Abstract：
Companies are increasingly relying on emission reductions attributable to their adoption of renewable electricity to achieve net-zero emission targets. However, there is a risk of double counting of emission reductions threatening the credibility of corporate climate actions due to defective accounting rules of GHG emissions related to electricity consumption and the overlap between different market-based instruments, including carbon credit markets, renewable power purchase agreements, and renewable energy certificates. Using data of 63 major Chinese companies in seven sectors, we quantitatively assess the risks of double counting related to corporate sourcing of renewables and their consequent influences on the alignment of corporate emission trajectories with the 1.5 °C goal of the Paris Agreement. Results show that 7.1% of the electricity consumed by sample companies in 2021 was from renewable energy procurement and deployment, with which they reported 8.27 Mt of CO2e emission reductions compared to the scenario with no renewable electricity consumption. However, emission reductions that could be double counted are predicted to be 0.9-1.3 times as many as emission reductions that companies will report during 2021-2030. After adjustment of the reported emissions that might be underestimated due to double counting, the overall emission trajectories of sample companies are no longer aligned with the 1.5 °C goal. Our findings suggest that it is urgently needed to improve the corporate carbon accounting rules and increase the transparency of corporate carbon disclosures.
摘要：
公司越来越依赖减排，这归因于他们采用可再生电力来实现净零排放目标。然而,由于与电力消耗相关的温室气体排放的会计规则有缺陷以及不同的基于市场的工具之间的重叠，因此存在重复计算减排量的风险，威胁到企业气候行动的可信度，包括碳信贷市场，可再生能源购买协议，和可再生能源证书。使用七个行业的63家主要中国公司的数据，我们定量评估了与企业采购可再生能源相关的双重计算风险及其对企业排放轨迹与《巴黎协定》1.5°C目标一致的影响。结果显示，2021年样本公司消耗的电力中有7.1%来自可再生能源采购和部署，与没有可再生电力消耗的情景相比，他们报告了8.27Mt的二氧化碳减排量。然而,预计可以重复计算的减排量将是公司在2021-2030年期间报告的减排量的0.9-1.3倍。在调整了由于重复计算而可能被低估的报告排放量之后，样本公司的整体排放轨迹不再与1.5°C目标保持一致。我们的研究结果表明，迫切需要改善企业碳会计规则并提高企业碳披露的透明度。
