GHG Accounting Uncertainty

Definition

GHG Accounting Uncertainty is the Uncertainty surrounding GHG Accounting

Project based GHG accounting involves many forms of uncertainty, including

• uncertainty about the identification of secondary effects
• the identification of baseline candidates
• baseline emission estimates, and
• the measurement of GHG project emissions.

Uncertainties associated with GHG reductions can be categorized into “scientific uncertainty” and “estimation uncertainty.”

Scientific Uncertainty

Scientific uncertainty arises when the science of the actual emissions and/or removal processes is not completely understood.

Estimation Uncertainty

Estimation Uncertainty arises any time GHG emissions are monitored and quantified, and can be further divided into “model uncertainty” and “parameter uncertainty.”

Mitigation

Where uncertainty is significant, lower and upper bounds or confidence intervals for all measurements should be identified.

Issues and Challenges

• The GHG Project Protocol contains no explicit requirements for addressing uncertainty
• The degree of conservatism that must be applied (if any) varies between different accounting frameworks and practices

See Also

• GHG Uncertainty Analysis