Background
In 2007, the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol team launched an ambitious initiative to develop GHG standards and tools and pursue capacity building in China. This was a major step forward in China’s ability to mesure, and therefore manage, its greenhouse gas emissions. GHG Protocol is now working with local and international partners to develop a further suite of tools suitable for use in China. The team is conducting on-the-ground research within key industrial sectors, conducting city-level GHG accounting, and aiding the development of GHG management programs. Partnering with businesses, research institutes, universities, associations and local governments and agencies, WRI is working to disseminate and implement GHG Protocol standards and tools to inform the design of effective programs and policies to combat climate change. WRI currently has four full-time staff based in China working directly for the GHG Protocol team.
Goal
WRI works to disseminate and implement GHG Protocol standards and tools to inform the design of effective business and government programs and policies to combat climate change.
Projects
In China, WRI focus on three areas:
1. Develop GHG Protocol standards and tools for China
Working with partners, WRI contributes to the development of standards, tools and methodologies in various sectors and areas, therefore removing the technical barriers for GHG quantification, accounting and reporting in China.
Industrial standards and tools
WRI works with associations and experts in key industrial sectors in China. For example, WRI is working with the China Electricity Council to develop a GHG accounting tool for coal-fired power plants, which draws experience from international best practice and tailors to China’s power sector practice and needs.
Industrial sectors:
• Power Sector
• Cement Sector
• Oil and Gas Sector
• Chemical Sector
• Petro Chemical Sector
Partners:
• China Business Council for Sustainable Development
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development Cement Sustainable Initiative
• China Building Materials Academy
• China Electricity Council
Cross Sector standards and tools
• GHG Protocol Scope 3 (Value Chain) Standard
• GHG Protocol Product Standard
• Energy – GHG conversion tool
• Hong Kong GHG Guidelines for Buildings
Partners:
• Tsinghua University
• NDRC Energy Research Institute
• China National Institute of Standardization
• Institute for Sustainable Communities
• Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department
Citywide GHG accounting framework
As low-carbon city planning becomes increasingly important in rapidly developing Chinese cities, and at present there is no common framework for undertaking city-level GHG inventories, WRI is developing a citywide GHG accounting framework to guide city-level GHG accounting practices in China. WRI aims to develop and pilot-test this GHG accounting framework by partnering with the municipal government of Xiaolan town in Zhongshan City, an industrial town in Southern China.
Partners:
• Guangzhou Academy of Energy Testing and Inspection
• The People’s Government of Xiaolan Town, Zhongshan City
2. Build GHG quantification, accounting and reporting capacity in China
Aiming to address capacity challenges in human resources, WRI works to train skilled GHG management professional en mass in China through training of trainers and capacity building programs.
Partners:
• Institute for Sustainable Communities
• Guangdong EHS Academy
• Hong Kong Productivity Council
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• China Building Materials Academy
3. Assist the development of GHG management programs in China
Practical, rigorous and harmonized programs are crucial to the management of greenhouse gases. Therefore, WRI provides technical assistance to various GHG management programs.
Partners:
• Energy and Climate Registry
• Tianjin Climate Exchange
• Beijing Environment Exchange
• Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology
• China Cement Association
• Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• China Building Materials Academy
• World Business Council for Sustainable Development Cement Sustainable Initiative
• Tsinghua University
• Guangdong Energy Conservation Center