Emission inventory on company level: lessons from Russia

Better information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation potential in the agricultural sector is necessary to manage these emissions and identify responses that are consistent with the food security and economic development priorities of countries. Critical activity data (what crops or livestock are managed in what way) are poor or lacking for many agricultural systems, especially in developing countries. In addition, the currently available methods for quantifying emissions and mitigation are often too expensive or complex or not sufficiently user friendly for widespread use.The purpose of this focus issue is to capture the state of the art in quantifying greenhouse gases from agricultural systems, with the goal of better understanding our current capabilities and near-term potential for improvement, with particular attention to quantification issues relevant to smallholders in developing countries. This work is timely in light of international discussions and negotiations around how agriculture should be included in efforts to reduce and adapt to climate change impacts, and considering that significant climate financing to developing countries in post-2012 agreements may be linked to their increased ability to identify and report GHG emissions (Murphy et al 2010, CCAFS 2011, FAO 2011).

Energy-related activities are a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A growing body of knowledge clearly depicts the links between human activities and climate change. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil and other human activities has released carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other heat-trapping GHG emissions into the atmosphere and thus increased the concentration of atmospheric CO2 emissions. The main human activities that emit CO2 emissions are (1) the combustion of fossil fuels to generate electricity, accounting for about 37% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 31% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, (2) the combustion of fossil fuels such as gasoline and diesel to transport people and goods, accounting for about 31% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 26% of total U.S. GHG emissions in 2013, and (3) industrial processes such as the production and consumption of minerals and chemicals, accounting for about 15% of total U.S. CO2 emissions and 12% of total ...

Global economic development has highlighted the issue of climate change, which is one of the most important environmental issues plaguing human beings. It is widely agreed that excessive greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are important factors contributing to global warming. Many countries have formulated corresponding GHG emission reduction plans to deal with climate change issues. An important GHG emission source is released from sewage-sludge treatment systems. However, there has not been a comprehensive quantitative GHG emissions evaluation system in the case of sewage-sludge treatment systems, due to multiple emission sources, complex processes, and different standards. In previous studies, the Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, 2006) and Chinese Greenhouse Gas Inventory (National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, NCSC, 2005) were widely applied to estimate GHG emissions from sewage-sludge treatment. However, IPCC does not consider CO2 emissions from sewage treatment, and NCSC does not consider CO2 emissions from the sewage treatment and N2O emissions from sludge treatment. Therefore, the following have been conducted in this study: (1) A GHG estimation model basing on Life Cycle Thinking (LCT) was constructed, and the research objects were CH4, N2O, and CO2 that were produced by the sewage-sludge treatment system. The estimation model of CO2 and N2O, which were ignored in the IPCC report, were analyzed and discussed. The models of the GHG emission estimation were summarized and improved in the urban sewage-sludge treatment system under the different sewage-sludge treatment process scenarios. (2) The GHG emission load of major urban sewage-sludge treatment processes was analyzed, and the level and key links of environmental impacts generated by different processes were identified. This helps to understand and compare the environmental impacts of different treatment processes and provides suggestions for the sustainable development of wastewater treatment processes. (3) The GHG emission characteristics of nine scenarios of different sewage-sludge treatment processes were analyzed, and the environmental impacts caused by energy consumption and chemicals consumption were studied. Consequently, the sewage-sludge treatment process under low carbonization and low environment impact were proposed.

Taking Stock of Strategies on Climate Change and the Way Forward: A Strategic Climate Change Framework for Australia

The MAGICC (Model for the Assessment of Greenhouse gas Induced Climate Change) model simulation has been carried out for the 2000–2100 period to investigate the impacts of future Indian greenhouse gas emission scenarios on the atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide besides other parameters like radiative forcing and temperature. For this purpose, the default global GHG (Greenhouse Gases) inventory was modified by incorporation of Indian GHG emission inventories which have been developed using three different approaches namely (a) Business-As-Usual (BAU) approach, (b) Best Case Scenario (BCS) approach and (c) Economy approach (involving the country’s GDP). The model outputs obtained using these modified GHG inventories are compared with various default model scenarios such as A1B, A2, B1, B2 scenarios of AIM (Asia-Pacific Integrated Model) and P50 scenario (median of 35 scenarios given in MAGICC). The differences in the range of output values for the default case scenarios (i.e., using the GHG inventories built into the model) vis-a-vis modified approach which incorporated India-specific emission inventories for AIM and P50 are quite appreciable for most of the modeled parameters. A reduction of 7% and 9% in global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions has been observed respectively for the years 2050 and 2100. Global methane (CH4) and global nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions indicate a reduction of 13% and 15% respectively for 2100. Correspondingly, global concentrations of CO2, CH4 and N2O are estimated to reduce by about 4%, 4% and 1% respectively. Radiative forcing of CO2, CH4 and N2O indicate reductions of 6%, 14% and 4% respectively for the year 2100. Global annual mean temperature change (incorporating aerosol effects) gets reduced by 4% in 2100. Global annual mean temperature change reduces by 5% in 2100 when aerosol effects have been excluded. In addition to the above, the Indian contributions in global CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions have also been assessed by India Excluded (IE) scenario. Indian contribution in global CO2 emissions was observed in the range of 10%–26%, 6%–36% and 10%–38% respectively for BCS, Economy and BAU approaches, for the years 2020, 2050 and 2100 for P50, A1B-AIM, A2-AIM, B1-AIM & B2-AIM scenarios. CH4 and N2O emissions indicate about 4%–10% and 2%–3% contributions respectively in the global CH4 and N2O emissions for the years 2020, 2050 and 2100. These Indian GHG emissions have significant influence on global GHG concentrations and consequently on climate parameters like RF and ∆T. The study reflects not only the importance of Indian emissions in the global context but also underlines the need of incorporation of country specific GHG emissions in modeling to reduce uncertainties in simulation of climate change parameters.

While actions for addressing global climate change should not be delayed,an open and compatible method for quantifying the greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions of cities or local regions is critical required to support policies.Urban GHG inventory is fundamental for accounting GHG emissions in cities.In general,it reflects both emission structure and trend.Compiling GHG inventories at urban scale is a basic demand of low-carbon city construction in China,and also a foundation for China′s future development. Although use the methods of national GHG inventories as reference,GHG inventories for cities have their own characteristics on principles and methodology systems.The present urban GHG inventory usually uses the experiences of GHG inventory methodologies developed by IPCC(The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change),ICLEI(International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives) and Draft International Standard for Determining Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Cities.However,there are still no systemic and standardized methods and indexes for urban GHG inventories,because different organizations have established different approaches for inventorying urban GHG emissions.Though unified framework,such as IPCC or ICLEI,is used,treatments on some emission sources(electricity and cross-boundary transport) or divisions of sub-sectors are different.Due to these issues,it is unsuitable for comparison between cities.At the same time,the calculation results of China′s urban GHG emissions have little comparability with those of western cities,owing to differences of definitions and scales. China′s urban GHG emission inventory research is just at the beginning and achievements need to be extended and the performance of urban GHG emission inventory still has a long way to go.Based on present methodologies of compiling urban GHG emission inventories and typical case studies,both domestic and international,we were willing to establish a common standard by which inventory of urban emissions should be followed.Considering the special characteristics of China′s urban structure,and the problems which would be faced during the accounting progress,China′s urban GHG inventories should take its administrative area as spatial boundary and three main gases,carbon dioxide,methane and nitrous oxide,should be concluded.Consumption-based mode should be chose in order to reflect emission amount and structure more truly and more comprehensive.The most recent IPCC guidelines can be used for determining emissions from four aspects,energy(stationary and mobile sources),industrial processes and product use(IPPU),agriculture,forestry and other land use(AFOLU;where significant),and waste.While it is impractical to quantify all of the emissions associated with the indirect ways of urban GHG emissions,such as myriad of goods and materials consumed in cities,urban GHG inventories should also include out-of-boundary emissions from the generation of electricity and district heating which are consumed in cities(including transmission and distribution losses),emissions from aviation and marine vessels carrying passengers or freight away from cities,out-of-boundary emissions from waste that is generated in cities.The GHG emissions embodied in the food,water,fuels and building materials consumed in cities should also be reported as additional information items if possible.Uncertainty assessment and quality assurance are encouraged and should follow IPCC guidelines.

Net-zero emissions chemical industry in a world of limited resources

The pandemic effect on GHG emission variation at the sub-national level and translation into policy opportunities

The evolution of city-scale GHG emissions inventory methods: A systematic review

There are two types of approaches for analyzing various aspects related to green-house gas (GHG) emissions, i.e., top-down and bottom-up approaches. Although the top-down approach focuses on macro-economic perspectives, the bottom-up approach is more suitable to investigate GHG emissions at an industry level utilizing domain-specific knowledge. For example, a bottom-up analysis requires a wide variety of data such as energy demands, conversion factors, and energy efficiency, which may be obtained by analyzing industrial process data. This study aims to provide a bottom-up approach for analyzing GHG emissions from shipbuilding processes in Korea. Reference energy system and energy balance for shipbuilding processes are derived for bottom-up modeling. Based on the midterm forecast on energy demands of the Korean shipbuilding industry, it is shown that the business-as-usual GHG emissions may be obtained. Relevant mitigation measures are then investigated to analyze their mitigation potentials for low-carbon ship production. 1. Introduction Global climate change has recently drawn an increasing attention due to its adverse effects on our environment. Since the inception of Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Frame-work conventions on climate change, local and international experts have long called for more international cooperation in coping with global warming. The main idea of international cooperative efforts is to impose binding obligations for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions on participating countries. Even though some countries have withdrawn their commitment and others have been reluctant to adopting definite targets for emission reduction, many countries have already established a designated national authority to manage their GHG emissions. Korea has also established a national authority called "GHG Inventory and Research Center (GIR)" in 2010. One of the most important roles of GIR is to manage the national GHG emission levels and set the abatement target of various sectors through an efficient and integrated management of GHG-related information. Recently, GIR has conducted a series of research projects to analyze GHG emissions of industrial sectors in cooperation with a group of experts. This study presents the results from the analysis of GHG emissions and mitigation potentials for the shipbuilding processes in Korea. It should be noted that the scope of this study is limited to constructions processes in a shipyard even though the shipbuilding industry may encompass a broader range of industrial sectors such as steel production and transport. Adopting Model for Energy Supply Strategy Alternatives and their General Environmental Impacts (MESSAGE) developed by International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in 1980s (Messner 1997), a bottom-up mathematical programming model is generated to derive the business-as-usual (BAU) GHG emissions in the construction processes in a shipyard. Abatement potentials of several technical abatement measures are also analyzed to help shipbuilders effectively cope with the issue of climate change.

The increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a global concern due to its impact on climate change. To address this challenge, the development of corporate GHG inventories is crucial, enabling organizations to understand and mitigate their emissions. This study aims to statistically analyze whether there was a significant increase in GHG emissions over a 10-year period by organizations from various sectors of the economy that voluntarily published their inventories in the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program. Data were obtained from the inventories of 66 organizations that published at 2013 and 2022 in the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program. The data was processed and analyzed using Minitab software to determine the significance level of the increase in GHG emissions. A total increase of 159,264,734.26 tCO2e in GHG emissions was observed from 2013 to 2022, with 29 organizations reporting higher emissions and 37 showing reductions. However, statistical analysis demonstrated that there was no significant increase in GHG emissions over the study period. The results highlight the importance of organizations conducting their GHG inventories to enhance transparency and make strategic decisions aimed at mitigating their emissions. Publishing inventories allows for monitoring progress and identifying priority areas for effective interventions. No significant increase in GHG emissions was observed over the 10-year period; therefore, this study reinforces the importance of preparing GHG inventories by organizations. The findings can impact public policies on climate change, supporting the introduction of regulations that mandate the development of inventories and the setting of emission reduction and offsetting targets.

دراینمقاله،میزانو ارزش انتشارگازهایگلخانه‌ای اکسید‌نیتروس(N2O) و دی‌اکسید‌کربن(CO2)حاصلازتولید حبوبات منتخب ایران (شامل نخود، لوبیا و عدس) با استفاده از مدل GHGE،برایسالزراعی91-90برآورد شده است.نتایج نشان‌داد که استان‌هایفارسوبوشهر، به‌ترتیبباتولیدسالانه271/79 و 004/0 تنN2O، بیشترینوکمترینمیزانتولیدگاز گلخانه‌ایN2Oرا دارامی‌باشند. همچنین استان‌هایلرستانوبوشهر نیز به‌ترتیب باتولیدسالانه83/10327 و33/1‌تنCO2،بیشترینوکمترینمیزانتولیدگاز گلخانه‌ایCO2را به‌خود اختصاص داده‌اند. مجموعهزینه‌هایزیست‌محیطی انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای N2O و CO2 کلکشورنیزحدود705/32‌میلیاردریالبرآوردگردید. باتوجهبه یافته‌ها، مدیریت کودهای نیتروژنه مصرفی در مزارعوتوسعهسیاست‌کاهشمیزانانتشاربه‌همراه مالیات زیست‌محیطی انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای بر سطوح مختلف تولید پیشنهاد شده ‌است. واژه‌های کلیدی: اکسید‌نیتروس، دی‌اکسید‌کربن، حبوبات، گازهای گلخانه‌ای

Implementing city-level carbon accounting: A comparison between Madrid and London

Major US electric utility climate pledges have the potential to collectively reduce power sector emissions by one-third

انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای و اثرات آن بر گرمایش جهانی یکی از چالش‌های جدی کشورهای توسعه‌یافته و درحال‌توسعه محسوب می‌شود. بر اساس پیمان کیوتو، کشورهای مختلف موظف به محاسبه و اعلام میزان انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای شدند. بررسی میزان انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای کشورهای مختلف این امکان را فراهم می‌آورد تا ضمن ارائه تصویری از سهم کشورها در تولید گازهای گلخانه‌ای، جایگاه ایران نیز در این مجموعه مشخص شود. این مقاله تلاش دارد تا میزان و ارزش انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای اکسید نیتروس (N2O) و دی‌اکسید کربن (CO2) حاصل از دانه های روغنی تولیدی منتخب در ایران (سویا، کلزا، ذرت دانه ای و سایر دانه های روغنی) را با استفاده از مدل GHGE، برای سال زراعی 91-90 برآورد نماید. نتایج نشان داد استان‌های خوزستان و زنجان به ترتیب، با تولید سالانه 49/341 و 004/0 تن، بیش ترین و کم ترین میزان تولید گاز گلخانه‌ای N2O را در سطح کشور دارا می‌باشند. همچنین استان‌های گلستان و هرمزگان نیز به ترتیب، با تولید سالانه 47/7841 و 24/0 تن دی‌اکسید کربن بیش ترین و کم ترین میزان تولید گاز گلخانه‌ای CO2 را به خود اختصاص داده‌اند. مجموع هزینه‌های انتشار گازهای گلخانه‌ای N2O و CO2 کل کشور نیز حدود 331/27 میلیارد ریال برآورد گردید. باتوجه به یافته ها، اصلاح و تغییر شیوه‌های مدیریتی کشاورزی نسبت به سطح زیرکشت محصولات زراعی، مدیریت و افزایش کارایی کودهای ازته مصرفی در مزارع و توسعه سیاست‌های کاهش میزان انتشار به‌همراه مالیات زیست-محیطی انتشار گازهای گلخانه ای به سیاست‌گذاران این عرصه پیشنهاد شد.