From carbon accounting to greenhouse gas management

The aim of this article is not to explain the issues associated with climate change. It seems to us that this topic has already been the subject of numerous articles and controversies, and it is not our intention to fuel the debate on the "real" nature or otherwise of climate change.

Whatever one's position, it's clear that a consensus has been reached on the impact of human activities on our environment. This impact takes two main forms: an influence on the climate, with a long-term trend towards modification of the climatic equilibrium, but also a direct pressure - and this is a point of consensus even among climate sceptics - on the consumption of fossil fuels, which, by principle, are non-renewable.

Nor will we go back over the greenhouse gas (GHG) mechanism, a phenomenon that is widely explained by numerous scientific sources. We will simply point out that, although the natural greenhouse effect is essential to life on Earth, it is the excess of GHGs caused by human activity, among other things, that is now becoming harmful.

After setting out the methodological foundations and principles of the greenhouse gas assessment approach, we will identify the main inherent limitations and possible ambivalences in the analyses. To sum up, we will draw up a state-of-the-art report on current practice, with a view to making it a tool for transforming organizations.