A new International Standard aims to help governments and industry reduce the negative effects of climate change.
Newly published ISO 14080, Greenhouse gas management and related activities – Framework and principles for methodologies on climate actions, directly supports the Paris Agreement’s intention to limit global warming to less than 2 °C. The standard also supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
ISO 14080 provides a common framework for local and national governments to take appropriate action for the mitigation and adaptation to climate change and helps them develop consistent, compatible, and comparable policies and measures. The standard is also useful in assessing the effectiveness of these actions. What’s more, ISO 14080 can be used by the private sector to identify potential and justifiable actions they can take. Financial institutions can also benefit from the standard, which can help them determine the impact of their investments.
ISO 14080 was developed by working group WG 7 of ISO technical committee ISO/TC 207, Environmental management, subcommittee SC 7, Greenhouse gas management and related activities.
Convenor of WG 7, Yustinus Kristianto Widiwardono, said ISO 14080 will help organizations measure, report, and reduce risks and increase opportunities related to actions taken together with other organizations or governments due to its compatibility and transparency.
“ISO 14080 promotes setting ambitious long-term goals and targets for emissions reduction per industry sector,” Widiwardono said.
“It also directly supports the Paris Agreement, in particular Article 6, which states that the parties should promote and facilitate the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.”