CARBON EMISSIONS MANAGEMENT
What it is and why you need it?
On the 22nd April 2016, New Zealand ratified the Paris Agreement at a ceremony in New York. This means New Zealand’s has legally committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which will apply from 2021.
In practical terms this means New Zealand’s NDC is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. By ratifying the agreement New Zealand commits to having an emissions reduction target and regularly updating it. The ratification also commits New Zealand to regularly report on emissions and on the progress towards meeting predetermined targets.
The adoption of the Zero Carbon Act in 2019 was a step forward, but implementation is key. The Act aims to achieve net zero emissions of all greenhouse gases, except for methane emissions from agriculture and waste, by 2050.
With New Zealand’s renewable energy usage already at 84%, and 100% targeted by 2035, significant emission reductions would need to be achieved in other sectors, in particular through full decarbonisation of industry emissions by 2050.
There are various methods, and initiatives to mitigate climate change, and a way for business to start understanding carbon life cycles. Once business and consumers understand the impact of their decisions on the environment, we can all start making plans to reduce or eliminate that impact.
Global Warming vs Climate Change
There are some subtle and some not-so-subtle differences between global warming and climate change. When scientists or public leaders talk about global warming these days, they almost always mean human-caused warming, and it is incumbent on everyone, where possible, to take steps towards adopting measures to reduce our impact towards global warming and the resulting climate change.
Having your business’ carbon inventory assessed and audited, is a first step in this direction. Not only for the overall business, but also for specific projects that are implemented.
This visualization shows monthly global temperature anomalies (changes from an average) between the years 1880 and 2021. Whites and blues indicate cooler temperatures, while oranges and reds show warmer temperatures. As you can see, global temperatures have warmed from mainly human activities as time has progressed.
GLOBAL WARMING;
refers only to the Earth’s rising surface temperature and is only one symptom of climate change.
Though the recent rise in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is arguably the main factor affecting global warming, other factors are involved (such as variations in Earth’s orbit, the angle of the planet’s axis, and variations in the Sun’s energy output).
As higher concentrations of greenhouse gases allow Earth’s atmosphere to hold onto greater amounts of heat that would normally escape into space at night, Earth’s average temperature rises.
CLIMATE CHANGE;
refers to the changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time (precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns).
This includes warming and the “side effects” of warming (melting glaciers, heavier rainstorms, or more frequent drought).
There are “natural” and “human-induced” factors that contribute to climate change. Some human causes for climate change, besides the burning of fossil fuels, include the emission of aerosol pollution into the atmosphere, or by transforming the Earth’s landscape, for instance, from carbon-storing forests to farmland.
It is still incumbent on everyone, where possible, to take steps towards adopting measures to reduce our impact towards global warming and the resulting climate change.
Having your business’ carbon inventory assessed and audited, is a first step in this direction. Not only for the overall business, but also for specific projects that are implemented.
Read more - How climate change affects New Zealand
The Carbon Management Lifecycle
Developing a plan to manage an organisations carbon reduction, is the same as any other business plan. The steps required to reach an intended goal are best achieved through systematic steps:
Doing an inventory of the products and/or services in the organisation that produce carbon
Having the inventory quantified and verified
Purchasing carbon offsets for the emissions that cannot be reduced
Waste in the Carbon Lifecycle
Carbon Life Cycle in recycling and circular economy efforts
There is a growing call to introduce carbon accounting into the metrics of waste management.
Greenhouse gas emissions don’t often feature in waste management. Metrics and KPIs have tended to be focused on tonnages removed from landfill, or tonnages recycled rather than around the creation or avoidance of greenhouse gas emissions, measured in particular by ‘carbon dioxide equivalent’ or CO2e. This refers to not merely how much carbon is produced or reduced through improved primary practices, such as methane capture from water treatment plant and landfills, but how much CO2e is avoided through resource recovery and reuse, that is, if it is being reused, what contributes to CO2e have been removed such as mining emissions, land clearing and raw product processing.
Why a carbon inventory on wastewater should be undertaken?
The percentage of emissions within the big picture may be small. However, for councils and council controlled organisations operating wastewater treatment plants, the GHG emissions associated with wastewater and sludge treatment can form a substantial portion of their specific carbon inventory.
These emissions are produced from waste decomposition, treatment and combustion. This includes solid waste in landfill (the major source in this category), waste in wastewater and compost.
The first step to enable organisations in both the public and private sector to report on, manage and (where possible) reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is to understand the amount, nature and source of the GHG emissions, as well as the energy usage within the boundaries of the WWTP.
Collection of data on the wastewater system and performing a detailed inventory of the data concerning materials used, energy and substances, and pollution emission into the environment at given life cycle stages, for each of the elements of the system enables an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and the potential environmental impact throughout the life cycle of a system of wastewater collection, transport and treatment, from construction, use and end-of-life stages.
When looking at undertaking carbon inventory of a WWTP there are a number of factors which are taken into consideration [read more]
Carbon Offsets & Credits
Whilst businesses may do everything, they can to reduce greenhouse emissions and their carbon footprint, it’s unlikely that just by doing this they would get to net zero under a business-as-usual scenario.
This is where purchasing carbon offsets can reduce the overall amount of carbon you would be accountable for.
A carbon offset essentially is a certificate that represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere, the principal measurement of climate change. Once created the offset credit can be bought and sold on the voluntary marketplace, before an end user wishes to claim the carbon offset, at which point that credit can no longer be sold on.
Different to carbon allowances , carbon offsets are not freely allocated to firms, but instead are ‘generated’/’earned’ by either preventing the release of GHG or removing them from the atmosphere (avoidance vs sequestration). One of the key ways that business can contribute to sustainable development and reduce emissions is through the purchase carbon offsets or investing in projects that create carbon credits.
