The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) is reviewing its standards for greenhouse gas emissions to meet the changing needs of the market.
The review is being undertaken by ISO's Technical Committee for greenhouse gas management (TC207/SC7). ISO is an independent body made up of 165 member countries.
The body has published more than 19,500 international standards covering almost every industry from technology to food safety, healthcare and agriculture.
First published in 2006, ISO's range of standards for greenhouse gases are an essential set of tools for programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as for emissions trading.
"With a rapidly changing climate, the market needs for climate change projects has never been more dynamic, which is why ISO is revising its greenhouse gas standards, adding greater value to existing standards and making them fit for the future," the ISO said in a statement.
Following is an outline of the proposed changes:
ISO 14064-1 Greenhouse gases -- Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals will address some key GHG quantification issues and will include a more standardized reporting frame.
ISO 14064-2 Greenhouse gases -- Part 2: Specification with guidance at the project level for quantifcation, monitoring and reporting of greenhouse gas emission reductions or removal enhancements will be expanded to be applicable to carbon credit and innovative technology projects, and projects internal to organizations.
ISO 14064-3 Greenhouse gases -- Part 3: Specification with guidance for the validation and verification of greenhouse gas assertions.
ISO 14065 Greenhouse gases: Requirements for greenhouse gas validation and verification bodies for use in accreditation or other forms of recognition are standards used by greenhouse gas programmes around the world and will be revised to ensure they are as up to date as possible and to serve new market needs such as product carbon footprint verifications.
Committee chair Tom Baumann provides more details about the review in a video on the ISO's web site, visit www.iso.org