A Greenhouse Gas Control Program: What Is It?

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG) is a globally recognized standard for measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions from private and public sector operations. It provides accounting and reporting standards, sector guidance, calculation tools, and trainings for businesses and local and national governments. The GHG Protocol also helps countries and cities track progress toward climate goals. The Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHMI) was founded on the principle that becoming a climate professional is as much about ethics as it is technical competency.

The GHG Protocol sets the global standard for how to measure, manage, and report greenhouse gas emissions. It is used by hundreds of companies and organizations worldwide. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) assists federal agencies in managing their greenhouse gas emissions.

GHG management involves measuring emissions, understanding their sources, setting a goal for reducing emissions, developing a plan to meet this goal, and designing, developing, managing, and reporting organization-level GHG inventories. A well-designed and maintained corporate GHG inventory can serve several business goals, including managing GHG risks and identifying reduction opportunities.

The GHG Management Institute emphasizes the importance of ethics and technical competency in becoming a climate professional. Resources and guides are available to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and become more efficient, resilient, and prosperous. Airport GHG managers should be provided with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to ensure effective airport GHG management.

What is considered a GHG?

Greenhouse gases, or GHGs, are gases in the Earth’s atmosphere that trap heat, keeping the Earth’s temperature at an average of 14˚C (57˚F). These gases act like glass walls, trapping heat during the day and releasing it at night. Without the greenhouse effect, temperatures could drop to -18˚C (-0. 4˚F), too cold for life on Earth. However, human activities are altering the natural greenhouse effect, leading to a dramatic increase in greenhouse gas release, which scientists believe is the cause of global warming and climate change.

Is CO2 GHG or not?

Carbon dioxide is Earth’s most crucial greenhouse gas, absorbing and radiating heat from the Earth’s surface. It is responsible for supercharging the natural greenhouse effect, causing global temperature rise. In 2021, the NOAA Global Monitoring Lab observed that carbon dioxide alone was responsible for two-thirds of the total heating influence of all human-produced greenhouse gases. Additionally, carbon dioxide dissolves into the ocean, reacting with water molecules to produce carbonic acid and lowering the ocean’s pH.

Since the Industrial Revolution, the pH of the ocean’s surface waters has dropped from 8. 21 to 8. 10, causing ocean acidification. This drop in pH is referred to as ocean acidification, and a healthy ocean snail has a transparent shell with smooth contoured ridges, while a shell exposed to more acidic, corrosive waters is cloudy, ragged, and pockmarked with ‘kinks’ and weak spots.

Is GHG same as carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gases generated by our actions, with the average US person having a 16 tons carbon footprint. To avoid a 2℃ rise in global temperatures, the average global carbon footprint per year needs to drop to under 2 tons by 2050. To achieve this, small changes like eating less meat, taking fewer connecting flights, and line drying clothes can make a significant difference.

What is the greenhouse gas GHG program?

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is a widely utilized accounting standard for greenhouse gas emissions, employed by over 90% of Fortune 500 companies that submit reports to the CDP. It furnishes tools and standards to assist countries and cities in monitoring their progress toward climate objectives, thereby ensuring the accurate measurement and management of emissions.

What are the 7 GHG emissions?

Health and Safety Code 38505 outlines seven greenhouse gases that California Air Resources Board (CARB) is tasked with monitoring and regulating to reduce emissions. These gases include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3). These gases are also referred to as “high global warming potential gases” in the 2008 Scoping Plan. A list of all GHGs, their GWPs, and lifetimes can be found at GWP. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted in California and is crucial for plant and animal life.

What is the greenhouse gas emission management plan?

The UNFPA’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory Management Plan (IMP) 2023 delineates a comprehensive strategy to quantify and oversee greenhouse gas emissions from its global operations in 2022 and 2023.

What is GHG management?

Greenhouse gases (GHG) are gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, increasing the earth’s surface temperature. The main GHGs include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. Human activities have led to a rapid increase in GHG concentrations, resulting in global climate change and environmental and public health issues. To combat this, organizations must quantify and reduce emissions, identify their sources, and implement plans to reduce emissions.

The four major greenhouse gas emitters are energy, transportation, waste management, and urban land use sectors. Organizations should prepare action plans to reduce their GHG emissions and submit annual GHG emission reports. A GHG emission management system includes processes and tools to understand, measure, monitor, report, and validate emissions. ISO 14064 and the GHG Protocol are widely adapted frameworks for GHG inventory reporting. This chapter aims to identify key points of GHG inventory preparation and management strategies.

What are the 7 gases GHG?

The GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard is a standard that covers the accounting and reporting of seven greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulphur hexafluoride, and nitrogen trifluoride. It aims to help companies prepare a fair and accurate GHG emissions inventory, simplify the process, provide information for effective emission management strategies, and increase consistency and transparency.

The standard is based on the expertise of over 350 experts from businesses, NGOs, governments, and accounting associations, and has been tested by over 30 companies in nine countries. The standard has been road-tested by over 30 companies.

What is the greenhouse gas GHG emissions measurement program?

The Greenhouse Gas Measurements (GHG) Program in the United States is dedicated to developing advanced tools and standards to accurately measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The program aims to track progress in achieving annual GHG emission reductions of 1-3%. The data is provided at the city street, block, or building level with hourly time resolution, enabling businesses and governments to support local and regional mitigation efforts.

NIST collaborates with external partners to create atmospheric measurements of GHGs for analysis, including atmospheric (top-down), emission (bottom-up), and biogenic modeling. The NIST Urban Dome Test Bed System allows researchers to test various emissions measurement methods in cities with different characteristics.

What are the 5 principles of the GHG Protocol?

The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) is a framework for corporate standards for carbon accounting and reporting, based on five principles: Relevance, Completeness, Consistency, Transparency, and Accuracy. Tim Croker, a former Fellow Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, emphasizes that businesses can reduce their environmental impact without knowing their carbon footprint.

However, measuring and systematically reducing their environmental impact is a challenging mission that requires robust solutions for carbon accounting and decision support. The success of businesses aiming for net-zero depends on the quality of tools and insights available.