The GHG Protocol —the international accounting and reporting standard used by businesses and other climate initiatives to inventory, report and track greenhouse gas emissions—continued to expand in 2004. Activities included the launch of a pilot program by the Government of Mexico and the release of a revised edition of the Protocol.
In August 2004 the Mexico GHG Pilot Program, was launched with the signing of an agreement between Mexico’s Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), WRI, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The two-year partnership will develop a voluntary reporting platform for Mexican businesses that follows the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol.
The program will be coordinated by SEMARNAT, with technical support from WRI and WBCSD. During the first phase of the program the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard will design Program Specifications that serve Mexico’s local conditions and needs. Implementation will begin in January 2005. The program will help businesses in Mexico prepare GHG inventories, identify GHG reduction opportunities, and participate in programs to reduce emissions.
Mexico’s adoption of the GHG Protocol is a significant step to the further standardization and harmonization of GHG accounting and reporting frameworks worldwide. India, Philippines, South Africa, and South Korea have indicated their interest in using the GHG Protocol Standards and tools as an accounting and reporting basis for national climate initiatives and programs.
In partnership with WBCSD, WRI released The Greenhouse Gas Protocol: A Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, Revised Edition in May 2004. The new edition—which is available online (http://www.ghgprotocol.org/) — adds more case studies and guidelines, including a new chapter on how to set credible GHG reduction targets.
First launched in 2001, the GHG Protocol has become the most widely used global standard for corporate accounting of greenhouse gas emissions. It has been adopted by over 150 companies, as well as numerous climate reduction programs, trading schemes, environmental standards, and registries. This list includes the Global Reporting Initiative, The WWF Climate Savers Program, California Climate Action Registry, World Economic Forum Global GHG Register, the UK Trading Scheme, the Chicago Climate Exchange, and the monitoring protocols of the EU Trading Scheme.
