Regulatory Compliance & Reporting Flashcards

Under the GHG Protocol, what distinguishes a 'market-based' Scope 2 accounting method from a 'location-based' method?

Answer: Market-based uses contractual instruments like RECs; location-based uses average grid emission factors

Market-based accounting reflects actual electricity contracts and renewable energy certificates, while location-based uses regional grid averages.

Which element is NOT a required component of a compliant monitoring plan under the EU ETS?

Answer: Company's internal carbon price

EU ETS monitoring plans must document sources, methodologies, and data quality procedures, but internal carbon pricing is not mandated.

A carbon auditor reviews a company's Scope 3 Category 11 (Use of Sold Products) emissions. Which calculation method is most commonly applied?

Answer: Average-data method using product lifetime emission factors

Category 11 typically uses average-data or direct use-phase emission factors applied over the expected product lifetime.

In voluntary carbon markets, a 'vintage year' refers to which attribute of a carbon credit?

Answer: The year the emission reduction or removal actually occurred

Vintage year identifies when the underlying emission reduction or carbon removal took place, not when the credit was issued or traded.

The Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) is administered by which organization?

Answer: Verra

Verra administers the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), one of the largest voluntary carbon credit certification programs globally.

Which of the following best describes 'permanence' as a quality criterion for carbon offsets?

Answer: The emission reduction or removal must be long-lasting and not easily reversed

Permanence ensures that carbon reductions or removals are durable and not subject to reversal, protecting the environmental integrity of the offset.

Under the Paris Agreement, countries submit their climate commitments through which mechanism?

Answer: Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

NDCs are the core commitments each country submits under the Paris Agreement, outlining emission reduction targets and climate actions.