Why should we care about Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Management?

 The earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Globally-averaged temperatures in 2016 were 0.99 degrees Celsius warmer than the mid-20th century mean. This makes 2016 the third year in a row to set a new record for global average surface temperatures.

The planet’s long-term warming trend is seen in the annual temperature cycle from 1880 to the present, compared to the average temperature from 1980 to 2015 (Credits: NASA/Joshua Stevens, Earth Observatory).

The 2016 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. NOAA scientists concur with the finding that 2016 was the warmest year on record based on separate, independent analyses of the data.

NASA reports that Earth has been shedding sea ice at an average annual rate of 13,500 square miles each year (35,000 square kilometres) since 1979. This is a sign of increasing global temperatures, as is the increasing sea level rise – see trend of sea level from the University of Colorado.

 

 

Climate change – of which we have seen evidence above is happening. Regardless of scientific and political debate and even for climate sceptics) is affecting organizations now on different fronts:-

  • legal, 
  • market, 
  • stakeholder concerns

Let’s ask ourselves some questions.

Question: Is there something happening to our home world?

Question: Should we sit back and sleep walk into a planetary crisis?

Question: What can we do and do we really need to take action to protect ourselves against the impacts of climate change? The evidence seems clear that the globe is warming up, so action is required.

Question: What’s is the first step to take?

  • First we must measure before we can manage.
  • There continues to be high uncertainty about climate change policies/programs/protocols – existing and emerging.
  • There are many types of GHG protocols being developed – there are concerns about compatibility, user-friendliness, cost, credibility.
  • Many organizations have concerns about following the right approach to account for GHG emissions
  • To address climate change issues we need innovative solutions to be developed to reduce GHG emissions. As part of these solutions, the ISO 14064 standard helps organizations to manage their GHG emissions better.
  • The demand for GHG standards will continue to increase as more governments, businesses, and citizens take action to protect the global climate.
  • Many different types of standards, such as quantification (ISO 14064 -1), emission reduction projects (ISO14064-2) and auditing (ISO 14064-3) are needed to support a transition to a low carbon world.
  • The ISO GHG standards series is internationally recognized for its programme neutrality, compatibility and auditability. These key features build a foundation for the continued development of GHG standardization.
  • ISO’s GHG standards and its collaboration with other standards development initiatives serve as a vital network to help meet the demand for new GHG standards and GHG professionals.
  • ISO GHG standards have been incorporated into a range of GHG initiatives. The essential design principles of compatibility inherent in ISO 14064 are evidenced by its versatility with leading GHG initiatives, such as the
  •  
    • GHG Protocols for Corporate Accounting and Project Accounting, as well as the
    • UNFCCC CDM and JI programmes.

The flexibility of ISO 14064 continues to contribute to its growing adoption. ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-3 are being used by The Climate Registry (an international inventory reporting programme based in the US). The Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS) (global) and the Climate Action Reserve (CAR) are compatible with, and make strong reference to, the ISO 14064 series of standards. ISO 14064-2 and ISO 14064-3 are incorporated into offset systems of the governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia amongst other schemes and programmes internationally.

ISO 14064-3 is probably the most widely used of the ISO GHG standards, with widespread international adoption and a dominant market position in many jurisdictions.

Although ISO 14064-3 was designed specifically to complement ISO 14064-1 and ISO 14064-2 for auditing organizational and project-level GHG assertions, ISO 14064-3 is applicable to other GHG standards, such as the GHG Protocols which are used internationally.

As the nascent GHG markets evolve, ISO 14064-3 has proved a useful tool for companies to build more rigorous GHG management systems to provide a range of stakeholders with more confidence to proceed with GHG activities, such as technology investments and public statements about GHG performance.

In 2007, ISO, WRI and the WBCSD signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), under which they agreed to jointly promote the ISO 14064 standards and the GHG Protocol. The MoU emphasizes that for corporate accounting, requirements and guidance contained in ISO and GHG Protocol standards are consistent, and they are designed so that they can be used in a complementary manner.

To equip your people with the knowledge to implement these standards contact Carbon Action. Carbon Action has trained many hundreds of GHG practitioners since 2009 in these ISO Standards.

ISO 14064 -3 Verification Course and ISO 14064 – 3 Validation Courses coming to London in June and July!!

 

Contact Charles Burgess at charlesburgess@carbonaction.co.uk

Next time we ask – what’s happening to the permafrost?

Permafrost is land that has been frozen stretching back to the last ice age, 10,000 years ago. As the Arctic warms at twice the global rate, the long-frozen soils thaw and decompose, releasing the trapped greenhouse gases into the air. Scientists calculate that the world’s permafrost holds twice as much carbon as the atmosphere.