Quantifying GHG Reductions

Definition

Quantifying GHG Reductions is a procedure for compiling and reporting an aggregate GHG reduction from a GHG Project. The following decomposition is according to

• The standard reporting unit is in tonnes of CO2 Equivalent, denoted as (t CO₂eq)
• The total GHG reduction for the i-the project is the sum of annual GHG Project Activity reductions PA_{t, z} for the time horizon T of the project
• The time period unit is a year (t)
• The project activity index is (z)
• The primary effect index of some activity is (p)
• The secondary effect index of some activity is (s)

${\mbox{GHG Reduction}}_{i}=\sum _{t}\sum _{z}{\mbox{PAR}}_{t,z}$

Project Activity Reduction (PAR)

The reduction is decomposed into primary and secondary effects:

${\mbox{PAR}}_{t,z}={\mbox{PE}}_{t,z}+{\mbox{SE}}_{t,z}$

Primary Effects

The total Primary Effects reduction is the delta on absolute reduction from baseline emissions induced by the project activity emissions (PAE):

${\mbox{PE}}_{t,z}=\sum _{p}{\mbox{BE}}_{t,z,p}-{\mbox{PAE}}_{t,z,p}$

Secondary Effects

Secondary effects are correspondingly computed from secondary activity emissions reduction (SAE):

${\mbox{SE}}_{t,z}=\sum _{s}{\mbox{BE}}_{t,z,s}-{\mbox{SAE}}_{t,z,s}$

Baseline Emissions

Baseline and Activity Emissions from primary or secondary effects are computed via emissions factors, e.g.,

${\begin{aligned}{\mbox{BE}}_{t,z,p/s}&=C_{t,z,p/s}{\mbox{EF}}_{z,p/s}\\{\mbox{PAE}}_{t,z,p}&=C_{t,z,p}{\mbox{EF}}_{z,p}\\{\mbox{SAE}}_{t,z,s}&=C_{t,z,s}{\mbox{EF}}_{z,s}\\\end{aligned}}$

where

• $C_{t,z,p/s}$ is a quantitative measurement of some activity and
• ${\mbox{EF}}_{z,p/s}$ is the corresponding emissions factor

See Also

• GHG Reporting Requirements