Worldwide Green House Gas Registry in the Works

Organizers hope registry will spark voluntary GHG emissions reductions.

In partnership with businesses and environmental organizations, the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum is working to create a Global Greenhouse Gas Register to be used by companies to report their worldwide climate emissions. These entities hope the register will stimulate voluntary action to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to a Dec. 10 article at GreenBiz.com, eight companies representing nearly 5 percent of global GHG emissions have promised to join the registry thus far.

"Many firms are being asked by their shareholders, governments and communities to take voluntary steps to manage their impact on the climate, but until now there has been no platform for the public disclosure of such information on a comparable, globally consolidated basis," states Rick Samans, managing director of the World Economic Forum, via GreenBiz.com. "The Global GHG Register is a collaborative effort by the business and environmental communities to create the kind of generally-accepted framework that can spur a broader response by businesses around the world and provide investors with a clearer understanding of the carbon-related risk in their portfolios."

Also involved in creating the registry are BrasilConnects, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, the International Emissions Trading Association, the Pew Center for Global Climate Change, the World Business Council on Sustainable Development, the World Energy Council, the World Resources Institute and the World Wildlife Fund.