CES Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Management Flashcards
6 cards from real CES practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 CES Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Management flashcards as text
Which international agreement succeeded the Kyoto Protocol as the primary global framework for addressing climate change, adopted in 2015?
Answer: Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015 under the UNFCCC, set the goal of limiting global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
In greenhouse gas accounting, which 'scope' refers to indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by a company?
Answer: Scope 2
Scope 2 emissions are indirect GHG emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat, or cooling, as defined by the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
Which process is responsible for the largest natural flux of CO2 from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere?
Answer: Soil and ecosystem respiration
Soil and ecosystem respiration (decomposition of organic matter plus plant respiration) is the largest natural terrestrial flux of CO2 back to the atmosphere.
What does the term 'radiative forcing' measure in climate science?
Answer: The change in energy flux in the atmosphere caused by a climate driver
Radiative forcing measures the change in energy flux (W/m²) in the atmosphere resulting from a climate driver such as increased GHG concentrations, quantifying its warming or cooling effect.
Under the Clean Air Act, which EPA rule first required large stationary sources to obtain permits for greenhouse gas emissions?
Answer: Tailoring Rule
The EPA's 2010 Tailoring Rule established thresholds for GHG emissions that trigger Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V permit requirements under the Clean Air Act.
What is 'avoided emissions' in the context of carbon accounting?
Answer: Reductions in GHG emissions achieved by replacing a higher-emitting technology with a lower-emitting one
Avoided emissions represent GHG reductions achieved when a cleaner technology or practice displaces one that would have produced more emissions under a business-as-usual scenario.