Vital Tools for Stabilizing Our Climate
Applying IPCC-Vetted Climate Science
Radiative Forcing, Not Just Tonnes
CO₂e was built for the long run. The next twenty years need more.
Climate strategy runs on carbon accounting: greenhouse gases converted to CO₂-equivalent and averaged over 100 years. That framework is essential, and it is incomplete. It undervalues methane and HFCs relative to the warming they cause now, and it leaves out black carbon entirely. Organizations are left without the information they need to find the interventions that matter most between now and 2050.
GHR closes this gap through Total Climate Accounting™, a scientifically robust framework integrating traditional carbon measurement with the quantification of heat outcomes. It is built on the backbone of IPCC-assessed science, with radiative forcing as the common underlying metric.
The result is a CO₂e-PLUS view: your conventional carbon footprint, plus a Heatprint™ that quantifies warming across time horizons and pollutants. The Heatprint covers the short-lived climate super pollutants that drive near-term warming, including methane, HFCs, and black carbon.
See our Technical Paper here providing more details about the Total Climate Accounting Framework.
-
Graph created by CCAC | www.ccacoalition.orgWhat's Driving Near-Term Heat
Roughly half of today’s warming and nearly all of the accelerating heat we feel between now and 2050 comes from short-lived super pollutants like methane, black carbon, and HFCs.
-
Graph created by CCAC | www.ccacoalition.orgStaying Focused on the Paris Agreement Temperature Threshold
Only by tackling short-lived climate pollutants along with carbon dioxide do climate models show that we can effectively hold global mean surface temperature below 2°C above normal by 2050.
-
Node 3 (Changes in Radiative Forcing)
This node in the stressor-effects chain has the strongest quantitative linkage to both the initial stressor and the endpoints. It is the underlying metric used to establish stressor equivalencies. Sustained changes will alter earth’s energy balance and set into motion changes in atmospheric and ocean circulation systems, impact global and regional temperatures, and lead to extensive ecological and human health impacts.
-
Sustained Global Warming Exceeding 1.5 – 2.0°C Above Normal Must Be Avoided
The importance of near-term heat reduction to global commerce and well-being cannot be overstated.
Get In Touch
Reach out with any questions or comments and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.