Greenhouse Gas Inventory, Accounting, and Reporting

3 Credits.

Our global society and economy are operating within a climate crisis that requires a transformational shift to lowor zero-carbon emissions. Practitioners across public, private, and non-profit sectors increasingly need to understand greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, their sources, sinks, how we account for them, and best practices for mitigating them. A greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory is a list of emission sources and the associated emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, etc.) quantified using standardized methods. Organizations develop GHG inventories for a variety of reasons, including the management of GHG risks and identification of reduction opportunities, participation in GHG programs or markets, and achieving recognition for early voluntary action. This course will introduce students to the fundamentals of GHG accounting, including scopes frameworks, inventory approaches and protocols, reporting, forecasting, and target-setting. It will also look at emerging methods of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and consumption-based accounting. It will also explore best practices for GHG reduction/mitigation and tracking progress over time. Importantly, students will also reflect on limitations of current modeling and methodologies and challenges of accounting for GHG emissions from local to national and global scales, and implications in policy and planning space.