Addressing the effects of climate change, one standard at a time

2008-01-09

Violent storms; droughts where rain was once plentiful; rising ocean levels and shrinking ice caps: the effects of climate change are causing alarm all over the world.

Despite the conflicts, contradictory data, and general confusion that often surround the issue of global warming, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment.

And while reaching national consensus on an approach to reverse the problem is no small feat, most Canadians would agree on the need to reduce their effect on the planet.

The standards community is developing tools to help. The international series of environmental standards (ISO 14000) provide the foundation for an efficient and cost-effective greenhouse-gas validation and verification program—one that will require businesses to reduce, account for and publicly disclose their emission outputs.

As coordinator of Canada’s national standards system, the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) is playing an important role in the dialogue between government and stakeholders.

“International standards are essential to combat climate change,” says Peter Clark, the executive director of the SCC. “Developing and applying standards levels the industry playing field so every corporation is subject to the same requirements.”

At the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), two international greenhouse-gas standards (ISO 14064 and ISO 14065) have been developed by technical committees initiated and led by Canada and Malaysia. Together these standards contribute to helping companies reduce their “environmental footprint”.

In order to conduct validations and verifications, independent bodies must meet the requirements contained in the ISO 14065 standard. These independent bodies use the methodology in the ISO 14064 standard to verify and validate the accuracy of greenhouse gas claims made by business/industry.

Both standards help ensure that Canada is speaking the same language as its global counterparts. Together they address the issue of greenhouse gas emission quantification, validation, verification, and reporting.

With input from experts from around the world and under the chairmanship of Canadian Dan Gagnier, work on these standards was overseen by the same committee that developed the world-renowned environmental management systems standard (ISO 14001). Gagnier is Chair of the Board of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and former senior vice-president of corporate and external affairs at Alcan.

Canada is in an ideal position—as a leader in the development of these standards—to integrate them into any future climate change strategy, and to promote their use worldwide.

In 2006, the international greenhouse standard, ISO 14064, was adopted as a national standard of Canada. The ISO 14065 standard is likewise expected to be recognized, early in 2008.

To succeed, greenhouse gas verification programs are dependant on a solid system for validating and verifying conformance to these standards.
Canadian Richard Kinley, Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Climate Change secretariat, is among the growing number of environmentalists lending his support to a standards approach. In the June 2006 issue of ISO Focus magazine Kinley explains that standards are essential to providing decision-makers with long-term climate change solutions.

“Like standards in any other market, these ISO standards (ISO 14064 and ISO 14065) will provide frameworks for assessing and verifying greenhouse gases at different levels. Applied broadly, they lessen the transaction cost to companies. For example, for those operating in several countries the costs of understanding different rules and regulations would vanish,” says Kinley.

Looking beyond these specific greenhouse gas standards, there is an even broader role for standardization in sustainable development and clean air.

ISO has technical committees working on standards for hydrogen-use and energy efficiency in buildings; and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is developing standards relating to clean-fuel technologies such as wind, solar and tidal energy. Canada is represented on all of these committees.

As an adaptable and cost-effective alternative to traditional regulation, or as a business tool for Canadian industry, the adoption and application of standards cannot be overlooked.

A Canadian accreditation program—that will certify that organizations and governments meet the criteria set-out in international greenhouse-gas standards—is currently under development by SCC, Natural Resources Canada and Eco-Canada.  In addition to addressing emissions, the program will establish a certification scheme for greenhouse gas validation and verification "personnel".

“Climate change is an international threat.  It affects us all, regardless of geography” says Clark. “Addressing its effects can only be tackled incrementally. Standards provide a common language and the means to begin to systematically and effectively address a daunting global problem.”

Back