Attributional accounting

A way of measuring emissions that divides up the pollution of an existing supply chain among its products, as a snapshot. It asks: what share of today's emissions belongs to this fuel? It ignores the knock-on effects of extra demand. The EU RED, CORSIA core values and GREET direct results are attributional, and they assign wastes zero upstream burden.

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Related terms

Core accounting concepts

• Accounting credit
• Additionality
• Avoided-emissions credit
• Biogenic carbon
• Buffer pool
• Carbon accounting
• Carbon neutral
• Carbon removal
• Central estimate
• Consequential accounting
• Counterfactual
• Cradle-to-grave
• Direct emissions
• Embodied emissions
• Emissions
• Indirect emissions
• Induced effects
• Life cycle
• Life cycle assessment
• Net-negative
• Net-zero
• Offset
• Permanence and reversal
• Process CO₂ capture
• Stoichiometric estimate
• System boundary
• Well-to-tank, tank-to-wheel and well-to-wheel