5. International context
Inventory reporting GHG accounting
UNFCCC Kyoto Protocol
All countries Annex I countries
Sectoral boundaries
National scale
IPCC Guidelines
Emissions and removals
13. Biochar system Reference system
Fossil
Biomass Biomass
energy/carbon
residue residue source
Extraction
Transport
Transport Transport
Pyrolysis to
biochar and
syngas Conversion to
Composting
energy carrier
Distribution of Distribution of
Distribution of Distribution of compost energy carrier
biochar energy carrier
Fertiliser
manufacture
Distribution of
fertiliser
Soil Energy service Soil Energy service
amendment (heat, electricity) amendment (heat, electricity)
14. Carbon Farming Initiative
National Carbon Offset Standard
Commence July 2011
Abatement activities generate credits for
trade in
Domestic voluntary market
International voluntary and compliance
markets
16. 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
17. 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”
23. Nitrous oxide emissions from soil
Legumes in rotation
Timing of fertiliser application
Slow release
fertilisers, nitrification inhibitors
24. Methane from ruminant livestock
Herd management
Pasture composition
Dietary supplements
Reflector
Breeding for net feed efficiency
Wind
Reflector
FTIR
25. Quantifying abatement
Do 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
27. Is it verifiable?
Verification based on implementing land management
practice rather than measured abatement
28. 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 properties
Risk of reversal buffer
29. 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
30. Are there offsite impacts?
(Leakage)
Biomass depleted at another site?
Increased livestock numbers elsewhere?
Increased emissions offsite, attributable to
the project, should be included
31. Dealing with uncertainty
Eg GGAS: discount for uncertainty “70% rule”
Can only trade quantity for which 70% probability
that actual sequestration exceeds traded C
9
8
7
6
Probability
5
4
3
2
1
0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Estimated Carbon Stock Values ('000 tonnes)
32. Dealing with uncertainty
Eg GGAS: discount for uncertainty “70% rule”
Can only trade quantity for which 70% probability
that actual sequestration exceeds traded C
9
8
70% of estimated values
are greater than 1,700.
7
6
Probability
5
4
3
2
1
0
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Estimated Carbon Stock Values ('000 tonnes)
33. Will it be an effective incentive?
Sufficiently attractive to encourage
participation?
Costs vs returns
Record keeping
“Monitoring”
Reporting
Audit
Long term liability
34. „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
35. 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
36. 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
37. 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
Notas del editor
Trees integrated with ag production:revegetation: riparian protectionagroforestry: shelter belts, wood lots short rotation woody crops for biomass
Focus on northern tablelands (red), north-west slopes and plains (green) and lachlan (orange) catchments