CEA Climate Change & Sustainability Metrics 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which greenhouse gas has the highest 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP) among the six gases regulated under the Kyoto Protocol?
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Methane (CH4)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O)
- Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
SF6 has a GWP of approximately 23,500 over 100 years, the highest of the six Kyoto Protocol gases.
Question 2: A company reports its Scope 3 Category 11 emissions. What type of emissions does this category represent?
- Employee commuting
- Business travel
- Use of sold products (Correct answer)
- End-of-life treatment of sold products
Correct answer: Use of sold products
GHG Protocol Scope 3 Category 11 covers emissions from the use of sold products by end customers.
Question 3: Under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), what warming scenario must near-term targets align with?
- 2°C above pre-industrial levels
- 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels (Correct answer)
- 3°C above pre-industrial levels
- 4°C above pre-industrial levels
Correct answer: 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
SBTi requires corporate near-term targets to align with limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Question 4: What does the term 'carbon sequestration' refer to in environmental auditing?
- The release of CO2 from industrial combustion
- The process of capturing and storing atmospheric CO2 (Correct answer)
- The measurement of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere
- The trading of carbon credits on an exchange
Correct answer: The process of capturing and storing atmospheric CO2
Carbon sequestration is the process of capturing CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in sinks such as forests, soils, or geological formations.
Question 5: Which metric best quantifies an organization's water consumption risk in water-stressed regions?
- Total water withdrawal volume
- Water Scarcity Weighted Footprint (WSF) (Correct answer)
- Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
- Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
Correct answer: Water Scarcity Weighted Footprint (WSF)
The Water Scarcity Weighted Footprint adjusts consumption volumes by local water stress factors, providing a more meaningful risk metric.
Question 6: An environmental auditor reviewing a company's sustainability report finds that its carbon intensity has decreased while absolute emissions have increased. What does this indicate?
- The company has achieved decoupling of growth from emissions
- The company has grown faster than its emissions reduction efforts (Correct answer)
- The company has overreported its emissions
- The company's reduction targets have been met
Correct answer: The company has grown faster than its emissions reduction efforts
Declining carbon intensity with rising absolute emissions means business growth outpaced efficiency improvements, so no absolute decoupling occurred.
Question 7: The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework primarily addresses which sustainability dimension?
- Climate change mitigation targets
- Biodiversity and ecosystem dependencies (Correct answer)
- Social equity and labor standards
- Corporate governance and board diversity
Correct answer: Biodiversity and ecosystem dependencies
TNFD helps organizations assess and disclose nature-related risks and impacts, focusing on biodiversity and ecosystem services.
CEA Climate Change & Sustainability Metrics 2
Which greenhouse gas has the highest 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP) among the six gases regulated under the Kyoto Protocol?