ABCs of carbon emissions accounting

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ABCs of Carbon Emissions Accounting
May Antoniette Ajero Climate Change Information
Center June 19, 2003
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What is carbon emissions accounting?
Carbon accounting records, summarizes and reports
the quantity of carbon emissions by sources and
removals by sinks as a direct result from human
activities or natural processes that have been
affected by human activities
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Why conduct an accounting of carbon emissions?

• provide information on which to build an
  effective strategy to manage GHG emissions

• prerequisite for participation in GHG trading
  markets

• demonstrate compliance with government
  regulations, if any is already in place

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UNFCCC Article 4 (a)

• Develop, periodically update, publish and make
  available to the Conference of Parties national
  inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources
  and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases not
  controlled by the Montreal Protocol, using
  comparable methodologies to be agreed upon by the
  Conference of Parties

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C D 4 C D M
Why is there a need to use a standard
methodology?

• allows comparability across all countries

• ensures consistency, transparency and
  verifiability of the inventory

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Development of the methodology guidelines for
national GHG inventories

• OECD Report on Estimation of GHG Emissions and
  Sinks (1991)
• IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories
  (1995)
• Revised IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
  Inventories (1996)
• Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty
  Management (2000)

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Revised IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
Inventories

• the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National
  Greenhouse Gas Inventories should be used as
  "methodologies for estimating anthropogenic
  emissions by sources and removals by sinks of
  greenhouse gases" in calculation of
  legally-binding targets during the first
  commitment period. - COP3 held in 1997 in Kyoto

• consists of three volumes

• The Reporting Instructions (Volume 1)
• The Workbook (Volume 2)
• The Reference Manual (Volume 3)

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A good GHG accounting/inventory and reporting
must be...

• relevant
• complete
• consistent
• transparent
• accurate

• comparable
• verifiable

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Relevance - clearly defines and reflects GHG
emissions of the chosen boundary and the decision
making needs of the users
Completeness - all GHG emission sources and
activities within chosen boundaries are
accounted - any specific exclusions are stated
and justified
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Consistency - same approach and practices in the
calculation and presentation of data allows
meaningful comparison of emissions performance
over time.
Transparency
- relevant issues are addressed in a factual and
coherent manner based on a clear audit trail. -
important assumptions are disclosed -
appropriate references of methods used are made.
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Accuracy - a credible calculation and reporting
system with the precision needed for their
intended use is practiced. - uncertainties
which may arise from default assumptions and
methods are kept at a minimum
Comparable - methods used complies and adheres
to internationally accepted methodology (such as
the IPCC Guidelines)
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• Carbon emissions
• emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous
  oxide
• in equivalent carbon dioxide units

• Global Warming Potential
• Carbon Dioxide 1 CO2 equivalent
• Methane, CH4 21 CO2 equivalents
• Nitrous Oxide, N2O 310 CO2 equivalents
• Other Gases HFCs, PFCs, and SF6 range 600
  23900x CO2 equivalents

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Steps in carbon accounting

• Identify boundary/ies to be covered
• Identify emission sources to be covered
• Select an emissions calculation approach
• Collect activity data and choose emission factors
• Apply calculation tool to estimate emissions

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Levels/boundaries of accounting

• organizational
• operational (companies)
• geographical
• project - based

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Direct GHG emissions are direct emissions from
activities or sources immediately within the set
boundary / project. e.g. vehicle emissions
Indirect GHG emissions are emissions that are
a consequence of the activities of the
boundary/project e.g. electricity use
On-site and Off-site Emissions (geographical) emi
ssions that take place at a project site/
emissions that result from activity elsewhere
Emission Categories
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Upstream emissions (includes embedded/embodied)
material impacts of activities that relate to
the project activity but occur before it
Downstream emissions material impacts of
activities that relate to the project but occur
after the project activity
Full cycle accounting a comprehensive accounting
of all the significant emissions related to a
project
Emission Categories
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Direct / on-site emission
off-site emission
Types of Emissions
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Who can do the accounting?

• have previous knowledge on the basics of climate
  change
• are proficient in basic mathematical operations
• are computer literate (i.e. Excel) and
  preferably,
• are familiar with activity or project process
  being accounted for carbon emissions

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EQUATION

• GHG A x EF

where, GHG emissions (amount of CO2 or CH4,
etc) A activity data (liters of fuel, kg
of cement) EF emission factor (kg CO2/liter
of fuel, kgCO2/kg cement)
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• GHG A x EF

A (activity data) - data on the magnitude of
human activity resulting in emissions or removals
taking place during a given period of time
(liters of fuel consumed, etc) EF (emission
factor) - a coefficient that relates the activity
data to the amount of chemical compound which is
the source of later emissions. - Emission
factors are often based on a sample of
measurement data, averaged to develop a
representative rate of emission for a given
activity level under a given set of operating
conditions. (amount of Carbon/unit activity)
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Base year - the year for which the inventory is
to be taken Anthropogenic emissions - Emissions
of greenhouse gases, greenhouse gas precursors,
and aerosols associated with human
activities. Default Method - The IPCC Guidelines
recommends a number of assumptions and data for
use in the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions
and removals primarily to provide users with a
starting point from which they can develop their
own. Top-down Approach (Aggregate)- Evaluate the
system from aggregate economic variables.
(MACRO) Bottom-up Approach (Disaggregated)- A
modeling approach that includes technological and
engineering details in the analysis. (MICRO)
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Sample Emissions Calculation Emissions from
Cement Production
GHG A x EF tons CO2 tons of cement
produced x 0.4985 tons CO2/ton of cement produced
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The Typical IPCC Worksheet
sector
Source category

A
EF
GHG
Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
Inventories Workbook page 2.61
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1994 Philippine GHG Inventory Results
Tons cement produced
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Prefixes, Conversion Factors and Acronyms
Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
Inventories Reporting Instructions, page
INTROD.4
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Prefixes, Conversion Factors and Acronyms
Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
Inventories Reporting Instructions, page
INTROD.4
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Prefixes, Conversion Factors and Acronyms
Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
Inventories Reporting Instructions, page
INTROD.5
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Prefixes, Conversion Factors and Acronyms
Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
Inventories Reporting Instructions, page
INTROD.5
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Emissions Reduction
GHG A x EF
To reduce the value of GHG

• lower the value of A decreasing frequency or
  magnitude of activity or emission source
• lower the value of Emission factor shifting
  into a more efficient technology, less carbon
  intensive activity
• or do both at the same time

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Emissions Reduction
Business as usual baseline
CO2 emission
Reduced emissions (CER)
Project implemented
year
End of project
Start of project
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Other terms used for Scenarios
Baseline Business as Usual (BAU scenario)
Reference Scenario Without Project
Scenario
Project Alternative Project scenario
With Project Scenario
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Emissions Reduction Calculations
- objective is to define reference and project
scenarios and determine the net difference in GHG
emissions between these two scenarios
DGHGredn GHGbase GHGproj emissions
reduction due to existence of the project
GHGbase an estimation of emissions assuming
that no alternative project was
implemented GHGproj measures the GHG emissions
following project implementation
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DGHGredn GHGbase GHGproj (AEF)base
(AEF)proj
So that, in renewable energy projects wherein
emission factors of the project are considered
zero
zero
DGHGredn (AEF)base (A0)proj
(AEF)base DGHGredn GHGbase
hydro, solar, wind - excludes leakage and other
direct and indirect emissions
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CDM Eligible Projects

• Renewable energy
• Fuel switching
• End-use energy efficiency improvements
• Supply-side energy efficiency improvement
• Agriculture (reduction of CH4 NO2 emissions)
• Industrial processes (CO2 from cement, HFCs, etc)
• Sink projects (only afforestation reforestation)

Energy Industries
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Sample CDM Projects and Emissions Reduction
1. Renewable Energy Projects (Hydro, Wind,
Biomass) - lower emission factor CO2 savings
2. Landfill Gas to Energy Projects - capture
and utilize methane from landfill and
displace fossil fuel used to generate
electricity CO2 savings and CH4 savings
3. Energy Efficiency Projects - lower
electricity consumption due to more efficient
equipment or appliance (lower activity data)
CO2 savings
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Sample CDM Projects and Emissions Reduction
Calculation
Renewable Energy Projects - lower emission
factor CO2 savings
Hydro Aquarius Hydrothermal Project Wind
Burgos Wind Energy Project
Hands-on Exercises
Wind Wigton Wind Farm Project
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Some References for estimating CO2 emissions and
emissions reduction

• Revised IPCC Guidelines for National GHG
  Inventories (1996)
• GHG Assessment Handbook, 1998 World Bank
• GHG Protocol www.ghgprotocol.org
• IPCC Database on Greenhouse Gas Emission Factors
  (EFDB) - http//www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/EFDB/mai
  n.php
• USEPA Emission Inventory Improvement Program
  http//www.epa.gov/ttn/chief/eiip/techreport/volum
  e08/index.html
• PROBASE (forestry) http//e-serem.epu.ntua.gr/