A “boring” look at the California carbon market

Ethics for carbon managers

There is a small but growing literature that considers the challenge of climate change through the ethicist’s lens. So-called “climate ethics” addresses the ethical imperative for action on climate change. …

Is the way you think about emissions from purchased electricity wrong?

Electrons flowing down a wire. How many times have you heard this description in discussions on how electric power grids functions? Our greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting framework for indirect emissions …

Is climate literacy an effective approach to root out climate change denial?

One of the more frustrating issues I deal with as an educator is the focus by many governments, NGOs, foundations, and much of the scientific community on “climate literacy” as …

Short sleeves in February. Did it have to turn out this way?

Much of the world right now appears largely unconcerned with climate change. And, this state of affairs is just what social psychology tells us we should expect. People will avoid …

Additionality is assessed against a counterfactual. True or False?

Continuing on the theme of widely held fundamental misconceptions in the carbon management community (see previous blog posts here and here), today I am going to write on a matter …

Getting real about “real” carbon offsets

I am about to commit an act of minor heresy by telling you that something everyone repeats as gospel is flat bunk. The qualities of a good emission offset project …

GHG Professional Certification: onwards and upwards

Since the June 2011 global launch of the EP(GHG) and EPt(GHG) designations under our Professional Certification Program, in partnership with ECO Canada, we have seen an outpouring of enthusiasm from …

Bridging energy efficiency and carbon accounting

You have probably experienced this situation before. You have an idea for a project that you believe is important and innovative. But you don’t have funding for it, and are …

How do you explain additionality?

Update since initial posting: Further explanation on additionality can be found on OffsetGuide.org, which is an online and publicly available resource for understanding carbon offsets developed in 2019. If you …