Sachin Sengar 🌏♻️’s Post

🌿🔋𝘋𝘰 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘒𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘈𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 (𝘌𝘈𝘊) & 𝘊𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘯-𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘌𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 (𝘊𝘍𝘌) 𝘊𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴? As the world transitions to sustainable energy, understanding how to manage and verify energy usage becomes crucial. The important tools in this approach are EAC & CFE. But what exactly are EAC and how are they different from Carbon-Free Electricity (CFE) Certificates? ·       𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 (𝐄𝐀𝐂) are market-based instruments that certify one megawatt-hour (MWh) of electricity generated from renewable energy sources. ·       𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧-𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 (𝐂𝐅𝐄) 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞, a type of EAC, specifically verifies that the electricity consumed comes from carbon-free sources. 🔍 𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐞 2 𝐄𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐀𝐂 & 𝐂𝐅𝐄 ·        Scope 2 emissions refer to the indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the consumption of purchased electricity, steam, heat, and cooling. ·        By purchasing EAC or CFE, companies can effectively lower their Scope 2 emissions, demonstrating their commitment to sustainability and carbon neutrality. By understanding and leveraging EAC & CFE, businesses can make significant strides in offset emissions. To learn such new concepts, join our GHG Accounting Bootcamp 🔗Registration link: https://lnkd.in/d6KQ7qBQ 📅 Date: 6th July to 10th August (Saturday & Sunday) 🕓 Time: 10:00 AM to 12:30 PM #sustainability #renewablenergy #scope2 #emissions #ghg #climateaction #carbon #sustainability101 #climate

Offsetting your carbon emissions might be easy, but it can be perilous and not to mention expensive. It’s important to verify that those offsets are really leading to carbon emission reduction somewhere else. Instead, why not invest some time and money on rightsizing and improving efficiency of your systems. Efficiency improvements can also bring positive impact on your bottom line.

Hey, so according to a new carbon offset standard (CCP), 32% of the renewable energy offsets on the market today failed to meet additionality requirements, see 👉 https://lnkd.in/ekdpKQFV Additionality means something would only have happened because you are buying the offset, and it's a litmus test for greenwashing. It frustrates me so much that making your software more energy efficient competes directly with "doing nothing" and buying a financial energy contract (energy offset) instead. And that energy offset might not even meet basic additionality standards. On the one hand, you are doing something that guarantees carbon is not emitted in the first place (use less energy); on the other hand, you emit the same amount of carbon (use the same amount of energy) and pay someone else in a "trust me bro" arrangement (buy an energy offset). Microsoft saw the writing on the wall with carbon "avoidance" offsets in 2021 and removed them from its carbon offset portfolio. I've been cautioning organizations that unbundled RECs (energy offsets that don't have additionality baked in) will soon land in the same bucket as carbon avoidance offsets and to either invest in more energy efficiency or at least buy higher quality energy offsets with more guarantees of additionality. As a reminder, the SCI specification from the GSF does not allow any offsets of any form (carbon, energy, or any market-based instruments at all). The only way to reduce your SCI score is to engineer a more carbon-efficient solution 👉 https://lnkd.in/eCbpdZYf. It was a strong and brave decision by the Standards Working Group and something I'm incredibly proud of 💪🏽💚

This post offers a compelling perspective on the renewable energy carbon industry. It's time we move beyond the outdated mindset that labels renewable energy credits as 'low quality.' Too often, industry veterans and newcomers alike speak negatively about this sector, but the reality is far from that. Renewable energy is a cornerstone of our global GHG reduction and decarbonization efforts. Achieving carbon neutrality would be nearly impossible without it. I hope this post encourages a broader understanding and appreciation of the vital role renewable energy plays in our sustainability goals.

My 2 cents on recent decision by The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) on Renewable Energy (RE) Methodologies. (also a context - Recent report suggests that 3.8 billion people - almost half of us are energy poor - let alone all of us having access to clean energy. https://lnkd.in/g_ZhBZFk) EDIT (since some folks asked this): No, I am not bashing IC VCM or people involved. In fact, I do think highly of them. I do partially agree and disagree with the decision and as a stakeholder, I am expressing my views/opinion. ✅ 1. I do agree and welcome on call for improved requirements, especially on critical topics such as additionality and baseline setting. ✅ 2. I do agree that methodologies such as ACM0002 (large scale methodology for grid connected RE) requires contextual requirements for utility scale projects (this is something already under consideration at UNFCCC), so not surprised that it is rejected. 🤔 3. It is hard to believe that methodologies such as AMS I.L (rural electrification) and AMS I.A (electricity by User - usually non-grid or mini-grid) are not approved. Here there is a clear case of additionality. The requirement of finance and especially correct price for such projects is essential so ensure increased development of such projects, especially in global south 🔆 4. Enhanced Transparency: To improve stakeholder understanding and for the purpose of clarification - IC VCM should have released a full assessment report rather than just the decision that there are some issues in a number of CDM Methodologies and Tools. I firmly believe that market for RE projects and credits will improve and with improved requirements 'non-additional' RE projects would be rejected. For anyone who thinks that RE projects are 'low quality' and are not required to be considered by Carbon Markets, be my guest - come out of your EU/US offices and homes - spend a few weeks in the area without energy access (or even with low energy access) and then tell me that they are 'low quality'. RE and Energy Efficiency still stays the core of overall GHG emission reduction. #renewableenergy #carbonmarkets #netzero

Thank you to my co-authors, CGEP, RESurety, PJM, and many others who helped with this research. The thoughts in this paper are my own and do not reflect the views of the US government nor any agency or affiliate. Whether we collectively recognize it or not, we have a climate deadline to meet at all levels of organization. A prevalence of data and compute opens up new avenues for improvements where energy, the environment, and regulation meet. Every bit counts so check out one new idea here:

#GHG assessments: 3 tips to improve them 📈 As #CSR manager, reporting on the carbon footprint of your company is crucial. And we know.... ...that it might be difficult to collect and aggregate all the information into an easy-to-use report 📊 📑 Here are our top 3️⃣ tips to facilitate your #carbon reports: https://cutt.ly/eexguWcQ #sustainability #business #energy #asia

Most Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) programs set annual clean energy production targets but overlook the significant variations in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity at different times of the day and across locations. In the latest CGEP report, Devan Samant, Abraham Silverman, and Dr. Zach Wendling shed light on a critical improvement for RPS in the US: incorporating locational marginal emissions (LME) data. For more on how states can significantly enhance their RPS compliance programs and maximize GHG emission reductions, read the report: https://lnkd.in/enu6Ky72

Another nail in the coffin for carbon credits. "The ICVCM said eight renewable power methodologies, which cover around 236 million unretired, or unused carbon credits making up 32% of the market, had failed to meet the requirements of its standard on additionality grounds." We can't rely on credits to reduce emissions - companies have to actually make changes to their internal processes. #RenewableEnergy #CarbonCredits #Sustainability