Measuring and reporting
The measurement and reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is becoming more widespread, but the methodologies can be complex and it can be difficult to compare data because practices vary between countries, industries and companies. For this reason, IPIECA has developed good practice guidelines specifically for the oil and gas industry.
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Measuring and reporting company GHG performance
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Projects that reduce, store or remove GHG emissions
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Improving the accuracy of monitoring and reporting GHG emissions
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Company reporting
Companies measure and report their organizational GHG performance for many reasons. The audiences for this information include customers, employees, government, emissions trading schemes and the general public. Companies also use the information internally for performance management. To produce information that is credible, companies should collect consistent sets of data. The GHG reporting process should be able to configure this data in varying formats according to the needs of the different target audiences.
The 2011 revision to the IPIECA/API guidelines sets out reporting practices for our industry, consistent with the World Resources Institute/World Business Council on Sustainable Development WRI/WBCSD GHG Reporting Protocol:
For more information on SANGEA - API's electronic data management information system - see 'more information'.
GHG reduction projects
A GHG reduction project changes a company's emissions through reductions, removals or storage. Companies are increasingly motivated to do this for a number of reasons, including: financial benefits; voluntary actions; regulatory compliance; stakeholder reporting; and meeting internal company emission reduction targets. The Kyoto Protocol offers incentives for projects that reduce, store or remove GHG emissions in developing countries (see our section on the Clean Development Mechanism).
IPIECA has developed a series of guidelines on GHG reduction projects:
- Oil and natural gas industry guidelines for greenhouse gas reduction projects
- Oil and natural gas industry guidelines for greenhouse gas reduction projects: carbon capture and geological storage emission reduction project family
- Oil and natural gas industry guidelines for greenhouse gas reduction projects: flare reduction project family
Measuring uncertainty
GHG inventory data are associated with varying degrees of uncertainty, which has both technical and policy implications. 'Uncertainty analysis' has been increasingly recognized as an important tool for improving national, sectoral, and corporate inventories of GHG emissions and associated reductions. This increased attention to accurate inventories leads to the need to provide guidance to industry on the technical considerations and calculation methods for consistent estimation of GHG inventory uncertainty.
Uncertainty analysis should:
- determine the uncertainties associated with individual measurements and other factors that contribute to the emissions inventory; and
- propagate and aggregate these individual terms to derive uncertainty intervals (at a pre-designated probability level) for the whole inventory.
The extent and scope of the analysis should reflect the likely uses for the information. For example, data that compares trends needs less analysis than data that demonstrates the attainment of GHG emission limits or progress towards meeting GHG emission reduction targets.
The API and IPIECA have developed guidelines on addressing uncertainty issues:
Categories:
- Climate change
