Search Climate Insights Directory

The RMI report 'COP26 Action Plan: Three Urgent Steps to Standardize Emissions Reporting' proposes a 'digitally native' GHG Protocol to improve the visibility and traceability of scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions across supply chains. The author argues that current accounting systems rely too heavily on approximations and spreadsheets, which hinders the ability to compare companies and incentivize decarbonization. The plan outlines a three-step transition: establishing unified accounting principles that prioritize primary data over averages, building a technical architecture based on distributed ledger technology to track embodied carbon at the product level, and evolving the market so that carbon emissions become a digital 'unit of trade' integrated into corporate financial disclosures.

Ember submitted a response to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy's call for evidence on the role of biomass in achieving net zero. The submission argues that biomass for power and BECCS are expensive and that sustainable biomass should be prioritized for construction and hard-to-abate industry rather than the power sector. Ember calls for tighter sustainability regulations, a move away from the assumption of inherent carbon neutrality for biomass power, and the unbundling of residual and negative emissions budgets to provide clarity on the 2050 net zero law.

A briefing by RMI on the necessity of standardizing carbon accounting across industrial supply chains to meet Paris Agreement goals and limit global warming to 1.5°C.

This report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) examines the limitations and uncertainties of life-cycle assessment (LCA) tools used to compare the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of concrete, steel, and wood in the built environment. It argues that current LCAs often lack transparency and omit critical data—particularly regarding biogenic carbon in wood—which can lead to misleading conclusions about the relative performance of building materials. The report concludes that prioritizing energy efficiency and building longevity offers greater mitigation potential than focusing on material substitution alone.

This technical annex assesses progress toward Goal 7 of the New York Declaration on Forests, which aims to include forest-related mitigation measures in a post-2020 global climate agreement. As of November 2015, the report finds that while the REDD+ methodological framework is largely complete, the final text of the Paris Agreement remains under negotiation, and the extent to which land-use sectors are integrated into national commitments (INDCs) varies significantly across countries.

This policy brief examines how international greenhouse gas (GHG) emission offsets can be designed to provide a 'net decrease' in emissions, moving beyond the standard one-to-one credit ratio. It analyzes the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to identify project types and accounting methods—such as stringent baselines and discounting—that could generate surplus reductions and a net atmospheric benefit.

This research paper explores the technical and institutional challenges of establishing Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for REDD+ in developing countries. It emphasizes the need for clear definitions of 'forest' and 'reference levels' (RL/REL), the utility of nested approaches to scale subnational efforts to national levels, and the critical role of capacity building and stakeholder involvement to ensure the credibility of carbon credits.

This methodology document describes the data, calculations, and assumptions used in 'Klimatkalkylatorn', a climate footprint calculator developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and WWF Sweden to help the public understand the environmental impact of their lifestyles.

This September 2020 report by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) provides practical guidance for organizations to track, report, and reduce business air travel emissions. Based on the TR2AIL project, which involved interviews at SEI and the University of East Anglia, the document outlines strategies for setting emissions targets, implementing decision-support tools, and fostering an organizational culture that prioritizes lower-carbon travel alternatives.

This research paper by the World Resources Institute (WRI) proposes a neutral framework for companies to estimate and disclose the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impacts of products relative to a baseline where the product does not exist. It aims to harmonize reporting practices for both positive impacts, often termed "avoided emissions," and potential negative impacts to improve the credibility of corporate claims.

This guide details the greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory methodology used by the World Resources Institute (WRI), covering the reporting period from Fiscal Year 2010 to 2021. It outlines the organizational boundaries, operational scopes, and specific calculation methods for direct and indirect emissions in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards.

The report argues that dedicated land use for bioenergy is unsustainable and unrealistic because it competes directly with food production, animal feed, and carbon storage. It recommends phasing out crop-based biofuels and those requiring dedicated land, suggesting that solar photovoltaics offer a far more land-efficient alternative for energy generation.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) provides supplier-specific as-delivered CO2 emission rates to large customers based on hourly consumption profiles. To support these customers in meeting sustainability goals, TVA developed a spreadsheet tool that compares the costs and REC consumption of renewable versus clean energy goals and allows for predictive modeling of CO2 reduction targets through 2030.