Carbon Credits Flashcards
What is a Carbon Credit?
Carbon credits are a unit of measurement, with a tradeable component
What kind of system must be in place to have an official carbon credit?
Cap and trade
How much CO2e does one carbon credit represent?
1 Tonne CO2e
What is a company’s “cap” in a cap and trade system?
The emissions limit
If a management team is able to limit company emissions below its cap, what happens?
The organization has a surplus of carbon credits, and can retain them for future use, future sale, or sell them immediately into the compliance carbon market
Are carbon credits and carbon offsets the same?
No.
What is the difference between a carbon credit and a carbon offset?
Unlike carbon credits, a carbon offset is:
- not created or distributed by a specific regulatory body
- not limited to individual regulatory jurisdictions
- freely traded on any number of voluntary markets
What are the two types of carbon reduction projects?
- Nature based
- Mechanical
What are some major Greenhouse Gases?
- methane
- nitrous oxide
- hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
How many scopes of emissions exist?
3 scopes named:
- scope 1
- scope 2
- scope 3-
Scope 1 emissions
direct emissions from owned sources like company vehicles and manufacturing facilities
Scope 2 emissions
indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating and cooling
Scope 3 emissions
Other indirect emissions like business travel, investments, purchased goods and services, etc.
Carbon Accounting Frameworks include:
- Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol
- EPA’s GHG Inventory Guidance
- ISO’s ISO Standard 14064
- The Climate Registry’s General Reporting Protocol
What are the two types of carbon markets?
- compliance
- voluntary
