greenhouse gas accounting for the land-based sector - annette cowie
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Annette Cowie, Richard Eckard, Sandra Eady
Greenhouse Gas Accounting
for the land-based sector
UNFCCC reporting
Kyoto Protocol Accounts
Inventory
Emissions trading
Mandatory: European, NZ Emissions trading schemes NSW GGAS
Offset projects
International: Kyoto Protocol Clean Development
Mechanism Voluntary Carbon Standard etc
Australia: National Carbon Offset Standard Carbon Farming Initiative
Life cycle assessment – Carbon footprint
Emissions and removals
Inventory reporting
UNFCCC
All countries
GHG accounting
Kyoto Protocol
Annex I countries
Sectoral boundariesNational scale
IPCC Guidelines
International context
Offsets
CFI etc
Businesses
LCA
Carbon labels
Products or organisations
Cradle to grave boundariesFarm scale
Scheme Guidelines, Standards
Emissions reduction, removal enhancement
Industry context
Inventory: What matters?
Purpose: Assess contribution, compliance
• Conservative
• Consistent
• Reflect anthropogenic drivers
• Accurate?
Inventory
National carbon accounting system
LCA/Carbon footprint: What matters?
Purpose: Inform consumers, compare products, identify opportunities for mitigation
• Consistent
• Right incentive
• Accurate
Pip Brock, I&I NSW, preliminary data for illustrative purposes only
Offset projects: What matters?
Purpose: Quantify abatement, ensure integrity
Transport
Soil amendment
Pyrolysis to biochar and
syngas
Distribution of biochar
Distribution of energy carrier
Energy service (heat, electricity)
Biomass residue
Biochar system
Transport
Biomass residue
Fossil energy/carbon
source
Extraction
Conversion to energy carrier
Distribution of energy carrier
Energy service (heat, electricity)
Soil amendment
Fertiliser manufacture
Transport
Composting
Reference system
Distribution of compost
Distribution of fertiliser
Carbon Farming InitiativeNational Carbon Offset Standard
Commence July 2011
Abatement activities generate credits for trade inDomestic voluntary marketInternational voluntary and compliance
markets
Carbon Farming Initiative
Possible projects
Kyoto sinks: reforestation
Kyoto emissions reduction: eg landfill, manure management, livestock methane, nitrous oxide from fertiliser
Non-Kyoto activities#: eg soil carbon management, avoided deforestation, savanna burning
#Excluded from Australia’s Kyoto Protocol accounts
Offset projects: What matters?
CFI Integrity standards: Offset projects must be
Additional
Measurable and Verifiable
Permanent
Conservative
Internationally consistent
Supported by peer-reviewed science
And must avoid leakage
Assessed by Domestic Offsets Integrity Committee
Additionality
Is it new abatement? (“Abatement should be “additional” to “business-as-usual” if it used to offset emissions”)
Required by legislation?
Common practice?
“Positive list”
Is it measurable?
Reforestation/ revegetation
Counting carbon in trees
Carbon makes up 50% of tree biomass
Predict carbon from allometric relationships
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Log dbh(cm)
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Heaton PF
Ourimbah NF
Wabby NF
Mckenzie NF
Myall Lakes NF
Hills PF
Tooloom PF
Hannam Vale PF
Soil carbon management
cropland management
grazing management
organic amendments: eg biochar
No-till
Soil carbon measurement
Nitrous oxide emissions from soil Legumes in rotation
Timing of fertiliser application
Slow release fertilisers, nitrification inhibitors
Methane from ruminant livestock Herd management
Pasture composition
Dietary supplements
Breeding for net feed efficiency
Wind
Reflector
Reflector
FTIR
Quantifying abatementDo we need to monitor it?Balance accuracy against transaction costs • Cost-effective accounting
– Based on calibrated models (informed by baseline measurement?)
• Credit based on modelled estimate rather than measured impact of practice
N S WD P I
Is it verifiable?
Verification based on implementing land management practice rather than measured abatement
Is it permanent abatement?
“abatement should represent a permanent reduction in CO2 in the atmosphere”
NSW GGAS forestry offset: “100 year rule” Registration on title: forest carbon rights,
restriction on use
Kyoto CDM: temporary credits
CFI:Aggregation (pooling) across propertiesRisk of reversal buffer
Are ‘life cycle’ emissions considered? Emissions due to fossil fuel use, indirect (fertiliser,
herbicide), and non-CO2 greenhouse gases should be included
Increased soil N, by fertiliser, legumes or some organic amendments, will increase N2O - C credit for offset activities should be discounted for estimated increase in N2O
Are there offsite impacts? (Leakage)
Biomass depleted at another site?
Increased livestock numbers elsewhere?
Increased emissions offsite, attributable to the project, should be included
Dealing with uncertainty
Eg GGAS: discount for uncertainty “70% rule”Can only trade quantity for which 70% probability that actual sequestration exceeds traded C
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Estimated Carbon Stock Values ('000 tonnes)
Dealing with uncertainty
Eg GGAS: discount for uncertainty “70% rule”Can only trade quantity for which 70% probability that actual sequestration exceeds traded C
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Estimated Carbon Stock Values ('000 tonnes)
70% of estimated valuesare greater than 1,700.
Will it be an effective incentive? Sufficiently attractive to encourage
participation?
Costs vs returnsRecord keeping“Monitoring”ReportingAudit
Long term liability
‘Factoring-Out’
Kyoto Protocol accounting:Intention to “factor-out” direct human-induced changes from changes due to indirect human-induced and natural effects
Give credit/debit for intentional actions
Average carbon stocks approach
Credit/debit based on long term modelled average
No monitoring
Minimises transaction costs
Rewards actions that give benefit, on average
Rewards all equally
Avoids need to “pay back” for natural fluctuations or trends
Conclusion
GHG accounting for Inventory, Offsets and LCA have different purposes, use similar data and methods but give different results due to different boundaries
Appropriate methods are a compromise between accuracy and cost; must provide the right incentive and preserve environmental integrity
Need for better understanding of uncertainty, better models of processes eg methane, nitrous oxide
Accounting for offsets:
Accept dynamic system
Manage risk of impermanence
Assign credit/debit for intentional actions
Reward action, modelled estimate, not measured abatement
Include whole system, all emissions, including off-site
Combination of baseline measurement and modelling may be optimal for quantification
Certainty and absolute accuracy not required
Minimise transaction costs so encourage participation, to maximise abatement