Demystifying Emissions Accounting

About the Forum

Emissions accounting is critical for countries, subnational governments, businesses, and climate advocates to track climate pollution and decarbonization over time. Today, greenhouse gas (GHG)inventories are calculated using a range of emissions accounting methods that vary across scales (e.g. national, state, corporate) and purpose (e.g. scientific research, policy compliance, business risk mitigation).

On December 10, CETI Research Fellow Jade Sauvé presented a webinar demystifying the patchwork of methods that measure, report, and verify GHG emissions and reductions across different sectors and activities as part of her capstone project for the University of Washington’s Program on Climate Change. To accompany the webinar, CETI produced an Emissions Accounting 101 document that summarizes the main methods used for emissions accounting globally and in the Northwest as well as key areas of evolution. The document:

• Details the methodologies used for jurisdictional emissions accounting and corporate emissions accounting
• Explains the complexities inherent in accounting for different types of GHG emissions
• Explores areas for advancement in these methodologies and technological innovations in GHG data collection
• Offers four scenarios that highlight real-world applications of GHG emissions accounting and inherent limitations in current practices