There is potential alignment between the proposed carbon offset trading scheme and the Carbon Budgeting approach, a new report reveals.

According to the Promethium report Potential alignment between the proposed South African carbon offset trading scheme and the Carbon Budget approach, most of the elements required for practical alignment of a fully aligned Carbon Budgeting System and Mix of Measures are already in place. However the successful alignment of these systems is dependent on the foundation that is currently being developed.

 

Clearing up the confusion

There is currently confusion in the debate around consolidating corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounts. This should be clarified with reference to the already adopted SANS/ISO standard, the report argues.

According to the report, practical constraints in developing the South African regulatory system will, in the short term, dictate that there will be boundaries of the GHG inventory of an entity and that of mandatory reporting requirements. This difference should be recognised and accommodated in the system.

 

Returning to existing principles

The report argues that better alignment is anticipated if the design of the Carbon Budgeting system returns to the principles embedded in the ISO standards and the NCCRP.

It is also essential that both the carbon tax design and the Carbon Budgeting System be aligned with existing infrastructure.

 

Using common terminology

A key contributor to the foundation is a common understanding of terminology, states the report.

This includes a unified understanding of the term Carbon Budget, as well as understanding the differences between GHG accounting and reporting and the various boundaries encompassed by various standards.