Published by
World Resouce Institute (WRI)
Year
2015

Policy and action standard - An accounting and reporting standard for estimating the greenhouse gas effects of policies and actions

National and subnational governments, financial institutions, and private sector organizations are planning and implementing a variety of policies and actions to reduce GHG emissions. As they do so, they are seeking to assess and communicate the effects of policies and actions on GHG emissions—both before adoption to inform the design of policies and actions and after implementation to understand whether the intended effects were achieved. The GHG Protocol Policy and Action Standard provides a standardized approach for estimating and reporting the change in GHG emissions and removals resulting from policies and actions.

This standard helps answer the following questions:

  • What effect is a given policy or action likely to have on GHG emissions in the future?
  • Is a given policy or action on track and delivering expected results?
  • What effect has a given policy or action had on GHG emissions?

This standard was developed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol). The GHG Protocol is a multistakeholder partnership of businesses, NGOs, governments, academic institutions, and others convened by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Launched in 1998, the mission of the GHG Protocol is to develop internationally accepted GHG accounting and reporting standards and tools, and to promote their adoption in order to achieve a low emissions economy worldwide.