WRI and WBCSD Release Protocol for Climate Change Mitigation Projects
Montreal, 6 December, 2005 – A protocol for quantifying and reporting the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission benefits of climate change mitigation projects (GHG projects) was launched by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) at a press conference here today during the United Nations climate talks.
The GHG Protocol for Project Accounting (Project Protocol) ( 3.4 MB) becomes available just weeks after the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism issued its first carbon credits for climate change mitigation projects in Honduras and India. With this milestone reached and the development of an increasing number of other project-based initiatives – such as the New South Wales GHG Abatement Scheme (Australia) and the emerging Canadian Offset System for Greenhouse Gases – the need for globally consistent and transparent GHG project accounting methods is increasingly important. The Project Protocol helps to meet this need.
“The Project Protocol fills an important need for project developers,” said
Bruno Vanderborght, Vice President of Corporate Industrial Ecology, Holcim Ltd.
“It explains what to do – and importantly, how to do it – so that claims about
GHG reductions from our projects will be transparent and credible. This is essential
for us as we look for ways to meet our emissions targets and participate in
the growing global market for greenhouse gas offsets.”
The Project Protocol complements the GHG Corporate Accounting and Reporting
Standard (Corporate Standard), which has become the most widely used global
standard for corporate accounting of GHG emissions and is used by businesses,
organizations, programs and initiatives around the world. “The widespread adoption
of the Corporate Standard contributes significantly to the standardization and
harmonization of GHG accounting and reporting frameworks worldwide,” said Björn
Stigson, President of WBCSD. “We hope that the Project Protocol will similarly
serve as a model or basis for other emissions reporting and reduction programs."
The Project Protocol’s procedures are compatible with existing Clean Development
Mechanism methodologies. However, the Project Protocol brings together in one
place the key concepts, principles, and methods to account for GHG emissions
reductions from any type of GHG project. It provides detailed instructions for
developing a GHG emissions “baseline” using the two major approaches developed
by climate policy experts: multi-project performance standards and project-specific
baseline scenarios. It also explains how to account for the unintended changes
in GHG emissions a project might cause, and how to report GHG emissions reductions
for maximum transparency.
"As project-based schemes for reducing GHG emissions begin to multiply, the Project Protocol's comprehensiveness and provisions for transparent reporting will make it much easier to evaluate and compare a wide range of projects," said Einar Telnes, Technical Director, International Climate Change Services, DNV Certification. "This is an important step towards a truly global, harmonized market for project-based GHG reductions."
The market for project-based GHG emissions reductions – according to a recent
analysis by PointCarbon – is expected to grow from US$ 450 million this year
to more than US$ 23 billion by 2010.
The Project Protocol is the culmination of a four-year dialogue hosted by WRI/WBCSD
between businesses, non-government organizations, governments, academics, and
others from both developed and developing countries. As with the Corporate Standard,
this collaborative process helped to ensure agreement among a wide range of
stakeholders and to produce a protocol that is flexible, rigorous, and comprehensive.
Jonathan Lash, President of WRI, emphasized the major achievement this document represents. "There will be a growing global trade in carbon credits for decades to come and a consistent, accurate, and transparent system of accounting for emissions reductions is an essential foundation. That is what this protocol provides."
The Project Protocol manual, along with supporting documents and tools, can be obtained online at www.ghgprotocol.org.
The World Resources Institute is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts, mapmakers, and communicators developing and promoting policies that will help protect the Earth and improve people’s lives.
Contact
- Paul Mackie
WRI Senior Media Officer
Tel: + 1 (202) 729-7684
pmackie@wri.org
- Thorsten Arndt
WBCSD Communications Manager
Tel: + 41 (22) 839-3170
Tel @ COP 11: +1 514 718 1425
arndt@wbcsd.org
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WBCSD/WRI |
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6 Dec 2005 |
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Press updates WBCSD news
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Energy & Climate
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WBCSD/WRI
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Energy & Climate News WBCSD News & Updates
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