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Greenhouse Gas Reductions:
Challenges in Determining
What is Real
NEPS – Baltimore 2008
Henry Balikov
Vice President
Goldman Environmental Consultants
© 2008 Goldman Environmental Consultants
As Chair of the Auditing Roundtable’s focus on
Climate Change and GHG issues, I want to
thank my fellow AR members and the experts
we have assembled for their input to this
presentation. We expect to play a continuing
role in protocol development and the standards
for those who audit carbon footprints and credits.
The Coming Tide of Climate Change
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No federal regulation until 2010 at earliest with the
current Warner-Lieberman Bill an indication of what is
to come.
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States and Regions are the current focus
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RGGI
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Western Climate Initiative
A little-known rider to a December 2007 Omnibus bill is
allowing EPA to start collecting GHG information
through a climate registry.
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Greenhouse Gas Challenges
Our “Regional” Approach to GHG
Greenhouse Gas Sources
What does this chart tell us?
Is the GHG problem already solved?
© 2007 Goldman Environmental Consulting. All rights reserved.
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Or this this the unavoidable alternative?
© 2007 Goldman Environmental Consulting. All rights reserved.
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GHG Motivation
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Mitigate business risk and uncertainty
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Capitalize on the benefits of quantifying GHG
footprint

Addressing pressure to accurately account
for GHGs
GHG Motivation: Mitigate Business
Risk & Uncertainty

Evaluate, influence, anticipate GHG
policy/regulations

Develop multi-pollutant emission strategies

Improve near-term and long-term decisions
GHG Motivation: Capitalize on the
Benefits of Quantifying GHG Footprint
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Establish baseline to take credit for early
reduction
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Recognition for implementing best
management practices
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Garner positive press and brand image
GHG Motivation - Addressing Pressure
to Accurately Account for GHGs
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Financial interests
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Customers
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Voluntary organizations
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Regulators
GHG Temptation – “Greenwashing”
Greenwashing’s Many Guises

Looking just one or two products or
services, instead of at the whole organization

The truth in advertising: not whole truth, and
not nothing but the truth

Lack of transparency
Carbon Credits & Markets
Carbon markets are fragmented and
appropriate quality varies as is
reflected in these Program Standards
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CDM/JI – Considered highest standard to
date
Gold Standard – Closely follows CDM for
voluntary markets
VCS – Just launched, looking to bring more
structure and transparency
Tracking and Verifying GHGs

The scope of data being verified (e.g., GHG
emissions from a company’s worldwide operations);

The types of data to gather (e.g., measured GHG
emissions data, data on the level of activities that
cause emissions, and emission factors for
translating the activity data into GHG emissions); and

The range of tests to be performed to confirm the
validity of the information (e.g., recalculation of
emissions estimates).
Verification Requires Many Skills

Combination of Skills relating to:
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Air Quality / Emission Inventory Auditing
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Process Engineering
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Direct Measurement (CEM)
Calculations (Mole Balance, Emission Factors,
Surrogate Parameters)
Historic Extrapolation (limited)
Electric Power Generation & Transmission,
Refineries, Gas and Chemical Manufacturing, Cogeneration, Commercial Agriculture, Steel, Cement
Financial Auditing
Life Cycle Analysis
Restricting Offsets
To have a system that really works, offsets must:

Result from actions taken on or after a date certain;
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Be real, demonstrable and quantifiable;
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Not be required by law;
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Have clearly established ownership;
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Be counted only once for compliance purposes;
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Be verified by a qualified third party; and
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Have occurred in an agreed upon geographic area
The Coming Tide of Climate Change

We are in a period of apparent uncertainty
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There will be some great opportunities and
significant resource demands associated with
the changes taking place.
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This is the time to start assessing:
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What direction do we want to head?
What is our overall plan for getting there?
What should we do first?
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Questions now or later
[email protected]
856.296.5230
Henry Balikov, VP
Goldman Environmental Consultants, Inc.
228 N. Church Street
Moorestown, NJ 08057
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