Carbon Footprints and Food Systems: Do Current Accounting Methodologies Disadvantage Developing Countries?

Carbon Footprints and Food Systems: Do Current Accounting Methodologies Disadvantage Developing Countries?

Carbon Footprints and Food Systems: Do Current Accounting Methodologies Disadvantage Developing Countries?

Carbon Footprints and Food Systems: Do Current Accounting Methodologies Disadvantage Developing Countries?

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Overview

This report addresses carbon labeling schemes, a high-profile issue and one that has important economic implications for developing countries. Carbon accounting and labeling instruments are designed to present information on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from supply chains. These instruments have become an important awareness-raising channel for governments, producers, retailers and consumers to bring about the reduction of GHGs. At the same time, they have emerged as a crucial element of supply chain management, trade logistics and, potentially, trade regulations between countries. But the underlying science of GHG emissions is only partially developed. Many of these schemes are based on rudimentary knowledge of GHG emissions and have mainly been designed by industrialized countries. There is a concern that these systems do not accurately reflect production processes in developing countries, and that they may even shift consumer preferences away from developing country exports. The report includes an analysis of current and emerging carbon labeling schemes and an assessment of available data, emissions factors and knowledge gaps of carbon footprinting methodologies. The report also analyzes carbon accounting methodologies for sugar and pineapple products from Zambia and Mauritius according to PAS 2050 guidelines, to illustrate whether these schemes accurately represent the production systems in developing countries. The report concludes with a series of recommendations on how carbon footprint labeling can be made more development-friendly

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780821385395
Publisher: Bernan Distribution
Publication date: 09/21/2010
Series: World Bank Studies
Pages: 84
Product dimensions: 6.90(w) x 9.70(h) x 0.30(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments v

About the Authors vi

Abbreviations vii

Executive Summary viii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Background to the Study 1

Objectives 1

Approach 2

Structure of Report 2

Chapter 2 Description of Ongoing Carbon Footprinting Initiatives Around the Globe 3

Summary 3

Current Carbon Labeling Methods and Schemes 3

Conclusions 14

Chapter 3 Availability of Data Relevant to Developing Countries 20

Summary 20

Introduction 20

IPCC Emission Factors 20

Other Emissions Data 22

Conclusions 28

Chapter 4 Case Study: Carbon Footprints of Tropical Food Products Calculated According to PAS 2050 30

Summary 30

Introduction 30

Methods 30

Results 34

Discussion 37

Conclusion 42

Chapter 5 Subjectivity, Uncertainty, and Impact of Methodology on Final Results 43

Summary 43

Introduction 43

The Impact of Data Choice 44

The Impact of Land Use Change 45

The Impact of Including or Excluding Key Variables in the Carbon Footprint 49

The reality of Data Collection 58

Conclusions 59

Chapter 6 Conclusions and Recommendations for Development-Friendly Carbon Footprinting Schemes 61

Summary 61

Introduction 61

The Situation in Developing Countries 62

Recommendations for Development-Friendly Carbon Footprinting 64

References 69

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Summary of information available on different carbon footprinting methodologies 14

Table 2.2 Comparison of methodological approach, data requirements, and data sources for some carbon footprint schemes highlighting problems in indentifying methodological details 15

Table 3.1 Default emission factors (EFs) relevant to tropical food carbon footprinting 21

Table 3.2 Availability and sources of published, country-or region-specific key carbon footprinting data for a random selection of countries 23

Table 3.3 Number of agro-ecological zones (AEZs) within a sample of countries 26

Table 3.4 Carbon quantities for soil in various tropical conditions 29

Table 4.1 GHG emissions per ton of sugar cane 35

Table 4.2 GHG emissions per ton of raw sugar 35

Table 4.3 The carbon footprint of sugar in transit 36

Table 4.4 GHG emissions for fresh pineapples 36

Table 4.5 GHG emissions for pineapple jam 37

Table 5.1 Truck transport emissions 45

Table 5.2 Calculating emissions resulting from land use changes in tropical forests 47

Table 5.3 Changes in carbon stocks resulting from land use changes in tropical forests 48

List of Figures

Figure 3.1 Global soil organic carbon to 1m depth 28

Figure 5.1 GHG emissions from the truck transport of one ton of sugar 44

Figure 5.2 Sugar farm in Zambia 47

Figure 5.3 Degradation of woodland surrounding a sugar farm 49

Figure 5.4 The carbon footprint of one ton of sugar delivered to a refinery 51

Figure 5.5 The carbon footprint of one ton of sugar delivered to port 54

Figure 5.6 The carbon footprint per kilogram of pineapple at the farm gate 55

Figure 5.7 The carbon footprint per kilogram of pineapple jam for European export 57

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