CES CES Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Management 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which international agreement succeeded the Kyoto Protocol as the primary global framework for addressing climate change, adopted in 2015?
- Montreal Protocol
- Paris Agreement (Correct answer)
- Copenhagen Accord
- Cancun Agreements
Correct 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.
Question 2: In greenhouse gas accounting, which 'scope' refers to indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity consumed by a company?
- Scope 1
- Scope 2 (Correct answer)
- Scope 3
- Scope 4
Correct 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.
Question 3: Which process is responsible for the largest natural flux of CO2 from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere?
- Photosynthesis
- Soil and ecosystem respiration (Correct answer)
- Volcanic degassing
- Ocean outgassing
Correct 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.
Question 4: What does the term 'radiative forcing' measure in climate science?
- The rate at which solar radiation reaches Earth's surface
- The change in energy flux in the atmosphere caused by a climate driver (Correct answer)
- The amount of radiation absorbed by greenhouse gases per molecule
- The temperature increase per doubling of CO2 concentration
Correct 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.
Question 5: Under the Clean Air Act, which EPA rule first required large stationary sources to obtain permits for greenhouse gas emissions?
- New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) Rule
- Tailoring Rule (Correct answer)
- MATS Rule
- Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Correct 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.
Question 6: What is 'avoided emissions' in the context of carbon accounting?
- Emissions that were measured but excluded from regulatory reports
- Reductions in GHG emissions achieved by replacing a higher-emitting technology with a lower-emitting one (Correct answer)
- The difference between actual and potential emissions from a facility
- Emissions stored underground through carbon capture
Correct 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.
CES CES Climate Change & Greenhouse Gas Management 2
Which international agreement succeeded the Kyoto Protocol as the primary global framework for addressing climate change, adopted in 2015?