Secondary GHG Effects
Definition
A Secondary GHG Effect is an unintended change caused by a project activity in GHG emissions, removals, or storage associated with a GHG source or sink.
Secondary effects are typically small relative to a project activity’s Primary GHG Effect. In some cases, however, they may undermine or negate the primary effect. Secondary effects are classified into two categories:
- One-time effects: Changes in GHG emissions associated with the construction, installation, and establishment or the decommissioning and termination of the project activity.
- Upstream and downstream effects: Recurring changes in GHG emissions associated with inputs to the project activity (upstream) or products from the project activity (downstream), relative to baseline emissions.
Some upstream and downstream effects may involve market responses to the changes in supply and/or demand for project activity inputs or products. Only significant secondary effects, however, need to be monitored and quantified under the GHG Project Protocol. Whether a secondary effect is considered significant depends on its magnitude relative to its associated primary effect and on circumstances surrounding the associated project activity.
