By Barbara Nebel, CEO of thinkstep-anz

In the rising conversations around climate change and climate action, carbon is one of the most significant — and ambiguous — words that can be heard.

More terms are quickly coming out of the woodwork — carbon offsets, scope 3 emissions, science-based targets — but what do they all mean?

While the attention on climate action is encouraging, the buzz around climate terminology can become a little hard to follow.

We break down some of the most common and confusing climate related terms to cut through the fog — starting with the puzzling carbon.

Are carbon emissions the same as greenhouse gas emissions?

Carbon can refer to many different things depending on the context. At its simplest and most accurate, carbon is a chemical element.

Carbon combines with oxygen to make carbon dioxide (CO2) and combines with hydrogen to make methane (CH4) — both are greenhouse gases.

Greenhouse gases contribute to global warming because they form a layer around the earth that acts like a glass house by trapping the heat from incoming sunshine.

Since carbon is present in many greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane, carbon and carbon emissions are used as blanket terms to talk about the different groups of greenhouse gases and their emissions.

It doesn’t hurt that carbon also features noticeably less syllables.

However, some of these gases such as nitrous oxide, refrigerant gases, and sulfur hexafluoride don’t have anything to do with carbon, but are still sometimes covered under the slightly liberally used term ‘carbon emissions’.

This is not only because it’s just easier to use — the standard unit for measuring the impact of greenhouse gas emissions is carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). CO2e expresses the global warming potential of each greenhouse gas in terms of how much CO2 would create the same amount of warming.

For example, 1 kg of methane has the same effect as 28 kg of carbon dioxide allowing all greenhouse gases to be measured by the same unit.

Why should I care about greenhouse gases?

Greenhouse gases contribute to the warming of the Earth’s surface in a naturally occurring process. However, human activities are accelerating the warming process by emitting high levels of greenhouse gases, which will result in dangerous climate related events if we don’t take significant action to curb our emissions.

Are global warming and climate change the same?

Global warming and climate change are another example of frequently misunderstood words. Global warming refers to the long-term heating of Earth due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels.

Climate change refers to warming by both human-related and natural warming, and the effects it has on our planet. Global warming is just one part of climate change; the significance lies in the effects of warmer temperatures which include an increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods.

What is the first step for a company looking to reduce its emissions?

Every carbon reduction journey should start with measuring emissions — you cannot reduce what you do not measure. A key starting point is to calculate the corporate carbon footprint — the sum of greenhouse gas emissions associated with an organisation.

This includes direct and indirect sources of emissions such as burning fuel on site and business travel.

What are Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions?

The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard classifies a company’s GHG emissions into three ‘scopes’: Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. A corporate carbon footprint should cover all three in alignment with international guidelines (GHG Protocol, ISO 14064) and best practice.

• Scope 1 covers direct emissions from sources that are owned or controlled by the organisation including burning fuel on site and company vehicles.
• Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from generation of purchased electricity, heating and cooling, and steam consumed by the organisation.
• Scope 3 covers all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain from business travel and employee commuting to purchased goods and services.

What is all the fuss about Scope 3?

Scope 3 emissions are often in the spotlight more than its counterparts Scopes 1 and 2 for two key reasons. Scope 3 emissions are often not measured or disclosed by companies, yet this is where most of an organisation’s emissions are often found.

Scope 3 covers a wide range of emissions including goods and services bought by a company and use of those products and services.

This means that not covering Scope 3 prevents an organisation from taking accountability for emissions from their value chain.

Measuring Scope 3 emissions will help organisations to identify opportunities for improving energy efficiency and reducing costs in their supply chains.

It will also enable them to identify the emissions hotspots in their supply chain, assess employee commuting and business travel and work with relevant parties to reduce emissions collectively.

Doesn’t Scope 3 essentially mean that we are always double-counting emissions?

Scope 3 is used to help companies at an organisational level to understand and be responsible for its emissions, including those resulting from its supply chain. At a national level, Scope 3 does result in double-counting — but measuring emissions at a national level is not its purpose. One company’s Scope 3 emissions are another company’s Scope 1 emissions. If both parties have an interest in reducing their emissions, it needs collaboration in the supply chain.

What are science-based targets and why do they matter for a reduction pathway?

Reducing an organisation’s emissions is not about doing what’s easy, it’s about doing what’s enough to limit the worst effects of global warming. Science-based targets help companies to find what is ‘enough’ to limit global warming to well below 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial temperatures, based on the latest climate science. For companies wanting to do their part to limit global warming, the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) defines, promotes, and independently assesses their science-based targets.

Where does carbon offsetting and insetting come into the picture?

When you have reduced emissions as much as possible, the next step can be carbon offsetting or carbon insetting.

Both processes allow companies to gain carbon credits to further their carbon reduction journey. They are also useful for companies looking to become zero-carbon certified.

When you purchase carbon offsets, you are contributing towards projects that reduce or avoid emissions and which are certified to a carbon standard. Insetting on the other hand, refers to a company’s direct investment within its own value chain to reduce its carbon footprint.

For example, Meridian Energy Limited decided to inset locally in New Zealand with their own forest project.

Companies can purchase carbon credits via offsetting or create their own supply via insetting. In the long-term, insetting can be a lower risk option as creating your own source for carbon credits leaves you less susceptible to increasing demand and price volatility in the carbon market.

Can we just plant trees to offset all emissions?

Offsetting or insetting is not a cure-all for a company’s emissions; only drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (IPCC 2018).

We need to reduce emissions by 45 percent globally by 2030 to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Trees planted today can’t grow fast enough to achieve this goal — or reduce emissions growth on its own (UNEP, 2019).

For companies committed to playing their part in achieving national and global climate goals, the action plan starts with measuring and reducing as much as possible, and then offsetting what cannot be reduced any further.

Why is climate terminology so important?

We need to turn toward more sustainable methods of producing things and running organisations to protect the planet and its inhabitants from the worst effects of global warming. But this requires an understanding of key climate-related words and terms first — the common language to achieve this common goal.

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