Overview

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Academic contacts

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Offerings

MURDOCH-S2-EXT-2018-ONGOING
MURDOCH-S2-INT-2018-ONGOING
OUA-S2-EXT-2023-ONGOING

Enrolment rules

Enrolment in an Honours or Graduate-level course or OUA. Recommended PEN597 Climate Change Science and Policy (may be concurrent enrolment).

Other learning activities

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Learning activities

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Learning outcomes

1.

Calculate a greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory according to the international ISO 14064 standard

2.

Estimate and report GHG emissions for entities and local governments according to national guidelines and regulations including Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and calculate the associated uncertainties

3.

Communicate lifecycle thinking using concepts, methodologies and standards and how to appropriately apply them in lifecycle assessment

4.

Use LCA software to estimate the life cycle inventory of a product and present the results in a standardised format.

5.

Determine the lifecycle environmental performance of a particular technology or product over competing options and use LCA results to gain accreditation for carbon offset for a company or a product.

Assessments

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Additional information

Unit content:This unit looks at the approaches for calculating and reporting greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and lifecycle emissions at national, entity and even product level. The first part presents rigorous greenhouse gas (GHG) and energy reporting methodologies that apply in today’s world of environmental regulation and markets. It starts by looking at the international drivers and framework for national GHG inventories and the relevant standards that cover the development of an entity level inventory. The most recent technical guidelines for the Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Scheme (NGERS) will be explored as a case study of the methodologies for GHG and energy reporting at entity level. Students will gain practical experience in the calculation and reporting of scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions and energy for entities. The first part of the unit finishes with a look at how to calculate GHG inventories and carbon footprints (lifecycle GHG emissions) for local government areas (LGA) and communities. The second part of the unit covers the concepts and methodologies related to life cycle assessment (LCA). This includes a general introduction to lifecycle thinking and different lifecycle assessment approaches and methodologies along with the relevant LCA standards. Types of approach studied include process LCA, economic input-output analysis (IOA) LCA and hybrid LCA. Students will gain practical experience in the application of process LCA software to determining the lifecycle GHG emissions of a product. The use of LCA is illustrated by examining case studies for the LCA of renewable electricity, as well as transport and oil. The unit finishes with a look at how GHG inventory and lifecycle assessment are used to gain accreditation for a carbon offset, company, or product.