Opening the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) x Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) webinar on Harmonizing Global Carbon Accounting under the COP30 Action Agenda on 20th February 2026, Bruna Cerqueira, General Coordinator of the COP30 Action Agenda, underscored that the Paris Agreement has entered its implementation phase.

It is time to ensure commitments deliver real emissions reductions across industries and value chains, and creating credible, globally comparable carbon accounting, Bruna further noted, is one of the most powerful levers to do this.

Under the COP30 Action Agenda, ISO and GHG Protocol have a historic opportunity — and responsibility — to deliver this global approach that brings consistency, simplicity, and trust to the market.

How to calculate and account for emissions should not be a burden or a hurdle; this must be straightforward for businesses, streamlined and easy, underscored Dominic Waughray, EVP at WBCSD, and Craig Hanson, MD&EVP at WRI.

Harmonization as a Strategic Tool

More than 4,000 businesses, standard-setters, and practitioners signed up to the webinar and the message was clear: fragmentation in carbon accounting is our greatest enemy and a single, climate science-aligned global framework is essential to reduce complexity and accelerate action. 

To catch up and hear from experts, access the recording here.

Speakers included experts from EY, Colgate-Palmolive, Dow, ISO and GHGP.

As Colm Devine, Global Vice Chair, Sustainability at EY said:

“We should think about harmonization as a strategic tool.”

This framing is critical. Aligned carbon accounting is not a technical exercise — it is a market enabler — when companies measure emissions consistently, the results follow.

Low carbon products can compete on a level playing field; investors can trust and compare data; capital can flow toward the most credible transition pathways and decarbonisation ultimately, accelerates.

Suzanne Greene, Global Purchasing Environmental Sustainability Director at Dow Jones, reinforced this need for clarity. She commented:

“As corporates, we need a shared foundation to reduce confusion and speed up decision-making.”

Harmonizing carbon accounting is about strengthening accountability across the entire value chain and giving businesses the clarity they need to act with confidence.

Marco Rossi, Director at ISO added:

“There will be one coherent set of definitions, datasets and language. Businesses will no longer have to pick and choose.

Looking forward

ISO and GHG Protocol are building on decades of shared expertise to develop and deliver a global carbon accounting framework. This work will align closely with both the COP30 and COP31 Presidencies to sustain momentum and ensure the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

But harmonization cannot be achieved in isolation.

This is now a process of co-creation. Businesses, practitioners, standard-setters, investors, and policymakers all have a role to play.

As Anna Stanley-Radière, Head of Partnerships and External Affairs at GHG Protocol stated:

"It is critical that we build and leverage the carbon accounting work that's already there, strengthen it and bring in new ideas."

GHG Protocol and ISO invite stakeholders to engage, contribute expertise, and help shape consistent and simplified carbon accounting that drives business accountability and accelerates decarbonization.

To stay informed on opportunities to get involved, please sign up here.