GHG inventories: production vs. consumption

Besides the production-based GHG inventory method as in the Kyoto Protocol, which uses production within a country's geographic definition, there exist two other methods:

1. economic production-based GHG inventories that use production within a country's "economic" definition (measuring the total gross values added produced by all institutional units resident in the economy); and 
2. consumption-based GHG inventories that use consumption within a country's economic definition.

Current issues
A GHG inventory on a country's consumption excludes the emissions embodied in exports and includes the emissions embodied in imports. There are two important implications that this method indicates. One is a carbon leakage issue in the Kyoto Protocol's GHG inventory method, which ignores increased domestic consumption produced in foreign regions as domestic production is replaced by foreign production. Another is decoupling of economic growth and carbon emissions (i.e. pollution) in environmental Kuznets curves (EKC). This inventory method explains a undisputed linking of economic activities and consumption-based emissions in most developed countries, which is mainly due to pollution-heaven and carbon leakage phenomena in the literature.

Implications for the Kyoto Protocol's GHG inventory
Implications of consumption-based GHG inventories for the Kyoto regime or future Post-Kyoto regime that will provide a binding emission reduction responsibility to Annex I nations are numerous. By using this method, developed countries take a greater share of current GHG emissions and consequently emission commitments for developing countries are not as important. It will also promote emission reduction in foreign regions in a framework of the CDM, as this method accounts for a country's emissions produced abroad for its consumption of imported goods.

Other issues to consider
theoretical concerns
Assumptions in the linear input-output analysis (IOA) that:

1. linear analyses based on aggregated industry sectors (typically 50 or more sectors): some detail is lost in complex production networks; and
2. different value added products are not considered: each product within a country has the same price.

Lenzen et al. (2007:34) suggested a modification of the traditional input-output identity with an alternative formula invariant with disaggregation and aggregation of the supply chain, which includes "value added" of industry sector (1-aij=1-bi=vi/xi-Tii (net output)).
policy issues
A premise of consumption-based GHG inventory in implementation is carbon and border tax. This may relate to a global linking of carbon emissions trading systems. It implies that carbon tax and carbon trading are not incompatible within a climate mitigation policy framework.



Source: Peters, G.P. & Hertwich, E.G. 2008. "Post-Kyoto Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Production versus Consumption," Climatic Change, 83: 51-66.
Lenzen, M. et al. 2007. "Shared Producer and Consumer Responsibility - Theory and Practice," Ecological Economics, 61:27-42.

Kyoto 6 GHGases

The targets cover emissions of the six main greenhouse gases, namely:
• Carbon dioxide (CO2);
• Methane (CH4);
• Nitrous oxide (N2O);
• Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs);
• Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and
• Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

Source: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/3145.php

Ring Fence

A protection-based transfer of assets from one destination to another, usually through the use of offshore accounting. A ring fence is meant to protect the assets from inclusion in an investor's calculable net worth or to lower tax consequences.  

Moves to ring fence an asset are often called "ring fence trades".

Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/ringfence.asp#ixzz2D1MoSHkM

ITL

International Transaction Log The ITL verifies transactions proposed by registries to ensure they are consistent with rules agreed under the Kyoto Protocol. Each registry sends transaction proposals to the ITL, which checks each proposal and returns to the registry its approval or rejection. Once approved, registries complete the transaction. In the event that a transaction is rejected, the ITL sends a code indicating which ITL check has been failed and the registry terminates the transaction

.

Source: http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/registry_systems/itl/items/4065.php

stoichiometric coefficient

The number of molecules of a reactant taking part in a reaction is known as Stoichiometric coefficient.

In a balanced reaction, both sides of the equation have the same number of elements. The stoichiometric coefficient is the number written in front of atoms, ion and molecules in a chemical reaction to balance the number of each element on both the reactant and product sides of the equation. Though the stoichiometric coefficients can be fractions, whole numbers are frequently used and often preferred. These stoichiometric coefficients are useful since they establish the mole ratio between reactants and products. In the equation:

2 Na (s) + HCl(aq) → 2NaCl (aq) + H₂(g)

we can determine that 1 mole of HCl will react with 2 moles of Na(s) to form 2 moles of NaCl(aq) and 1 mole of H₂(g). If we know how many moles of Na we start out with, we can use the ratio of 2 moles of NaCl to 2 moles of Na to determine how many moles of NaCl were produced or we can use the ration of 1 mole of H2 to 2 moles of Na to convert to NaCl. This is known as the coeffient factor. The balanced equation makes it possible to convert information about one reactant or product to quantitative data about another element. Understanding this is essential to solving stoichiometric problems!

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dry ash-free

a theoretical measure of coal (or other organic material), based on a sample in which the moisture and ash are totally eliminated and the remaining constituents are recalculated to total 100 percent.

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CKD

Cement Kiln Dust Waste

Cement kiln dust (CKD) is the fine-grained, solid, highly alkaline waste removed from cement kiln exhaust gas by air pollution control devices. Because much of the CKD is actually unreacted raw materials, large amounts of it can and are, recycled back into the production process. Some CKD is reused directly, while some requires treatment prior to reuse. CKD not returned to the production process is typically disposed in land-based disposal units (i.e., landfills, waste piles, or surface impoundments), although some is also sold for beneficial reuse.

CKD is categorized by EPA as a "special waste" and has been temporarily exempted from federal hazardous waste regulations under Subtitle C of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). EPA is in the process of developing standards for the management of CKD and has published a set of proposed Subtitle D (i.e., non-hazardous, solid waste) regulations to govern CKD management.

(Source: US EPA)