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Climate Change Mitigation

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Climate Change Mitigation environment Climate change MITIGATION Emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), been so effective sinceISO introduced Standards in the ISO 1406x series them in 2006 that many governmental for assessing and verifying GHG emissions bodies regulating GHG emissions have especially carbon dioxide (CO2) from ISO 14064-1 (GHG emissions adopted these standards and made • and removals for organizations – them mandatory for assessing and burning fossil fuels for energy, are corporate level) verifying GHG emissions regulated • ISO 14064-2 (GHG emissions causing climate change. ISO standards within emissions trading schemes. and removals for organizations – Since then, ISO has published a related project level) play a role in mitigating its effects. standard, ISO 14067, for determining the • ISO 14064-3 (validation and GHG emissions, or carbon footprint, of verification of GHG statements) ISO 14065 (requirements products. This document describes the • for verification bodies) Climate change is a significant threat standards in the ISO 1406x series and • ISO 14066 (requirements to life on Earth, so humankind needs how these contribute to the transition for verifiers) to first reduce and then ultimately to a zero-carbon economy. • ISO 14067 (GHG emissions eliminate emissions of carbon dioxide. of products) Fortunately, this transformation to a zero-carbon economy is already hap- Taking action pening in many industrial, commercial Climate change is the single largest and municipal sectors, with ISO stand- threat facing humanity and biodi- ards playing a pivotal role in making versity. There is strong evidence that this happen. increasing concentrations of green- Based on the premise that monitoring, house gases in the atmosphere – validating and verifying GHG emissions notably CO from burning fossil fuels enables organizations to better target 2 for energy and transportation – are and control them, ISO technical com- mittee ISO/TC 207 for environmental changing the Earth’s climate. The other management has produced several key GHGs are methane (CH4), which standards in the ISO 1406x series to is typically generated when organic manage greenhouse gases from organi- wastes such as sewage decompose, zations, projects and products. All three nitrous oxide (N2O) and halogenated parts of ISO 14064, for example, have compounds. Climate change mitigation – 1 Principle greenhouse gases, their global warming potential (GWP) and main sources GAS ESTIMATED GWP* MAIN SOURCES Scientists have determined the Global RELATIVE TO CO2 Warming Potential (GWP) of all GHGs. Carbon dioxide 1× Fossil-fuel combustion for power This is the warming potential of a gas (CO2) generation, transportation and relative to CO2. Halogenated gases, such domestic heating/cooking as sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), hydro- fluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluoro- Methane 28× Fermentation, decomposition of carbons (PFCs), typically have the highest (CH4) wastes, oil & gas industry, coal mines GWPs. This means that these GHGs can Nitrous oxide 265× Agriculture, fossil-fuel make a big contribution to climate change, (N2O) combustion, industry even if their emissions are much lower than CO2. (see table opposite) Sulphur hexafluoride 22 500× Electrical insulation, medical Unless humankind takes firm and prompt (SF6) applications, tracer gas action to reduce GHG emissions, the Earth will become much, much warmer, sea levels Perfluorocarbons 6 630× to 17 400× Electronics manufacturing, will rise and there will be greater extremes in (PFCs) refrigeration, fire suppressants, weather. In simple terms, extreme weather medical applications Many scientists means many more storms, droughts, major Hydrofluorocarbons 4× to 8 060× Refrigeration, air conditioning, floods and heatwaves. This in turn leads to believe that (HFCs) insulation, fire suppressants, aerosols losses in biodiversity, crop failures and dam- age to infrastructure. continued changes Nitrogen trifluoride 17 200× Used as a fluorine source in the The threats are so severe that many sci- (NF3) electronics industry (plasma etching, entists believe that continued changes in climate will cause silicon chips, semi-conductors, LCD in climate will cause a mass extinction panels) as well as in the photovoltaic of biodiversity and make the Earth unin- a mass extinction and chemical laser industries habitable for most species, including us. According to the Intergovernmental Panel of biodiversity. on Climate Change (IPCC), we need to con- tain the average global temperature rise to within 1.5 °C and do so by 2030. * Source : The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) www.ipcc.ch 2 – Climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation – 3 This means we need to use energy more validating and verifying GHG emissions. The role of efficiently, replace fossil-fuelled sources These standards apply the principle that, of energy with zero-carbon, renewable in order to control an activity, we first ISO standards Standards in the ISO 1406x series energy sources to transform to a sustain- need to measure it. They are founded for GHG assessment and verification ISO standards have many roles in able zero-carbon economy. on the principles that apply to all • ISO 14064-1:2018, Greenhouse tackling climate change, from stra- There have already been many suc- ISO standards, i.e. harmonization, con- gases – Part 1 : Specification with tegic, governmental and organi- guidance at the organization level cesses in this transformation, with sistency, comparability, traceability and, zational levels, through to tactical for quantification and reporting technologies and techniques available above all, validity. As such, they serve as of greenhouse gas emissions and applications at the project and even to reduce GHG emissions. In some indus- a useful complement to ISO 14001:2015, removals product levels. ISO standards in the trial sectors, emissions of CO2 have fallen Environmental management systems – • ISO 14064-2:2019, Greenhouse ISO 1406x series provide the tools for and ISO standards have played a crucial Requirements with guidance for use, and gases – Part 2 : Specification with organizations to develop the starting guidance at the project level for role in making this happen. are designed to integrate easily within an point for all programmes to control quantification, monitoring and This document describes the standards organization’s existing environmental reporting of greenhouse gas and then eliminate GHG emissions, in the ISO 1406x series for assessing, management framework. emission reductions or removal which is the baseline inventory. This enhancements can be at an organizational level, or • ISO 14064-3:2019, Greenhouse at the detailed level of an individual gases – Part 3 : Specification with process or product, also known as a guidance for the verification and carbon footprint. Having such data validation of greenhouse gas statements and information enables organiza- ISO 14065:2013, Greenhouse tions, regulatory bodies and compa- • gases – Requirements for green- nies to make informed decisions and house gas validation and verifica- then track their progress in reducing tion bodies for use in accreditation GHG emissions. or other forms of recognition The box on the right shows the • ISO 14066:2011, Greenhouse gases – Competence require- main standards in the ISO 1406x ments for greenhouse gas valida- series whilst the following sections tion teams and verification teams explain how these standards work, • ISO 14067:2018, Greenhouse how they fit together and how they gases – Carbon footprint of play a big part in tackling climate products – Requirements and guidelines for quantification change. 4 – Climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation – 5 Two types of boundaries apply here : ∙ The organizational boundaries refer to any facilities for which the organization has practical and financial responsibilities. ∙ The operational boundaries refer to the organization’s activities, such as burning fossil fuels for heating and industrial processes. Once the organization has established these boundaries, ISO 14064-1 provides guidance on developing a register of direct and indi- rect emissions ; for example, employees travelling by air count as an indirect emis- Quantifying GHG emissions sion. The entity can then decide on appro- priate methods set out by ISO 14064-1 for ISO published all three standards sinks ”. ISO designed the stand- quantifying these emissions. in the ISO 14064 series in 2006, ard for any organization requiring If a GHG emission is The standard also contains advice on verify- revising them in 2018 and 2019. tools and guidance on evaluating ing the organization’s inventory ; verification and reporting GHG emissions. Spe- within the company is defined as the process of evaluating the ISO 14064-1 for cifically,ISO 14064-1 describes how data and methods to determine accuracy. quantifying GHG emissions an organization can create a list boundaries, then The 2018 amendments to ISO 14064-1 reflect at the organizational level of sources and sinks by first con- the increasing number of organizations The standard specifies how sidering its boundaries ; if a GHG the company has reporting indirect emissions. Furthermore, organizations develop auditable emission is within the company it includes new guidance on the measure- GHG inventories, where an inven- boundaries, then the company complete control of ment and reporting of specific examples tory is defined as the “sum of an has complete control of these of GHG sources and sinks based on users’
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