Voluntary Carbon Credits PDF

VOLUNTARY CARBON CREDITS A credit equals the offset of one tonne of CO2, through the implementation of a development project managed by a third party. 1 tonne of CO2 = 1 Carbon credit. We have two types of tones: 1. CER (Certified Emission Reduction) à type of emission unit (or Carbon credits) is...

VOLUNTARY CARBON CREDITS A credit equals the offset of one tonne of CO2, through the implementation of a development project managed by a third party. 1 tonne of CO2 = 1 Carbon credit. We have two types of tones: 1. CER (Certified Emission Reduction) à type of emission unit (or Carbon credits) issued by the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) Executive Board for emission reductions achieved by CDM projects and verified by a DOE (Designated Operational Entity) under the rules of the Kyoto protocol. 2. VER (Verified Emission Reduction) à VER are usually created by projects which have been verified outside of the Kyoto Protocol. 1 Ver is equivalent to 1 tonne od CO2 emissions. Through these schemes, industries and individuals voluntarily compensate for their emissions or provide and additional contribution to mitigating climate change. There are basically 2 ways to create a Carbon credit (Both these solutions are really effective): 1) TECH SOLUTION I use some technologies or new processes to give less impact obtained from the same input à tech solutions are all those improvements that find a solution to a human need with fewer resources than used in the normal scenario. 2 kinds of tech solutions: a. Avoidance of emissions à activities, processes or mechanisms to reduce the emission of GHG from a human activity that is essential for the social development (es wind and solar energy, biogas, thermal efficiency and so on). Those CC are the less valuable on the market b. Carbon sink à activities, processes or mechanisms to remove the emission of GHG through technological means (es Geo-sink, ocean-sink etc.). Problems: eutrophication and thermal unbalance 2) NATURE-BASED SOLUTION 2 kinds of nature-based solutions a. Avoidance of emissions à protect the ecosystem from the human action to preserve biodiversity that in the normal case scenario would be lost (es REDD+, even though is not a very linear process, it a good for biodiversity preservation) b. Carbon sink à regenerative activity that enrich the soil and the biodiversity of an ecosystem storing in the process the CO2 (es Agro-forestry such as hemp, wetland restoration, forest restoration) We have 170 typologies of Carbon credits or methodology that generate CC, such as Renewable energy Industrial efficiency Fleet efficiency REDD+ Agroforestry Waste and plastic efficiency Domestic energy and clean water Blue Carbon How can I produce CC? GENERATION PROJECT PROCESS (riascoltare bene) Baseline and Impact PDD and Project Project Varification and Sell Carbon Stakeholders Monitoring Validation Implementation Credit issuance Credits engament (12 months) Why do we need Carbon Credits? Well, basically bc they are tradable, unique and commodities. Benefits to: - NATIONS: Under Joint implementation, countries with commitments under the Kyoto protocol are eligible to transfer and/or acquire emission reduction units (ERUs) and use them to meet part of their emission reduction target. - COMPANIES: the main objective for acquiring Verified Emission Reduction (VER) credits, is to neutralize the Carbon footprint. Motivated mainly by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and public relations. Other reasons are consideration such as certification, reputation and environmental and social benefit. The prize of a CC depends a lot on the impact! - The main Stakeholders are CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) and REGISTRY - CONSUMERS à if I buy smth I have some power on the market - Institutions DNA (Designated National Authority) - Technological and logistic providers - Companies - Research - NGO - Community - Beneficiaries à end user that impact your activities We have 3 policy makers: 1. UNFCCC 2. CDM 3. ISO What do they do? o MEA o Framework setting o International coordination o Negotiations formula o Standard ruling ASSURANCE PROVIDERS à verification and validation bodies Standard setter à choose validation bodies to validate Carbon credits Registry à where you put all your data that cannot be falsified: CC ARE TRADED IN THE REGISTRY Stakeholders’ consultations CC issuance Quality assurance DNA national designated authority, in the COP they validate your job. They enforce decision made in negotiations, set national climate goal and take care of stakeholder committee. In italy there is not. Partners: Field expert Community training Tech producer à Tot: trainer of the trainers Logistic provider: needed to move in a certain country All from a certain field, and they know it very well! 3. LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT (LCIA) How are the inventory data converted in indicators of environmental impact? Impact categories = categories related to the environmental effect. IMPACT INDICATORS: 1. Climate change 2. Ozone depletion 3. Human toxicity 4. Terrestrial acidification 5. Freshwater/terrestrial/marine eutrophication 6. Mineral, fossil and renewable resource depletion 7. … Calculations of LCIS are done by software but we need to know how to use them! Es. which is the most sustainable product? A or B? They can have different input/output The inventory involves hundreds of inputs and hundreds of outputs. How can all this information be converted in a FEW NUMERICAL ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS? The LCIA methods allows to convert the inventory data LCI, (es, kg Methane emission into air) in environmental impact (es global warming). Es Methane à more effective in global warming than CO2 NO2 à more effective in global warming than Methane NO2 > CH4 > CO2 à I HAVE TO TRANSFORM THEM IN CO2 EQUIVALENTS! Depending also on the environmental effect, the impact changes: es NO2 has no effect on acidification of soil. RIASCOLTARE IMPACT CATEGORY = class representing environmental issues of concern to which life cycle inventory analysis results may be assigned. Types of environmental issues that could be caused by the inputs and outputs of the product or process being analyzed: Human health Ecosystems Resources Impact can be at different levels: a. Global level (global warming, ozone depletion, human toxicity) b. Regional level (acidification, eutrophication, human toxicity or water usage) c. Local level (acidification, eutrophication, smog or human toxicity) For each impact category we have impact indicators! - Global warming potential à 25 kg CO2-eq - Acidification potential à 5.4 kg SO2-eq or 274 moles H+-eq - Ozone layer depletion à 4.9 kg CFC-11 eq - Photochemical oxidation (ex. smog) à 1.2 kg C2H4-eq or 10.8 kg O3-eq MIDPOINT IMPACT CATEGORY à potential impact ENDPOINT IMPACT CATEGORY à potential damage Impact categories can be grouped than in damage categories à LCA should be ended at midpoint impact category bc ISO STANDARD say so. 4 steps: CLASSIFICATION, CATEGORIZATION, normalization and weighting 1) CLASSIFICATION Ø Selection of the evaluated environmental impacts/effects Ø Assignment of the results of the inventory phase to the chosen environmental effects If our process involves the emission of NO2, the impact will be evaluated only on Ozone depletion and climate change 2) CHARACTERIZATION Quantify the relation bw the substances of the inventory and the different environmental effects. It is the transformation of the inventory into the environmental effect (or impact categories that represent contribution of the studied process to the environmental effects). Note: no info abt where and when the environmental effects will occur. Indicator of CO2-eq = inventory data (kg) x characterization factor CF x (specific for each indicator) Conversion and aggregation based on: inventory data, characterization factors. Thanks to the CF the different substances of the inventory are converted in one indicator for each impact category. Different substances force different amounts of impacts per unit mass 1 kg NOx forces only 0.7 times the acidification potential as 1 kg SO2. Some emissions have different residence times in the atmosphere over which they force impacts. Mostly applied to global warming potential. As the prices (money/kg) are useful to calculate the expense at the supermarket for our list of products, the CHARACTERIZATION FACTORS are needed to calculate the impact related to the different production factors or emitted substances. Why are the impacts expressed as “equivalent”? Different substances have different relative amounts of forcing Usually results are related to the equivalent release of a particular substance WITH LCA YOU QUANTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS DUE TO HUMAN ACTIVITY!!! EXAMPLE DIFFERENCE IN ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL RICE PRODUCTION IN LOMBARDY 1) To assess the environmental profile of organic rice production (ORP) system in Northern Italy 2) To identify the key processes from an environmental point of view 3) To compare the environmental impact of organic (ORP) and conventional (CRP) rice production systems QUESTIONS: What is the environmental impact for 1 ton of grain (14% moisture) from ORP system? What are the processes most responsible for this impact? Compared to traditional rice production system (characterized by higher yield) which rice system show better environmental performances? In 2014, the rice area dedicated to organic rice was 9,528 ha (4.3% of the overall rice area) with a total production of 57,070 t (3.5% of the rice production). - Respect to CRP, the ORP is characterized by great yield variations and, on average, by yield reductions of about 1⁄3 - 1⁄2. + The application of organic fertilizers instead of the mineral ones can be beneficial for soil - Organic fertilizers are not always easy to find and enhance CH4 emissions in anaerobic conditions + The ban of pesticides - Weed management requires intensive mechanical control In autumn, a mix of vetch and ryegrass is sown; in the following May the biomass is incorporated into the soil. Rice sowing is carried out with a precision seeder (220 kg/ha of seed - depth of 5-6 cm) after tillage operations. Weed control is performed using a spring tine harrow (4 interventions). After it, the rice fields are flooded and no aerations are scheduled. The flooding ends only at the beginning of September. Harvesting operations carried out with self-propelled harvester and rice paddy is transported to the farm. The straw is left into the soil. SYSTEM BOUNDARY The following activities were included in the analysis: Manufacture and use of the agricultural inputs (e.g., fuels, seed, fertilizers and agricultural machines), maintenance and final disposal of machines Emissions related to organic matter decomposition, fertilizer application and fuel combustion (using tractors) Rice cultivation is responsible for considerable emissions of GHG in particular of methane produced during the decomposition of organic matter in anaerobic conditions. As regard to the CH4 emissions, the methodology proposed by the IPCC was considered. Methane emissions were evaluated considering: Straw Organic fertilizer (compost) Green manure CH4 emissions ↑ with higher application of organic matter and longer flooding. CH4 emissions arrow down with aerations, reduction of flooding, reduction of organic matter application. As regard to ORC system the following 9 environmental impacts were evaluated: 1. Climate change (Global warming potential) 2. Ozone depletion 3. Particulate matter formation 4. Photochemical oxidant formations 5. Human toxicity, cancer effects 6. Acidification 7. Terrestrial eutrophication 8. Freshwater eutrophication 9. Marine eutrophication 10. Freshwater ecotoxicity 11. Mineral, fossil & ren resource depletion FU in this study: 1 ton rice produced WHICH PROCESS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT? HOTSPOTS: For climate change in this case, methane emissions is the most responsible. Emissions due to fertilizers applictaion Seed production Mechanization of field operations Compost production How to use SimaPro 1. Inventario à process à materials à elaborazioni à agriculture à cliccare su NUOVO 2. Inserimento dati, 3. Create 3 subsystem which will be the input of the whole process 4. For the 3 subsystems we have different inputs taken from database and different outputs 5. We insert these data into SimaPro: SUBSYSTEM 1 - in “output noti”, products and coproducts: chopped maize production CHIARA. Functional unit for subsystem one kg, physical quantity mass, quantità fisica: 1 - Input noti: tractors, machinesries (doppio click sull’azzurro, poi “trova” e scrivere for ex tractor). The second line “dove” has to be CURRENT PROJECT AND LIBRARY. Click su trova - Selezionare tractor, 4-wheel, agriculture (GLO) market fir APOS, U à DOPPIO CLICK (o SELEZIONA) - Sempre nell’input, quantità fisica 0.6 (vedi tabelle input) - Aggiungere un altro input: machineries, quantità fisica 2.06 g - Aggiungere un altro input: diesel (GLO), quantità fisica 14.1 g - Aggiungere un altro input: pendimethalin, quantità fisica 0.05 g - Aggiungere un altro input: urea, as N (GLO) market for APOS, U, quantità fisica 4.23*0.46 = 19.95 g - OUTPUTS à emissions into air, water and soil - Emissioni nell’aria: 1) ammonia (quantità fisica 6.93 g) 2) carbon dioxide CO2 (quntità fisica 47.5 g) 3) nitrogen oxide IT (quantità fisica 59 mg) 4) sulphur dioxide (quantità fisica 38.7 mg) 5) heat, waste (quantità fisica 176 kj) - Emissioni in acqua: 6) Phosphate (quantità fisica 8.54 mg) 7) Nitrate (quantità fisica 7.2 mg) 8) BOD5 (quantità fisica 94.1 mg) 9) COD (quantià fisica 94.4 mg) - Emissioni nel suolo: SOTTOCOMPARTIMENTO AGRICULTURAL 10) Pendimethalin (quantità fisica 0.05 mg) CARBON CREDITS Using LCA we can quantify Carbon footprint also called global warming potential! Carbon credits: Un credito di carbonio o carbon credit è un certificato negoziabile, ovvero un titolo equivalente ad una tonnellata di CO2 non emessa o assorbita grazie ad un progetto di tutela ambientale realizzato con lo scopo di ridurre o riassorbire le emissioni globali di CO2 e altri gas ad effetto serra. Il credito di carbonio viene scambiato per compensare l'emissione di una tonnellata di anidride carbonica equivalente, attraverso la realizzazione di un progetto di sviluppo con intervento da parte di un ente terzo. Acquistare crediti di carbonio (carbon credits) permette alle Aziende che emettono gas serra, di contribuire economicamente alla realizzazione e allo sviluppo di uno o più progetti di tutela ambientale. Questi progetti normalmente sono realizzati in Paesi in Via di Sviluppo, con valenze di promozione sociale e di autosufficienza economica per le popolazioni locali. Why is Carbon market important? 1. CLIMATE CHANGE à economic and social impacts 2. + 1 TRILION DOLLARS each year generated CARBON NEUTRALITY à In an optimal situation GHG regulate the temperature of the Earth, absorbing the heat and releasing it gradually. Without GHG the temperature of the Earth would be below zero. Today’s high concentration of GHG however has broken the balance leading to causes such as raising of global average temperatures. Of the total US emission of 2019 each GHG contributes for: - 80% CO2 - 10% CH4 à way worse than CO2 - 7% N2O - 3% fluorinated gases WHAT IS THE ECONOMICAL IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE? Ø +1.2 °C which leads to a lot of damages (floating, desertification, biodiversity loss and so on) Ø 300% of extreme events in 20 years Ø 3 trillion dollar each year for the next 30 years Nobody wants to pay à the reason why nowadays the Carbon market exists KYOTO PROTOCOL: The Kyoto Protocol is the first international agreement that outlines the commitments of nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Signed in 1997 during the Conference of the Parties in Kyoto (COP3), the Protocol establishes precise procedures for achieving its goals. The Protocol establishes a new method for reducing emissions, Flexible Mechanisms. This is how the Emission Trading System was created, a system through which nations and organizations can now purchase carbon credits. MEA international “soft” law, pact btw countries, all the nation come together and with stakeholder have to find solutions! ETS market à mandatory market, which is a sort of Carbon tax. PARIS AGREEMENT (2015) The Paris Agreement is a legally binding treaty on climate change adopted at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December 2015. The Agreement establishes a 5-year cycle, whereby governments must meet to discuss progress toward achieving common long-term goals (transparency principle). It is also crucial to prevent and avert environmental damage (prevention principle) by encouraging cooperation between actors and providing aid to developing countries. The EU aims to achieve Carbon neutrality by 2050, with the creation of an economy with zero net greenhouse gas emissions. Target: below 2.0 degrees C°. Developed countries have pollutants! 6 million people have to have access to water, consumer goods, electricity and so on. Our nation has to take the money and give them to create project to mitigate climate situation!!! Partnerships are at the essence and the fundamental for the Carbon market and we will find many Stakeholders with different roles and different interests. Stakeholder: people or organization have interest in the activity or can have a certain impact in the activity itself! They can be people will benefit from this, can be universities, government organizations. In the Carbon market the fort type of SHs are the beneficiaries, the second are the registry, then we have national institutions, registry, legal corporations and so on. CARBON MARKETS: a) MANDATORY Carbon Market The goal is to reduce. The Emission Trading System is instrument aimed at limiting and regulating greenhouse gas emissions in the main industrial sectors of European countries. The ETS sets an overall ceiling of emissions allowed throughout the EU in the various sectors of interest (called CAPs = limits), to which corresponds an equivalent number of greenhouse gas "quotas" that can be bought and/or sold on a special market. The price of credits is subject to market volatility, but also varies depending on the projects from which they are issued. b) VOLUNTARY Carbon Market The goal is to offset. The voluntary market is not mandated by existing regulations but is instrumental in achieving Carbon neutrality through a mechanism to fully offset one's own or one's product's emissions. The voluntary market is regulated by article 5, 8, 9 of the Paris agreement and aims to transfer funds and knowledge within developing countries. It is a mixed market in that it blends the national NDCs of those countries as well as the commitments of private entities. In this case the purpose is compensation. The Carbon credits that are traded on this market are not generated by a cap-and-trade mechanism but rather by an additionality mechanism aimed at decreasing or reducing emissions in developing countries. The credits are issued and exchange in the Carbon registry set up by the CDM mechanism. The last thing is that a Carbon credit market must be ADDITIONAL à each country has a Carbon budget; what a country does more than this Carbon market is additional (vedi dopo). Additionality = I create smth new that the communities are not able to create by themselves from their resources. IS IT POSSIBLE TO BE CARBON NAUTRAL? A path to Carbon neutrality 1. MEASURE Analyze processes and structures to quantify the Carbon footprint 2. REDUCE Implementing actions to reduce the Carbon emission related to a product and of an entire organization to its minimum 3. OFFSET Investing in Carbon offset projects to compensate all the remaining We have 2 kind of Carbon neutrality: basically, you can do the compensation just on your product or on the whole organization ORGANIZATIONS – LCC (Life Cycle Costs) PRODUCTS – LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) You will never work alone but you will always have to create synergies with other people bc alone is difficult to create a huge impact. 1. MEASURE CO2 emission can be calculated at a product or organizational levels. In order to obtain each result different studies will need to be undertaken. - Companies à scope 1, 2 and 3 à Analyzing the processes of a company following the categorization of GHG outlined in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. All direct controlled and indirect emissions related to consumption and the value chain - Products à LCA à Analyzing the life cycle of a product, from the material extraction phase (“cradle”) until its final production (“gate”) or disposal (“grave”) REGULATION à Everything needs to be standardized: The systems for measuring the environmental footprint and its subsequent communication are regulated by international standards called ISO (international Standard Organization). ISO 14040 abt LCA + ISO 14064 abt CFP (Carbon Footprint of products) + ISO 14021-24-25 abt etichette e dichiarazioni ambientali. LCA - Life Cycle Assessment I. Goal and scope definition II. Inventory analysis III. Impact assessment IV. Interpretation à for this you need for sure some standards V. Applications (product development, public policy making, strategy planning) Phases: - Raw material extraction and processing - Manufacturing phase - Packaging material - Distribution material - Distribution phase - Use phase - Disposal phase 2 ways to take care of your emissions during all the phases. 1) CRADLE-TO-GRAVE It considers the entire life cycle from material extraction (“cradle”) to the use phase of the consumer until the disposal of the product (“grave”) 2) CRADLE-TO-GATE It considers only part of the life cycle, from materials extraction (“cradle”) until the end of the production phase (“factory gate”). It does not include neither the transport phase nor consumer phase, use and disposal On that EPD, that has been conducted by a third party that has no economic interest on you, you will see the LCA à that’s what does count. Pay attention to corruption! Everyone is affected by corruption, so you must be sure that the third party is a reliable and really independent party. 2. REDUCE Also known as Carbon in setting strategies, these include all actions taken by the company to reduce its emissions. These include all energy efficiency practices that optimize the energy consumption of a building, business complex or activity. Some examples include small improvements such as using LED lighting or insulation. It is also possible to act directly at the production level by implementing tools and methodologies that can optimize the management of resources throughout the cycle. - Optimizing energy consumption in the business complex - Optimizing operational processes - Select suppliers that follow responsible management processes Reduce: Scope 1 à your direct emission that you have to control Scope 2 à energy mix that you use Scope 3 à it comes from the value chain à buildings, energy, car fleet, digital footprint, waste management THE TREE IS GOOD? WHAT’S ABOUT SOME TREE PLANTING? 3. OFFSET After having measured the processes and reduced the emissions organizations can implement Carbon offsetting actions which fall into two categories. 2 ways to become Carbon neutral: 1. You can offset with CARBON CREDITS after you’ve reduced your footprint à A credit equals the offset of one tonne of CO2 equivalent, through the implementation of a development project managed by a third party. A credit is traded on the ETS market, and it is certified by a third party organization such as Golden Standard and Verra. 2. You can di CARBON SINK by your own à Activities, processes, or mechanisms to remove (and sequester) Carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. A system that retains more CO2 than it (eventually) releases. The main natural carbon sinks are soils, forests, and oceans. To date, there are no man-made Carbon sinks. ¨ Cookstove à Providing cleaner and more efficient cooking technologies to prevent the release of emissions coming from the combustion of wood, coal, charcoal, dung or plastic. ¨ Seagrass restoration à Implementing action to restore seagrass to take advantage of their natural ability to absorb CO2 ¨ Green energy à sourcing renewable energy for the entire organizational activities ¨ Responsible forest management à implementing practices aimed at restoring and maintaining forests at their optimal conditions ¨ Tree planting à planting new trees to take advantage of their natural abilities of absorbing CO2. An adult tree can absorb from 10kg to 30kg of CO2 every year. THE VALUE MARKET – VER Prices for voluntary carbon credits vary widely depending on the type of project, the value added (additionality), the size of the transaction, and the certifying body (Verra, Gold Standard, CAR, or ACR) to which it is accredited. Prices can range from less than $1/tCO2eq for older projects with fewer verifiable co-benefits, to over $20/tCO2eq for projects with unique features and specific co-benefits, such as biodiversity and support for indigenous peoples. Demand is growing dramatically. Today's average prices are expected to increase by 2030 to potentially $100/tCO2. Advantages of being Carbon neutral: Ethics à introducing a new way of doing business that could inspire other companies as well Reliability à increase in SHs’ trust in the product and the company First mover à opportunity of becoming the benchmark within the industry Green procurement à (not mandatory) becoming the supplier by default by anticipating demands in terms of environmental performance VOLUNTARY CARBON CREDITS A credit equals the offset of one tonne of CO2, through the implementation of a development project managed by a third party. 1 tonne of CO2 = 1 Carbon credit. We have two types of tones: 1. CER (Certified Emission Reduction) à type of emission unit (or Carbon credits) issued by the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) Executive Board for emission reductions achieved by CDM projects and verified by a DOE (Designated Operational Entity) under the rules of the Kyoto protocol. 2. VER (Verified Emission Reduction) à VER are usually created by projects which have been verified outside of the Kyoto Protocol. 1 Ver is equivalent to 1 tonne od CO2 emissions. Through these schemes, industries and individuals voluntarily compensate for their emissions or provide and additional contribution to mitigating climate change. There are basically 2 ways to create a Carbon credit (Both these solutions are really effective): 1) TECH SOLUTION I use some technologies or new processes to give less impact obtained from the same input à tech solutions are all those improvements that find a solution to a human need with fewer resources than used in the normal scenario. 2 kinds of tech solutions: a. Avoidance of emissions à activities, processes or mechanisms to reduce the emission of GHG from a human activity that is essential for the social development (es wind and solar energy, biogas, thermal efficiency and so on). Those CC are the less valuable on the market b. Carbon sink à activities, processes or mechanisms to remove the emission of GHG through technological means (es Geo-sink, ocean-sink etc.). Problems: eutrophication and thermal unbalance 2) NATURE-BASED SOLUTION 2 kinds of nature-based solutions a. Avoidance of emissions à protect the ecosystem from the human action to preserve biodiversity that in the normal case scenario would be lost (es REDD+, even though is not a very linear process, it a good for biodiversity preservation) b. Carbon sink à regenerative activity that enrich the soil and the biodiversity of an ecosystem storing in the process the CO2 (es Agro-forestry such as hemp, wetland restoration, forest restoration) We have 170 typologies of Carbon credits or methodology that generate CC, such as Renewable energy Industrial efficiency Fleet efficiency REDD+ Agroforestry Waste and plastic efficiency Domestic energy and clean water Blue Carbon How can I produce CC? GENERATION PROJECT PROCESS (riascoltare bene) Baseline and Impact PDD and Project Project Varification and Sell Carbon Stakeholders Monitoring Validation Implementation Credit issuance Credits engament (12 months) Why do we need Carbon Credits? Well, basically bc they are tradable, unique and commodities. Benefits to: - NATIONS: Under Joint implementation, countries with commitments under the Kyoto protocol are eligible to transfer and/or acquire emission reduction units (ERUs) and use them to meet part of their emission reduction target. - COMPANIES: the main objective for acquiring Verified Emission Reduction (VER) credits, is to neutralize the Carbon footprint. Motivated mainly by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and public relations. Other reasons are consideration such as certification, reputation and environmental and social benefit. The prize of a CC depends a lot on the impact! - The main Stakeholders are CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) and REGISTRY - CONSUMERS à if I buy smth I have some power on the market - Institutions DNA (Designated National Authority) - Technological and logistic providers - Companies - Research - NGO - Community - Beneficiaries à end user that impact your activities We have 3 policy makers: 1. UNFCCC 2. CDM 3. ISO What do they do? o MEA o Framework setting o International coordination o Negotiations formula o Standard ruling ASSURANCE PROVIDERS à verification and validation bodies Standard setter à choose validation bodies to validate Carbon credits Registry à where you put all your data that cannot be falsified: CC ARE TRADED IN THE REGISTRY Stakeholders’ consultations CC issuance Quality assurance DNA national designated authority, in the COP they validate your job. They enforce decision made in negotiations, set national climate goal and take care of stakeholder committee. In italy there is not. Partners: Field expert Community training Tech producer à Tot: trainer of the trainers Logistic provider: needed to move in a certain country All from a certain field, and they know it very well! 3. LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT (LCIA) How are the inventory data converted in indicators of environmental impact? Impact categories = categories related to the environmental effect. IMPACT INDICATORS: 1. Climate change 2. Ozone depletion 3. Human toxicity 4. Terrestrial acidification 5. Freshwater/terrestrial/marine eutrophication 6. Mineral, fossil and renewable resource depletion 7. … Calculations of LCIS are done by software but we need to know how to use them! Es. which is the most sustainable product? A or B? They can have different input/output The inventory involves hundreds of inputs and hundreds of outputs. How can all this information be converted in a FEW NUMERICAL ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS? The LCIA methods allows to convert the inventory data LCI, (es, kg Methane emission into air) in environmental impact (es global warming). Es Methane à more effective in global warming than CO2 NO2 à more effective in global warming than Methane NO2 > CH4 > CO2 à I HAVE TO TRANSFORM THEM IN CO2 EQUIVALENTS! Depending also on the environmental effect, the impact changes: es NO2 has no effect on acidification of soil. RIASCOLTARE IMPACT CATEGORY = class representing environmental issues of concern to which life cycle inventory analysis results may be assigned. Types of environmental issues that could be caused by the inputs and outputs of the product or process being analyzed: Human health Ecosystems Resources Impact can be at different levels: a. Global level (global warming, ozone depletion, human toxicity) b. Regional level (acidification, eutrophication, human toxicity or water usage) c. Local level (acidification, eutrophication, smog or human toxicity) For each impact category we have impact indicators! - Global warming potential à 25 kg CO2-eq - Acidification potential à 5.4 kg SO2-eq or 274 moles H+-eq - Ozone layer depletion à 4.9 kg CFC-11 eq - Photochemical oxidation (ex. smog) à 1.2 kg C2H4-eq or 10.8 kg O3-eq MIDPOINT IMPACT CATEGORY à potential impact ENDPOINT IMPACT CATEGORY à potential damage Impact categories can be grouped than in damage categories à LCA should be ended at midpoint impact category bc ISO STANDARD say so. 4 steps: CLASSIFICATION, CATEGORIZATION, normalization and weighting 1) CLASSIFICATION Ø Selection of the evaluated environmental impacts/effects Ø Assignment of the results of the inventory phase to the chosen environmental effects If our process involves the emission of NO2, the impact will be evaluated only on Ozone depletion and climate change 2) CHARACTERIZATION Quantify the relation bw the substances of the inventory and the different environmental effects. It is the transformation of the inventory into the environmental effect (or impact categories that represent contribution of the studied process to the environmental effects). Note: no info abt where and when the environmental effects will occur. Indicator of CO2-eq = inventory data (kg) x characterization factor CF x (specific for each indicator) Conversion and aggregation based on: inventory data, characterization factors. Thanks to the CF the different substances of the inventory are converted in one indicator for each impact category. Different substances force different amounts of impacts per unit mass 1 kg NOx forces only 0.7 times the acidification potential as 1 kg SO2. Some emissions have different residence times in the atmosphere over which they force impacts. Mostly applied to global warming potential. As the prices (money/kg) are useful to calculate the expense at the supermarket for our list of products, the CHARACTERIZATION FACTORS are needed to calculate the impact related to the different production factors or emitted substances. Why are the impacts expressed as “equivalent”? Different substances have different relative amounts of forcing Usually results are related to the equivalent release of a particular substance WITH LCA YOU QUANTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS DUE TO HUMAN ACTIVITY!!! EXAMPLE DIFFERENCE IN ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL RICE PRODUCTION IN LOMBARDY 1) To assess the environmental profile of organic rice production (ORP) system in Northern Italy 2) To identify the key processes from an environmental point of view 3) To compare the environmental impact of organic (ORP) and conventional (CRP) rice production systems QUESTIONS: What is the environmental impact for 1 ton of grain (14% moisture) from ORP system? What are the processes most responsible for this impact? Compared to traditional rice production system (characterized by higher yield) which rice system show better environmental performances? In 2014, the rice area dedicated to organic rice was 9,528 ha (4.3% of the overall rice area) with a total production of 57,070 t (3.5% of the rice production). - Respect to CRP, the ORP is characterized by great yield variations and, on average, by yield reductions of about 1⁄3 - 1⁄2. + The application of organic fertilizers instead of the mineral ones can be beneficial for soil - Organic fertilizers are not always easy to find and enhance CH4 emissions in anaerobic conditions + The ban of pesticides - Weed management requires intensive mechanical control In autumn, a mix of vetch and ryegrass is sown; in the following May the biomass is incorporated into the soil. Rice sowing is carried out with a precision seeder (220 kg/ha of seed - depth of 5-6 cm) after tillage operations. Weed control is performed using a spring tine harrow (4 interventions). After it, the rice fields are flooded and no aerations are scheduled. The flooding ends only at the beginning of September. Harvesting operations carried out with self-propelled harvester and rice paddy is transported to the farm. The straw is left into the soil. SYSTEM BOUNDARY The following activities were included in the analysis: Manufacture and use of the agricultural inputs (e.g., fuels, seed, fertilizers and agricultural machines), maintenance and final disposal of machines Emissions related to organic matter decomposition, fertilizer application and fuel combustion (using tractors) Rice cultivation is responsible for considerable emissions of GHG in particular of methane produced during the decomposition of organic matter in anaerobic conditions. As regard to the CH4 emissions, the methodology proposed by the IPCC was considered. Methane emissions were evaluated considering: Straw Organic fertilizer (compost) Green manure CH4 emissions ↑ with higher application of organic matter and longer flooding. CH4 emissions arrow down with aerations, reduction of flooding, reduction of organic matter application. As regard to ORC system the following 9 environmental impacts were evaluated: 1. Climate change (Global warming potential) 2. Ozone depletion 3. Particulate matter formation 4. Photochemical oxidant formations 5. Human toxicity, cancer effects 6. Acidification 7. Terrestrial eutrophication 8. Freshwater eutrophication 9. Marine eutrophication 10. Freshwater ecotoxicity 11. Mineral, fossil & ren resource depletion FU in this study: 1 ton rice produced WHICH PROCESS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT? HOTSPOTS: For climate change in this case, methane emissions is the most responsible. Emissions due to fertilizers applictaion Seed production Mechanization of field operations Compost production How to use SimaPro 1. Inventario à process à materials à elaborazioni à agriculture à cliccare su NUOVO 2. Inserimento dati, 3. Create 3 subsystem which will be the input of the whole process 4. For the 3 subsystems we have different inputs taken from database and different outputs 5. We insert these data into SimaPro: SUBSYSTEM 1 - in “output noti”, products and coproducts: chopped maize production CHIARA. Functional unit for subsystem one kg, physical quantity mass, quantità fisica: 1 - Input noti: tractors, machinesries (doppio click sull’azzurro, poi “trova” e scrivere for ex tractor). The second line “dove” has to be CURRENT PROJECT AND LIBRARY. Click su trova - Selezionare tractor, 4-wheel, agriculture (GLO) market fir APOS, U à DOPPIO CLICK (o SELEZIONA) - Sempre nell’input, quantità fisica 0.6 (vedi tabelle input) - Aggiungere un altro input: machineries, quantità fisica 2.06 g - Aggiungere un altro input: diesel (GLO), quantità fisica 14.1 g - Aggiungere un altro input: pendimethalin, quantità fisica 0.05 g - Aggiungere un altro input: urea, as N (GLO) market for APOS, U, quantità fisica 4.23*0.46 = 19.95 g - OUTPUTS à emissions into air, water and soil - Emissioni nell’aria: 1) ammonia (quantità fisica 6.93 g) 2) carbon dioxide CO2 (quntità fisica 47.5 g) 3) nitrogen oxide IT (quantità fisica 59 mg) 4) sulphur dioxide (quantità fisica 38.7 mg) 5) heat, waste (quantità fisica 176 kj) - Emissioni in acqua: 6) Phosphate (quantità fisica 8.54 mg) 7) Nitrate (quantità fisica 7.2 mg) 8) BOD5 (quantità fisica 94.1 mg) 9) COD (quantià fisica 94.4 mg) - Emissioni nel suolo: SOTTOCOMPARTIMENTO AGRICULTURAL 10) Pendimethalin (quantità fisica 0.05 mg) VOLUNTARY CARBON CREDITS A credit equals the offset of one tonne of CO2, through the implementation of a development project managed by a third party. 1 tonne of CO2 = 1 Carbon credit. We have two types of tones: 1. CER (Certified Emission Reduction) à type of emission unit (or Carbon credits) issued by the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) Executive Board for emission reductions achieved by CDM projects and verified by a DOE (Designated Operational Entity) under the rules of the Kyoto protocol. 2. VER (Verified Emission Reduction) à VER are usually created by projects which have been verified outside of the Kyoto Protocol. 1 Ver is equivalent to 1 tonne od CO2 emissions. Through these schemes, industries and individuals voluntarily compensate for their emissions or provide and additional contribution to mitigating climate change. There are basically 2 ways to create a Carbon credit (Both these solutions are really effective): 1) TECH SOLUTION I use some technologies or new processes to give less impact obtained from the same input à tech solutions are all those improvements that find a solution to a human need with fewer resources than used in the normal scenario. 2 kinds of tech solutions: a. Avoidance of emissions à activities, processes or mechanisms to reduce the emission of GHG from a human activity that is essential for the social development (es wind and solar energy, biogas, thermal efficiency and so on). Those CC are the less valuable on the market b. Carbon sink à activities, processes or mechanisms to remove the emission of GHG through technological means (es Geo-sink, ocean-sink etc.). Problems: eutrophication and thermal unbalance 2) NATURE-BASED SOLUTION 2 kinds of nature-based solutions a. Avoidance of emissions à protect the ecosystem from the human action to preserve biodiversity that in the normal case scenario would be lost (es REDD+, even though is not a very linear process, it a good for biodiversity preservation) b. Carbon sink à regenerative activity that enrich the soil and the biodiversity of an ecosystem storing in the process the CO2 (es Agro-forestry such as hemp, wetland restoration, forest restoration) We have 170 typologies of Carbon credits or methodology that generate CC, such as Renewable energy Industrial efficiency Fleet efficiency REDD+ Agroforestry Waste and plastic efficiency Domestic energy and clean water Blue Carbon How can I produce CC? GENERATION PROJECT PROCESS (riascoltare bene) Baseline and Impact PDD and Project Project Varification and Sell Carbon Stakeholders Monitoring Validation Implementation Credit issuance Credits engament (12 months) Why do we need Carbon Credits? Well, basically bc they are tradable, unique and commodities. Benefits to: - NATIONS: Under Joint implementation, countries with commitments under the Kyoto protocol are eligible to transfer and/or acquire emission reduction units (ERUs) and use them to meet part of their emission reduction target. - COMPANIES: the main objective for acquiring Verified Emission Reduction (VER) credits, is to neutralize the Carbon footprint. Motivated mainly by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and public relations. Other reasons are consideration such as certification, reputation and environmental and social benefit. The prize of a CC depends a lot on the impact! - The main Stakeholders are CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) and REGISTRY - CONSUMERS à if I buy smth I have some power on the market - Institutions DNA (Designated National Authority) - Technological and logistic providers - Companies - Research - NGO - Community - Beneficiaries à end user that impact your activities We have 3 policy makers: 1. UNFCCC 2. CDM 3. ISO What do they do? o MEA o Framework setting o International coordination o Negotiations formula o Standard ruling ASSURANCE PROVIDERS à verification and validation bodies Standard setter à choose validation bodies to validate Carbon credits Registry à where you put all your data that cannot be falsified: CC ARE TRADED IN THE REGISTRY Stakeholders’ consultations CC issuance Quality assurance DNA national designated authority, in the COP they validate your job. They enforce decision made in negotiations, set national climate goal and take care of stakeholder committee. In italy there is not. Partners: Field expert Community training Tech producer à Tot: trainer of the trainers Logistic provider: needed to move in a certain country All from a certain field, and they know it very well! 3. LIFE CYCLE IMPACT ASSESSMENT (LCIA) How are the inventory data converted in indicators of environmental impact? Impact categories = categories related to the environmental effect. IMPACT INDICATORS: 1. Climate change 2. Ozone depletion 3. Human toxicity 4. Terrestrial acidification 5. Freshwater/terrestrial/marine eutrophication 6. Mineral, fossil and renewable resource depletion 7. … Calculations of LCIS are done by software but we need to know how to use them! Es. which is the most sustainable product? A or B? They can have different input/output The inventory involves hundreds of inputs and hundreds of outputs. How can all this information be converted in a FEW NUMERICAL ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS? The LCIA methods allows to convert the inventory data LCI, (es, kg Methane emission into air) in environmental impact (es global warming). Es Methane à more effective in global warming than CO2 NO2 à more effective in global warming than Methane NO2 > CH4 > CO2 à I HAVE TO TRANSFORM THEM IN CO2 EQUIVALENTS! Depending also on the environmental effect, the impact changes: es NO2 has no effect on acidification of soil. RIASCOLTARE IMPACT CATEGORY = class representing environmental issues of concern to which life cycle inventory analysis results may be assigned. Types of environmental issues that could be caused by the inputs and outputs of the product or process being analyzed: Human health Ecosystems Resources Impact can be at different levels: a. Global level (global warming, ozone depletion, human toxicity) b. Regional level (acidification, eutrophication, human toxicity or water usage) c. Local level (acidification, eutrophication, smog or human toxicity) For each impact category we have impact indicators! - Global warming potential à 25 kg CO2-eq - Acidification potential à 5.4 kg SO2-eq or 274 moles H+-eq - Ozone layer depletion à 4.9 kg CFC-11 eq - Photochemical oxidation (ex. smog) à 1.2 kg C2H4-eq or 10.8 kg O3-eq MIDPOINT IMPACT CATEGORY à potential impact ENDPOINT IMPACT CATEGORY à potential damage Impact categories can be grouped than in damage categories à LCA should be ended at midpoint impact category bc ISO STANDARD say so. 4 steps: CLASSIFICATION, CATEGORIZATION, normalization and weighting 1) CLASSIFICATION Ø Selection of the evaluated environmental impacts/effects Ø Assignment of the results of the inventory phase to the chosen environmental effects If our process involves the emission of NO2, the impact will be evaluated only on Ozone depletion and climate change 2) CHARACTERIZATION Quantify the relation bw the substances of the inventory and the different environmental effects. It is the transformation of the inventory into the environmental effect (or impact categories that represent contribution of the studied process to the environmental effects). Note: no info abt where and when the environmental effects will occur. Indicator of CO2-eq = inventory data (kg) x characterization factor CF x (specific for each indicator) Conversion and aggregation based on: inventory data, characterization factors. Thanks to the CF the different substances of the inventory are converted in one indicator for each impact category. Different substances force different amounts of impacts per unit mass 1 kg NOx forces only 0.7 times the acidification potential as 1 kg SO2. Some emissions have different residence times in the atmosphere over which they force impacts. Mostly applied to global warming potential. As the prices (money/kg) are useful to calculate the expense at the supermarket for our list of products, the CHARACTERIZATION FACTORS are needed to calculate the impact related to the different production factors or emitted substances. Why are the impacts expressed as “equivalent”? Different substances have different relative amounts of forcing Usually results are related to the equivalent release of a particular substance WITH LCA YOU QUANTIFY ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS DUE TO HUMAN ACTIVITY!!! EXAMPLE DIFFERENCE IN ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL RICE PRODUCTION IN LOMBARDY 1) To assess the environmental profile of organic rice production (ORP) system in Northern Italy 2) To identify the key processes from an environmental point of view 3) To compare the environmental impact of organic (ORP) and conventional (CRP) rice production systems QUESTIONS: What is the environmental impact for 1 ton of grain (14% moisture) from ORP system? What are the processes most responsible for this impact? Compared to traditional rice production system (characterized by higher yield) which rice system show better environmental performances? In 2014, the rice area dedicated to organic rice was 9,528 ha (4.3% of the overall rice area) with a total production of 57,070 t (3.5% of the rice production). - Respect to CRP, the ORP is characterized by great yield variations and, on average, by yield reductions of about 1⁄3 - 1⁄2. + The application of organic fertilizers instead of the mineral ones can be beneficial for soil - Organic fertilizers are not always easy to find and enhance CH4 emissions in anaerobic conditions + The ban of pesticides - Weed management requires intensive mechanical control In autumn, a mix of vetch and ryegrass is sown; in the following May the biomass is incorporated into the soil. Rice sowing is carried out with a precision seeder (220 kg/ha of seed - depth of 5-6 cm) after tillage operations. Weed control is performed using a spring tine harrow (4 interventions). After it, the rice fields are flooded and no aerations are scheduled. The flooding ends only at the beginning of September. Harvesting operations carried out with self-propelled harvester and rice paddy is transported to the farm. The straw is left into the soil. SYSTEM BOUNDARY The following activities were included in the analysis: Manufacture and use of the agricultural inputs (e.g., fuels, seed, fertilizers and agricultural machines), maintenance and final disposal of machines Emissions related to organic matter decomposition, fertilizer application and fuel combustion (using tractors) Rice cultivation is responsible for considerable emissions of GHG in particular of methane produced during the decomposition of organic matter in anaerobic conditions. As regard to the CH4 emissions, the methodology proposed by the IPCC was considered. Methane emissions were evaluated considering: Straw Organic fertilizer (compost) Green manure CH4 emissions ↑ with higher application of organic matter and longer flooding. CH4 emissions arrow down with aerations, reduction of flooding, reduction of organic matter application. As regard to ORC system the following 9 environmental impacts were evaluated: 1. Climate change (Global warming potential) 2. Ozone depletion 3. Particulate matter formation 4. Photochemical oxidant formations 5. Human toxicity, cancer effects 6. Acidification 7. Terrestrial eutrophication 8. Freshwater eutrophication 9. Marine eutrophication 10. Freshwater ecotoxicity 11. Mineral, fossil & ren resource depletion FU in this study: 1 ton rice produced WHICH PROCESS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOR ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT? HOTSPOTS: For climate change in this case, methane emissions is the most responsible. Emissions due to fertilizers applictaion Seed production Mechanization of field operations Compost production Potential impacts: various limitations lead to the necessity to call environmental impacts identified in LCA “potentials” Underlying simplifications Underlying assumptions → assumptions and simplifications need to be reviewed after study Lack of resolution: Pollutant release of a certain quantity into a small stream may be worse than a large river Large release of substance in a short period of time would have different impacts than over a long time period Release of nitrogen into a phosphorus-limited environment will not contribute significantly to eutrophication Phosphorus-limited means there is already an abundance of nitrogen present, but little phosphorus Linear models for characterization Imperfect characterization factors (above all for toxicity-related impact categories) Impacts caused by human activity: anthropogenic vs natural resources Natural sources of environmental impacts exist Volcanos emit SO2 (contributes to acidification) Respiration of organisms emits CO2 Forests emit volatile organic compounds (can contribute to smog formation) Life cycle assessment is not meant to quantify natural sources, but rather to guide process and product production that add additional emissions. Therefore, only anthropogenic emissions are included in LCA. All impacts are “potential” Only anthropogenic sources are included Different substances have different relative amounts of forcing Usually, results are related to the equivalent release of a particular substance Different impact categories have different scales of impacts Global, regional, local Comparison with economic analysis: Inventory data → Software for LCA → Total cost and impact results Step 2: LCI Step 3: LCIA Step 4: interpretation The software needs as an input the specific cost (€/kg) for the different items of the list and the specific impact (called characterisation factors, kg of unit of impact/kg) for the different items of the list.