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The Cuajimalpa campus of the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM) is located in the western region of Mexico City. In 2016, its global average population (students, faculty and staff) was around 2750 people. Campus policies include sustainability as one of its main aims. To evaluate and eventually reduce the environmental impact of the campus, its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory was assessed and the carbon footprint was calculated, using the GHG protocol (GHGP): Scope 1: direct GHG emissions; Scope 2: indirect GHG emissions; and Scope 3: other indirect GHG emissions, on a calendar year basis. Scope 1 includes mobile and stationary sources and leakage of refrigerants; Scope 2 includes electrical energy usage; Scope 3 includes consumption of paper, food, water, gases, cleaning products, solvents, wastewater treatment, municipal and hazardous wastes and academic travel. In 2016, the campus produced around 3000 tons of CO2 equivalent, with Scope 1, 2 and 3 accounting for 4%, 24% and 72%, respectively. Emissions analysis by activity indicated 51% for commuting; 24% for electricity usage; 14% for academic travel; 11% for other activities. The inventory will aid the establishment of policies for reduction and mitigation of GHG, resulting in environmental and potential economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the use of organizational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data by investors. It then asks if comparisons between organizations may be affected by a specific aspect of GHG accounting methodology: the choice of organizational boundary. The effect of boundary choice is rarely quantified, but the paper draws together a limited number of cases where this has been done. One case is found in which a different boundary choice changes the scope 1 emission figure by 73%. The paper presents exploratory interview evidence on organizations’ reasons for boundary selection and then reviews the approach taken in the recently introduced UK mandatory carbon reporting regulations. It concludes that further research is justified on the effect of boundary choice on corporate GHG emission figures and that the approach of the Climate Change Reporting Framework may offer a path to comparable data while allowing reporting organizations some flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a method for estimating the mean and variance of total CO2 emission from multiple sources used by a company. The procedure is also readily applicable to estimate these parameters for other greenhouse gases (GHG) inventories and to determine a reliable confidence interval for the total emissions of GHG of a company. Our method represents an improvement over the existing methods that assume independence between emissions from different sources. The foundation of the proposed method is an iterative decomposition process applied to analyze the emissions correlations among activities, raw materials and other inputs used in a company's operations. From these correlations and the individual estimates of means and variances of emission factors, we show how to generate a confidence interval for the total GHG emission of a company. The application of the method is illustrated for a hypothetical manufacturing plant of bicycles and car toys, whose total CO2 emission is estimated within a precise confidence interval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are two major types of GHG accounting, attributional methods and consequential methods. Often practitioners are not aware of the distinction and use an inappropriate method for a given purpose. Attributional methods are inventories of emissions and removals within a defined inventory boundary and are appropriate for allocating carbon budgets and setting reduction targets. However, attributional methods can lead to actions that unintentionally increase emissions as they only provide information on emissions/removals within the inventory boundary. Consequential methods aim to provide information on the system-wide or global change caused by actions and are the appropriate method for informing decisions aimed at reducing emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cuajimalpa campus of the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM) is located in the western region of Mexico City. In 2016, its global average population (students, faculty and staff) was around 2750 people. Campus policies include sustainability as one of its main aims. To evaluate and eventually reduce the environmental impact of the campus, its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory was assessed and the carbon footprint was calculated, using the GHG protocol (GHGP): Scope 1: direct GHG emissions; Scope 2: indirect GHG emissions; and Scope 3: other indirect GHG emissions, on a calendar year basis. Scope 1 includes mobile and stationary sources and leakage of refrigerants; Scope 2 includes electrical energy usage; Scope 3 includes consumption of paper, food, water, gases, cleaning products, solvents, wastewater treatment, municipal and hazardous wastes and academic travel. In 2016, the campus produced around 3000 tons of CO2 equivalent, with Scope 1, 2 and 3 accounting for 4%, 24% and 72%, respectively. Emissions analysis by activity indicated 51% for commuting; 24% for electricity usage; 14% for academic travel; 11% for other activities. The inventory will aid the establishment of policies for reduction and mitigation of GHG, resulting in environmental and potential economic benefits.

Carbon sequestration has become an important issue in forest management in the light of concerns about global warming. The two methods proposed by IPCC to quantify the net carbon sequestered by trees are based either on the estimation of annual gains and losses of carbon due to the growth of trees and their removals (default method), or on the difference in carbon stocks between two consecutive inventories (stock-change method). The objectives of this study are to compare the net carbon sequestered by the tree layer of forest ecosystems in Andalusia estimated by the two methods, and to identify what measured variables contribute the most to the differences in the estimations. Multivariate analysis was performed in order to identify the causes of these variations. The results revealed differences of up to 200% in the estimated net carbon sequestration depending on the methodology employed, and changes in the direction of the capture/emission in some areas. The net carbon sequestration ranged between 0.08 ± 0.01 and 1.93 ± 0.52 Mg C ha−1year−1depending on the method used and on the tree species analyzed. In global terms, net carbon sequestration at the regional level reaches 2,101,715 ± 560,906 Mg C according to thedefault methodand 1,693,412 ± 272,529 Mg C using thestock-change method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article outlines the policy space within which the next climate treaty must be negotiated. Issues on collective solutions that will require some level of individual nation responsibility, and that emissions estimates exhibiting uncertainties small enough to monitor whether agreed changes in carbon sources and sinks are met are discussed. The global carbon budget and its uncertainties, and an illustration of the increased difficulty of closing carbon budgets at subglobal scales are offered.