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August newsletter
ClimateCare top rated in two independent reports on offset providers
Following a successful year in 2008, last month saw the release of two 2009 independent reports on retailers in the offsetting industry in which ClimateCare maintained top ratings. Research by the Pembina Institute focused on Canadian consumer choice, whilst the Which? Carbon Offsetting Investigation reviewed the essential elements that make up high quality offsets and highlighted the need for maintaining transparency of approach.
David Suzuki Foundation and Pembina Institute
Those offset retailers investigated were defined as “popular international vendors” as well as many Canada-based organisations. The criteria upon which companies were rated covered additionality, validation and verification, permanence of the projects, transparency in operations and public education around climate change solutions.
The first of these is of great importance to the success of the offsetting industry since, as the report states, “to be additional, an offset project would not have happened without the carbon finance or the extra revenue from offset sales”. The report looked at whether vendors sold offsets that were screened for additionality and certified to standards that require additionality testing. Coupling this with project process auditing (independent validation and verification) serves as a strong assurance of the rigour with which a reliable offsetting company provides emission reductions.
Which? carbon offsetting investigation
It is this rigorous origination strategy that enables ClimateCare to be open and informative about where our customers' money goes, and which lead us to be highlighted as most informative in the Which? offset report. It is of paramount importance that an individual or company knows how their money will be spent when they take the decision to offset, having confidence in their chosen offset provider.
Real transparency allows the customer to evaluate a range of possible purchasing criteria, from cost per tonne CO2 to the range of low carbon technologies that they will be funding. As people recognise the need to take urgent action and understand that high quality offsets play an essential role in any responsible carbon management programme, it is important to safeguard the valuable work that many offset companies are achieving; by making as much information available as possible we aim to ensure that people who choose to take responsibility for their climate changing activities have a good understanding of where their money goes.
Read more:
Bombardier welcomes Jet Republic to its carbon offset programme
On June 17th Bombardier Inc., the world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions (from commercial aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment), welcomed the private jet company Jet Republic to its carbon offset programme.
As a leading aircraft manufacturer Bombardier recognises the need to address the impact of its products on the environment. Working with ClimateCare it has established the Bombardier Carbon Offset Program to ensure immediate action is taken while it continues to look at further opportunities to operate its business in an environmentally responsible way.
"Bombardier has taken a leadership role in this important area and this program is another example of our commitment to provide superior value to our customers through innovative cost-per-flight-hour solutions."
Michael McAdoo, Vice President and General Manager, Fleet Management Solutions, Bombardier Customer Services
The Bombardier Carbon Offset Program is a simple and effective way to offset the CO2 emissions generated by a Bombardier business aircraft (or a non-Bombardier model in a mixed fleet). Based on the volume of CO2 per flight hour produced by a given aircraft (determined according to industry standards), the number of metric tonnes of CO2 produced in a given flight can be calculated and then offset.
Bombardier voluntarily offsets CO2 emissions resulting from corporate flights on its business aircraft, its demonstration fleet and its PartsExpress Flexjet flights. The offsetting initiative is part of Bombardier's alignment in global corporate strategy, integrating the UN Global Compact principles with its overall business approach.
Keeping an eye on EU ETS
Bombardier is also committed to working with ClimateCare and European Union authorities to ensure the programme provides a solution for operators with obligations under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), in which airlines are scheduled to be included in January 2012.
"Technology For A Low Carbon Future"; Discussing the challenge of reducing global emissions
Building on the rising political will to act on climate change, The Climate Group and The Office of Tony Blair have recently produced a document on 'Breaking the Climate Deadlock' in which they present revolutionary ways to meet the much-debated 50-85% reduction target for 2050. The paper boldly states that we know the technologies we need and how to deploy them, now we must decide upon policies and gain financial support to see them implemented as soon as possible.
Copenhagen remains the primary opportunity for anticipated international cooperation on driving this revolution. It should provide a platform for all countries to agree on the method and structure necessary for widespread low carbon technology deployment. A technological mechanism is proposed by The Climate Group paper with the objective of facilitating the process through structured frameworks and action programmes, including the “reform and scale up of the Clean Development Mechanism to ensure it can support technology diffusion in developing countries”. Cost estimates of the financial flow required to deploy low carbon technologies in developing countries are quoted as being between $100bn and $160bn annually between 2010 and 2020, with additional investments required for supporting smart grid infrastructures. The UK government this year called for provision of $100bn annually and one obvious route for raising these significant sums is through international offsets.
But whilst financial support is required for developing countries, The Climate Group makes the crucial observation that "the old idea that all technology will be 'developed' in the North and 'transferred' to the South is dead. The only way to beat the ticking clock of climate change is to cooperate on those vital areas that will open the path to future [decarbonisation] commitments. But for this to work we must be clear that this cooperation is not charity". Parties in developed and developing countries must work with each other to develop and distribute technologies, share successes and capitalise on joint ventures. A good example of this process in action is outlined in this month's Featured Project section below; it showcases ClimateCare's Ghana stoves project in which carbon finance is used to help establish an enterprise framework to manufacture and distribute energy efficient technology and many associated benefits.
The overriding goal within 'Breaking the Climate Deadlock' is to act with a united global front to deploy tried and tested solutions now, with great urgency, and prepare for longer-term solutions that will afford radically different approaches to emission reductions. In the immediate term the technologies available now include switching to renewables and lower-carbon energy sources, increasing our efficient use of energy across the board and internationally reducing deforestation. The latter solution, according to the report, could account for nearly 50% of the current reduction target with potential reductions of 9Gt out of the requisite 19Gt we need to meet by 2020.
Meanwhile closer to home there are significant savings to be made across the four key emissions sectors, power, transport, buildings and industry. Indeed the report advocates that "bold action will bring large rewards" as the advance of low carbon technologies boosts jobs and growth, whilst increasing climate security. In the case of power generation for example, it will free countries from oil price volatility.
Ultimately the paper presents the imperative for technological action through expanded global markets and the emphasis on unlocking global investment. What the world needs now is low carbon technology, delivered through careful resource allocation at significant scale, which can only happen with international government cooperation.
Sources:
"The Road to Copenhagen", DECC, 2009.
Defra/DECC release their 2009 Greenhouse Gas emissions guidelines
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have now released this year's updated Greenhouse Gas conversion factors and guidelines. They are used by businesses and individuals in the UK to understand the emissions resulting from their activities. We have updated the ClimateCare website calculators to reflect the changes between this and last year's conversion factors to ensure your calculations are as up to date as possible.
Each year there are additions to the data and information made available and consequent changes to existing conversion factors which affect emissions calculations made online. The most significant change in 2009 is the inclusion of CO2 equivalents (CO2e)* for two further greenhouse gases, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Until now emissions were included for CO2 alone. The impact of these two gases is calculated using their Global Warming Potential (GWP) which, for CH4 and N2O are 21 and 310 times greater than CO2. So for businesses and individuals calculating and offsetting the emissions from their activities, their inclusion is essential in the fight against climate change. However, as the volumes of these gases emitted from the activities included are relatively low, you are unlikely to notice the increase. In some cases increases have actually been outweighed by increased efficiencies year on year.
Other key changes to this year's guidelines are the following;
- International electricity and heat factors
Sourced from the International Energy Agency through their Data Services and the GHG Protocol website, the new guidelines now include international electricity emission factors for all EU member states and major UK trading partners, which will be useful for businesses with operations outside the UK. For example France's mainly nuclear-generated electricity produces 87g of CO2 per kWh whilst China and India's coal-dominated grids emit 835g and 1,270g respectively (one of the reasons why offsets make so much sense as efficiencies are made in countries where they can have the biggest impact). The factors cover data from 1990 to 2006 and Defra/DECC have provided emissions per kWh generated as well as kWh consumed (i.e. including transmission/distribution losses).
- Water and waste added
The emissions resulting from water and waste lifecycles as well as biofuels and biomass are now available. This will not directly affect ClimateCare's calculators at present but will be born in mind for future upgrades. The waste lifecycle stages covered are extraction, reuse/recycling, primary processing, transportation, manufacturing, transport and landfill. It is worth noting that use of the product is excluded as this will be variable. Details can be found on Defra's website.
- Non-Kyoto factors added
Historically, only emission factors required for reporting under the Kyoto Protocol were provided, but this year sees the addition of GWP for greenhouse gases not covered by the Kyoto Protocol.
- Refrigeration and air conditioning equipment added
Two methods are presented for factors pertaining to air conditioning and refrigeration units. Inventories of equipment used will be required to use these figures, which can then be converted using their GWP. They will not currently impact ClimateCare's calculators but will be born in mind for future versions where possible. Details can be found on Defra's website.
- Supporting methodology
What effects will I notice on my calculations?
Given the changes in 2009's time-series data you may see a marginal increase in the tonnage calculated compared with last year. Specifically it is worth noting that the grid rolling average for electricity has gone up from 0.537 kgCO2 to 0.544 kgCO2e. To put this in context, taking an approximated value for an average household's annual electricity use of 3000 kWh, this will change from an offset of 1.61 tCO2 to 1.64 tCO2 which equates to a small increase in offsetting cost of 26p from £13.89 to £14.15.
* CO2 equivalent is the measurement of GHGs' global warming potential relative to that of CO2. The GWP for methane over 100 years is 21 and for nitrous oxide 310. This means that emissions of 1 million metric tonnes of methane and nitrous oxide is equivalent to emissions of 21 and 310 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide respectively.
Deforestation rates in Ghana are among the highest in Africa, with current levels of wood-fuel consumption far exceeding forest growth. The charcoal production process contributes heavily to this deforestation and is responsible for high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. This is because charcoal is produced in simple earth-mound kilns with carbonisation ratios of about 8 tonnes of wood to 1 tonne of charcoal, meaning that large volumes of wood are consumed to make it.
With more than 80% of Ghanaian households using charcoal or wood as their primary cooking fuel, an opportunity has arisen to encourage the deployment of efficient charcoal stoves to households in Ghana, reducing charcoal consumption and alleviating the problems associated with its use. The Ghana stoves project introduces the Gyapa, an efficient cook stove that requires significantly less fuel and emitting less smoke whilst in use.
The project
ClimateCare’s development of the Gold Standard stoves project methodology and upfront financial support has facilitated the roll-out of the efficient Gyapa stove across Ghana. The Gyapa stove is a replacement for the traditional cooking method involving charcoal on a metal grate or use of ‘coal pot’ stoves. Both the ceramic liners providing insulation and the metal claddings around the new stoves are made by accredited manufacturers. The stoves are distributed throughout Ghana by our project partner, who also provide training, quality control and support services to manufacturers and distributors.
Careful fuel consumption tests, part of the project’s baseline study, have shown the Gyapa to reduce charcoal consumption by 25%. The baseline emission reductions are based on the quantity of charcoal used in kitchens in combination with greenhouse gas emissions arising from charcoal production in forest areas.
The project is designed to the Gold Standard VER and follows ClimateCare's own, approved cook stoves methodology, "Improved Cook-Stoves and Kitchen Regimes". To date over 100,000 Gyapa stoves have been distributed and emissions savings are anticipated in the region of 50,000 tonnes a year by 2010.
The people
Under existing conditions there is no mass market for improved stoves due to the low incomes of the majority of the population. Revenue from carbon finance is helping to build the technical and business capacity for stove manufacturing and production, enabling the improved technology to reach many families and small businesses around the country.
Madam Asantewaa (right), a local restaurant owner in the Medina district of Accra, was introduced to the Gyapa stove 2 years ago and now cooks a range of local dishes on her stoves. Before her first Gyapa she did most of her cooking on the 'coal pots'. Since switching to the Gyapa Madam Asantewaa's business has really taken off. She has managed to save over 40% on charcoal consumption and with the savings has been able to expand her business to include five additional employees. Hers is a story of great success, but she is not alone; today there are over 5,000 'chop bar' operators who have switched to the Gyapa stove in Ghana.
"I would not have known how we would manage to operate had I not come across Gyapa. It has drastically reduced our fuel bill and has also helped keep our kitchen clean as it does not spill wood ash like the local coal pot". Madam Asantewaa
Erica Teye (left) is one of 300 improved-stove retailers in the city of Accra who has benefited from the project structure. To create a robust supply chain and to make it possible for Erica and the other retailers to operate, our project partner trained local metalworkers to manufacture the Gyapa and then linked them with local retail outlets. Retailers were then given assistance through free transport and stocking on a sale-or-return basis, while an intensive marketing campaign and open-market demonstrations helped to establish Gyapa as a household name in Ghana.
Erica Teye has been selling Gyapa since 2002 and has become one of the major distributors of the product. Through the sale of over 15,000 stoves, Erica has expanded her business, hired three new employees and purchased some land to build her own house. In addition, profits from her Gyapa retail business have enabled her to fund all her children’s schooling. She spoke with excitement as she narrated to us how people came with the intention of purchasing traditional stoves only to have a change of mind and settle on the improved cook-stove because of the Gyapa advertising campaign.
Benefits beyond emissions
Social: Fuel costs are reduced for Ghanaian families and their money can be used elsewhere to improve quality of life. Additionally the Gyapa is improving the health of stove users, typically mothers and children, through a reduction in hazardous air pollutants.
Economic: The project creates employment throughout the stoves’ supply chain, in manufacturing, distribution, retailing, quality control and project management. At the same time, owing to the local production of the stoves, there is an overall improvement in Ghana’s technological self-reliance with skills being developed and furthered in-country.
Environmental: Greenhouse gas emissions are saved as a result of reduced charcoal consumption and the widespread deforestation around Ghana is eased on the remaining forest reserves.
Act now and see how little it can cost to offset your carbon emissions and make a really
important contribution to help to fund such valuable projects.
© ClimateCare 2009. All rights reserved.
Registered address: 125 London Wall, London, EC2Y 5AJ
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