 390
Perfluoroethane C2F6 9 200 12 200
Perfluoropropane C3F8 7 000
Perfluorobutane C4F10 7 000 8 860
Perfluorocyclobutane c-C4F8 8 700
Perfluoropentane C5F12 7 500
Perfluorohexane C6F14 7 400 9 300

1 IPCC Second Assessment Report (1996)
2 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (2007)

CO2e

CO2e is the acronym widely used to refer to “Carbon dioxide equivalent”.

Carbon dioxide equivalent is the unit of measurement used in a GHG assertion, meaning the unit of measurement GHG emissions are expressed in.

All greenhouse gases are expressed as functionally, in regards to their green house gas effect on a 100 years time line, equivalent as would be functionally a certain amount of carbon dioxide. The functional effect is called global warming potential.

Online GHG Calculators

Online GHG Calculators are web-based applications that will calculate CO2 emissions based on some type of activity, such as an amount of electricity used or kilometres driven. These tools are a fun way to get familiar with the concept of a personal carbon footprint. However they are absolutely inadequate for calculating real GHG emission levels for the purposes of GHG reporting, project accounting and assertion. This is because in most cases, these calculators only consider CO2 emissions and not other GHGs. Therefore the end result is not usually expressed in CO2 equivalent (CO2e). Also by using an online GHG calculator, the ISO 14064 principles of transparency and data quality are not satisfied because it will be difficult for a validator or verifier to establish the exact calculation algorithms used for such calculations.

In conclusion, while GHG calculators are great fun and useful for educational proposes, they are not suitable for GHG accounting purposes. The list of links on this site is therefore for educational purposes only.

ISO 14064

 

ISO 14064 is the acronym used to refer to a group of ISO Standards specifying the quantification, reporting, monitoring validation and verification of greenhouse gas.

Part 1 (ISO 14064-1): Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals

Part 2 (ISO 14064-2): Specification with guidance at the project level for quantification, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements

Part 3 (ISO 16064-3): Specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions

ISO 14064-1
The ISO 14064-1 standard (Greenhouse gases – Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals) provides guidance on the elements needed to implement an auditable GHG inventory. It offers a framework for designing, developing, managing and reporting organizational or company-level GHG inventories. It includes requirements for determining organizational boundaries, GHG emission boundaries, quantifying an organization’s GHG emissions and removals, and identifying specific company actions or activities aimed at improving GHG management. It also includes requirements and guidance on inventory quality management, reporting, internal auditing and the organization’s responsibilities in verification activities.

ISO 14064-2
The ISO 14064-2 standard (Greenhouse gases — Part 2: Specification with guidance at the project level for quantification, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements) specifies the principles and requirements and provides guidance at the project level for quantification, monitoring and reporting of activities intended to cause GHG emission reductions or removal enhancements. It includes requirements for planning a GHG project, identifying and selecting GHG sources, sinks and reservoirs relevant to the project and baseline scenario, monitoring, quantifying, documenting and reporting GHG project performance and managing data quality.

ISO 14064-3
The quality of data is also essential to effective emissions mitigation. To ensure that GHG emissions data is accurate and complete, a validation or verification process is carried out by an independent party to ensure quality assurance. A GHG validation/verification process will assess the following:

  • accuracy and completeness of GHG data;
  • reliability of procedures and controls that are in place to manage the data;
  • adherence to a specific set of criteria (such as an ISO 14064 standard).

The ISO 14064-3 standard (Greenhouse gases – Part 3: Specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions) details the principles and requirements for verifying GHG inventories, and validating or verifying GHG projects. It can be applied to entity-wide and offset project GHG quantifications. It provides requirements and guidance for those conducting GHG validations and verifications. It specifies the general requirements for selecting GHG audit team members, establishing the level of assurance, objectives, criteria and scope, determining the auditing approach, assessing GHG data, information, information systems and controls, evaluating GHG assertions, and preparing audit statements.

GHG

What is greenhouse gas? or What are the greenhouse gases?

 

GHG is the acronym widely used to refer to “Greenhouse Gases”.

They are relevant in the context of their role in the greenhouse effect. GHGs in the atmosphere absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. In colloquial terms, they trap heat under the atmospheric cover of our planet.

The most important ones for GHG accounting are:

Carbon Dioxide (C02)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous Oxide (N20)
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Hydrofluoroethers (HFEs)
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Nitrogen Trifluoride (NF3)
Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF6)