Previous Year Question
What is “Greenhouse Gas Protocol”?
It is an international accounting tool for Government and business leaders to understand, quantify and manage greenhouse gas emissions.
It is an initiative of the United Nations to offer financial incentives to developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to adopt eco-friendly technologies.
It is an inter-governmental agreement ratified by all the member countries of the United Nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to specified levels by the year 2022.
It is one of the multilateral REDD+ initiatives hosted by the World Bank.
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol is a globally used standardised framework for measuring, accounting for and reporting greenhouse gas emissions.
It was developed through a partnership between the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Companies, cities, institutions and governments can use it to identify emission sources and prepare greenhouse gas inventories.
It is not itself an international treaty, regulatory authority or financial-assistance programme.
The Protocol provides guidance for determining an organisation’s operational and organisational boundaries and classifying emissions into different categories.
Scope 1 includes direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by an organisation.
These may include fuel combustion in company facilities, emissions from owned vehicles and direct emissions from industrial processes.
Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating or cooling.
These emissions occur at the energy producer’s location but are included in the accounting of the organisation using the energy.
Scope 3 includes other indirect emissions associated with the organisation’s value chain.
These may include purchased goods, transportation, business travel, employee commuting, waste and the use of sold products.
In addition to corporate emissions, the GHG Protocol provides standards and guidance for projects, products, cities, policies and entire value chains.
Standardised accounting enables institutions to establish a base year, set emission-reduction targets and compare progress across different years.
Relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency and accuracy are its principal accounting principles for reliable reporting.
Option (b) is incorrect because the Protocol is not a United Nations initiative providing financial incentives to developing countries.
Option (c) is incorrect because it is not an inter-governmental agreement imposing binding emission reductions on all United Nations countries.
Option (d) is incorrect because it is not a World Bank REDD+ initiative but a framework for greenhouse gas accounting and reporting.