PCAF Methodology for Project Finance

PCAF Methodology for Project Finance

The PCAF for account and reporting GHG emissions linked to the financing provided to projects such as energy, power, industrial, infrastructure, and agricultural projects that rely primarily on the project’s cash flow for repayment.

Scope

This asset class includes all loans or equities to projects for specific purposes (i.e., with known use of proceeds as defined by the GHG Protocol) that are on the balance sheet of the financial institution. The financing is designated for a defined activity or set of activities, such as the construction and operation of a gas-fired power plant, a wind or solar project, or energy efficiency projects.

Financial institutions shall report the absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions of the project. Scope 3 emissions should be covered if relevant. Avoided and removed emissions may be reported if relevant but must be reported separately from absolute emissions.

Approach

In Project Finance the Use of Proceeds is assumed known. To calculate emissions, only the financed (ring-fenced) activities are included. Emissions and financials related to existing activities outside the financed project but within the financed organization are not considered.

Attribution

As a basic attribution principle, the financial institution accounts for a portion of the annual emissions of the financed project determined by the ratio between the institution’s outstanding amount (numerator) and the total equity and debt of the financed project (denominator). This ratio is called the attribution factor

$\mbox{Attribution Factor}_p = \frac{\mbox{Outstanding Amount}_p}{\mbox{Total Equity}_p + \mbox{Debt}_p}$

where:

• p is the project
• The outstanding amount in the numerator is the amount of debt or equity provided by the individual financier
  • In the case of debt, the outstanding amount is defined as the value of the debt the borrower owes to the lender (i.e., disbursed debt minus any repayments).
  • In the case of equity, the outstanding amount is the outstanding value of equity the financial institution holds in the project. It is calculated by multiplying the relative share of the financial institution in the respective project by the total equity of the respective project according to its balance sheet
• At the start of the project, the total equity and debt in the denominator is the total financing available for the project (total debt plus equity to realize the project). In subsequent years, it is expected that projects will report annually on their financials, including balance sheet information (i.e., the total equity and debt within the project). The value of total equity and debt in the denominator can then be used to calculate the attribution factor.

Financed Emissions

The financed emissions from a single project are calculated by multiplying the attribution factor by the emissions of the respective project.

$\mbox{Financed Emissions}_p = \mbox{Attribution Factor}_p \times \mbox{Project Emissions}_p$

The total financed emissions from multiple projects is simply the sum

$\mbox{Financed Emissions}_T= \sum_p \mbox{Attribution Factor}_p \times \mbox{Project Emissions}_p$

Notes

Guarantees have no attribution until they are called and turned into a loan. Financial institutions should either use the calendar or financial year-end outstanding amount, provided the approach is communicated and used consistently.