Accounting to reduce Mexico's
global
warming gases
by Peter Denton --- WRI Features
The
Mexican Secretariat for Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT)
recently launched the Mexico GHG Pilot Program, a groundbreaking climate
initiative to create a voluntary national program for the measurement and
reporting of business greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The project is the
first government-led climate initiative of its kind.
"This program will provide tools and training to Mexican businesses,
helping them to apply accounting approaches to quantify GHG emissions,
identify GHG reduction opportunities, and attract new technologies and
investments," said Alberto Cárdenas Jiménez, secretary of SEMARNAT.
The Kyoto Protocol identified GHG emissions --- including carbon dioxide,
methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur
hexafluoride --- as major contributors to the growing global warming
crisis.
The Mexico GHG Pilot Program involves an innovative two-year partnership
between WRI, the Mexican government, and the World Business Council for
Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The program will provide a portfolio of
services --- including information, tools, accounting methodologies, and a
reporting platform --- aimed at assisting Mexican businesses to prepare
credible GHG inventories, effectively reduce their emissions, and
participate in international trading schemes.
These measures are expected to help Mexican businesses gain financial
benefits through participation in carbon trading markets, while at the
same time reduce local air pollutants and mitigate global warming. The
Mexico GHG Pilot Program focuses on quantifying and reporting GHG
emissions of an entire corporation, rather than just the emissions of
specific facility or source. This approach creates a comprehensive
overview of a company's climate impact and reduces the risk of shifting
liabilities inside a large conglomerate.
The program is based on The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate
Accounting and Reporting Standard, developed jointly by WRI and WBCSD. The
most recent edition of the protocol was released earlier this year. With
its adoption by a wide range of international businesses, industry
associations, and climate programs, the protocol has emerged as a true
benchmark for GHG accounting.
Through December 2004, the first phase of the Mexico GHG Pilot Program
will tailor the protocol to the needs and objectives of the program, to
bring into account local circumstances and variations. From January 2005
through November 2006, the program will be implemented throughout Mexico.
"While many industries throughout the world have implemented the GHG
Protocol, Mexico is the first country to adopt it," said Jonathan Lash,
WRI president. "In the absence of international leadership in tackling
climate change, Mexico has taken the lead in showing what can be done to
mitigate global warming."
The GHG Protocol was initially created by more than 500 businesses,
organizations, and governments working with WRI and WBCSD to design an
accounting framework capable of working for a variety of different
applications. The protocol is the most widely used global standard for
corporate accounting of GHGs, and as been adopted by over 150 companies,
including industry associations representing pulp and paper, aluminum, and
cement.
"Mexico's adoption of the GHG Protocol is a significant step to the
further standardization and harmonization of GHG accounting and reporting
frameworks worldwide," said Björn Stigson, president of WBCSD. "We hope
other countries will also use the GHG Protocol."
The US EPA Climate Leaders Initiative, Global Reporting Initiative, WWF
Climate Savers Program, California Climate Action Registry, World Economic
Forum GHG Register, the UK Trading Scheme, the Chicago Climate Exchange,
and the monitoring protocols of the European Union Emissions Trading
Scheme all use the GHG Protocol in their program guidelines and tools.
"The Mexican initiative demonstrates that progress on climate change can
succeed," said Lash, "through effective and strategic partnerships,
underscored by dynamic political and business leadership.”
Peter Denton is managing editor of WRI Features, an international news
features service on environment and development issues.
