Integrating Standards, Enhancing Credibility, and Advancing Global Climate Cooperation
融合标准，提升公信力，推动全球气候合作
Introduction
Last September, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) announced in Geneva a strategic partnership to harmonize their greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting standards. This agreement brings together two of the most influential frameworks in the field-ISO’s 1406X standards and the GHG Protocol’s Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standards, including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The initiative aims to deliver co-branded, unified standards applicable to organizations, products, and projects worldwide. It marks an important step toward a more coherent global framework for climate reporting and corporate sustainability.
引言
去年9月，国际标准化组织（ISO）与温室气体核算体系（GHG Protocol）在日内瓦宣布建立战略合作伙伴关系，计划对双方的温室气体（GHG）核算与报告标准进行协调统一。此次合作将ISO 1406X系列标准与GHG Protocol企业排放核算标准（涵盖范围一、二、三类排放）结合，推出面向组织、产品及项目的联合标准。这一举措标志着全球气候报告体系正向更加统一、透明和可比的方向迈进，也为企业可持续发展与国际气候治理奠定了新的基础。
Collaboration Background
Over the past two decades, businesses, governments, and investors have relied on different methodologies to account for GHG emissions. The GHG Protocol, developed by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, became a widely used framework for operational and value chain emissions reporting. Its strength lies in its flexibility and broad adoption, making it the “common language” of corporate climate disclosure. ISO, by contrast, developed the ISO 14064 series to provide rigorous standards for quantifying, reporting, and verifying emissions. Its emphasis on certification and compliance has made it particularly relevant for regulatory contexts and third-party audits.
Although both systems have advanced carbon management, their coexistence created inconsistencies. Companies with international operations often had to reconcile different definitions and verification rules, while policymakers found it difficult to compare data across jurisdictions. This “standard confusion” sometimes limited the effectiveness of carbon reduction strategies and investor assessments. The partnership between ISO and the GHG Protocol is designed to resolve these barriers by integrating their strengths into a unified global framework.
合作背景
在过去二十年里，企业、政府与投资者采用了不同的温室气体核算方法。由世界资源研究所（WRI）和世界可持续发展工商理事会（WBCSD）联合开发的GHG Protocol，因其灵活性与广泛应用，已成为企业气候信息披露的“通用语言”；而ISO 14064系列标准则以严格的量化、报告与验证体系见长，更强调认证与合规性，在监管与第三方审计中具有重要影响。
尽管两者都推动了碳管理的发展，但长期并行也带来了方法学差异。例如，跨国企业需要在不同定义与验证规则之间进行协调，政策制定者也难以在不同辖区间直接对比数据。这种“标准碎片化”在一定程度上削弱了减排策略的有效性，也增加了投资评估的复杂性。ISO与GHG Protocol的合作，正是为了解决这一问题，通过整合各自优势，建立统一的全球碳核算框架。
Core Contents of the Partnership
The partnership between ISO and the GHG Protocol is designed to bring together two of the most influential carbon accounting frameworks into a single, coherent system. Rather than replacing one with the other, the collaboration seeks to integrate their respective strengths-ISO’s certifiable, compliance-oriented standards and the GHG Protocol’s widely used, flexible guidance-into a unified framework that can be adopted worldwide.
The core contents of this collaboration include:
- Unified Standards Development: ISO 1406X standards and the GHG Protocol’s Corporate and Value Chain Accounting Standards will be co-branded and aligned, providing organizations with a consistent basis for measuring and reporting GHG emissions at the company, product, and project levels.
- Product Carbon Footprint (PCF) Framework: A new co-developed standard will focus on life-cycle emissions of products, helping industries track embedded carbon across supply chains and respond to the growing demand for product-level disclosures.
- Integration of Verification Mechanisms: The framework will combine ISO’s established certification systems with the GHG Protocol’s reporting guidance, ensuring that data is both transparent and verifiable, and thereby enhancing credibility.
- Policy and Market Relevance: By harmonizing approaches, the partnership offers regulators a clear baseline for disclosure rules, businesses a streamlined process for compliance, and investors more reliable data for assessing climate risks.
Taken together, these elements highlight the partnership’s ambition to transform carbon accounting from a fragmented set of tools into a single reference system that supports global decarbonization efforts through consistency, comparability, and trust.
合作的核心内容
此次合作旨在将全球最具影响力的两大碳核算体系整合为一个协调一致的标准框架，而非取代其中任何一方。合作将ISO的可认证性与GHG Protocol的广泛适用性结合，形成一个既能满足监管要求，又具国际普适性的统一体系。
主要内容包括：
- 统一标准体系
双方将联合开发并冠以共同品牌的标准体系，对ISO 1406X系列与GHG Protocol企业与价值链核算标准进行对齐，为组织提供在企业、产品及项目层面的统一排放核算依据。 - 产品碳足迹（PCF）框架
新标准将聚焦产品全生命周期排放核算，帮助企业追踪供应链中的隐含碳，满足市场对产品级碳披露日益增长的需求。 - 验证机制整合
新框架将结合ISO成熟的认证体系与GHG Protocol的报告指南，确保数据既透明又可验证，从而提升可信度。 - 政策与市场适配性
统一标准为监管机构提供了明确的披露基准，为企业简化了合规流程，也为投资者提供了更具可比性和可靠性的气候数据。
总体来看，这一合作旨在将分散的碳核算工具体系转化为全球通用的参考标准，为全球减碳行动提供一致性、可比性与信任基础。
Implications for EU–China Cooperation
The harmonization of carbon accounting standards is highly relevant to EU-China collaboration on sustainable development. Both regions have established ambitious climate frameworks: Europe with its Green Deal, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD); and China with its dual-carbon goals, “Good House” policy, and emerging carbon market mechanisms.
A unified global framework can facilitate smoother alignment between these systems. For Chinese companies exporting to Europe, reporting emissions in a format directly recognized by European regulators will reduce compliance complexity. For European firms investing in China, the ability to rely on comparable data increases confidence and supports joint projects. This is particularly important in sectors such as construction and manufacturing, where life-cycle emissions play a central role in evaluating sustainability.
Beyond compliance, harmonized standards create space for deeper bilateral cooperation. Joint ventures in green building, industrial parks, and clean technology can benefit from shared accounting practices, enabling partners to track emissions across entire value chains with greater precision. At the same time, the use of consistent methodologies will support mutual recognition of certifications and labels, making cross-border trade in low-carbon products more transparent.
中欧合作的启示
碳核算标准的统一，对中欧可持续发展合作具有重要意义。双方均已建立起较为完善的气候政策框架：欧洲通过《绿色协议》（Green Deal）、《建筑能效指令》（EPBD）以及《企业可持续信息披露指令》（CSRD）推动低碳转型；中国则以“双碳目标”、绿色建筑行动（“好房子”政策）及全国碳市场机制为支撑，持续完善气候治理体系。
建立统一的全球碳核算框架，有助于促进这两大体系的衔接与协调。对于出口欧洲的中国企业而言，以欧洲监管机构直接认可的格式报告排放数据，将有效降低合规复杂度；而对在华投资的欧洲企业而言，能够基于可比数据开展项目合作，将增强信任与可操作性。这一点在建筑与制造等重视生命周期排放的行业尤为关键。
除合规层面外，标准的协调还为中欧深化合作提供了新空间。绿色建筑、产业园区和清洁技术等领域的合资项目，可通过共享核算方法，实现跨供应链的排放精准追踪。同时，统一的方法学将有助于认证与标签的互认，提升低碳产品跨境贸易的透明度与公信力。这种制度互通不仅为企业降低了交易成本，也为中欧共同构建高质量、可持续的绿色经济合作模式奠定了坚实基础。
Pathways for Stakeholders
The new partnership also raises practical questions for businesses, policymakers, and other actors.
For companies, the most immediate step is to review current practices and identify where harmonization may affect their reporting systems. Many organizations have already invested in either ISO or GHG Protocol approaches, and adapting to a unified framework will require careful planning, but also promises efficiency gains in the long run.
Verification and consulting firms have a significant role to play. By aligning their services with the forthcoming co-branded standards, they can help organizations navigate the transition, ensure accurate data collection, and provide assurance that disclosures meet international expectations. Policymakers, meanwhile, may explore opportunities to incorporate the unified framework into national disclosure rules and green building certification schemes, thereby reducing overlap and enhancing data comparability across borders.
Civil society organizations, industry associations, and research institutes will also be important contributors. They can provide technical expertise, pilot projects, and training programs to ensure that the framework is practical for companies of different sizes. Special attention will be needed for small and medium-sized enterprises, which often face resource constraints in carbon reporting but are essential parts of global supply chains. By supporting capacity building, stakeholders can help ensure that the benefits of harmonization are broadly shared.
各方行动路径
ISO与GHG Protocol的新合作也为企业、政策制定者及相关机构提出了新的实践课题。
对于企业而言，首要任务是审视现有的碳核算体系，识别标准统一可能对报告流程和数据管理带来的影响。许多组织此前已分别采用ISO或GHG Protocol方法，向统一框架过渡需要系统规划，但从长远看，将显著提升效率与合规一致性。
第三方验证与咨询机构将在这一过程中发挥重要作用。它们可依据即将推出的联合标准调整服务体系，帮助企业顺利完成过渡，确保数据收集的准确性，并为信息披露符合国际要求提供专业保障。与此同时，政策制定者可探索将统一框架纳入国家信息披露制度及绿色建筑认证体系，从而减少重复、提升跨境数据的可比性与互通性。
此外，社会组织、行业协会与科研机构也将成为重要参与者。它们可通过提供技术支持、试点项目及培训方案，确保新框架能够适应不同规模企业的实际需求。尤其是中小企业，由于资源相对有限，在碳信息披露方面往往面临更大挑战。通过加强能力建设，各方可确保标准协调的益处惠及更广泛的企业与社会群体，从而实现更包容、更高效的全球碳治理。
Conclusion
The ISO–GHG Protocol partnership represents a significant step in the evolution of carbon accounting. By integrating two of the world’s most respected standards, it aims to enhance data quality, comparability, and transparency. For businesses, it offers the prospect of reduced complexity and clearer guidance for emissions reduction. For policymakers, it provides a unified baseline to support disclosure regulations. For investors, it strengthens confidence in the reliability of reported data.
In the context of EU-China collaboration, the partnership offers a pathway to greater alignment and trust, reducing barriers for trade, investment, and joint projects in the green economy. While challenges remain-such as ensuring inclusive governance and maintaining rigor-the overall trajectory points toward a more coherent global framework for sustainability.
As a platform dedicated to facilitating China–Europe cooperation, CNEUCN will continue to monitor this development, promote dialogue between stakeholders, and explore pilot initiatives where unified standards can be applied in practice. By doing so, CNEUCN seeks to reinforce its mission of connecting people, ideas, and opportunities in support of a shared carbon neutral future.
结语
ISO与GHG Protocol的合作，标志着全球碳核算体系发展的重要阶段。两大国际权威标准的融合，将显著提升数据的质量、可比性与透明度。对于企业而言，这意味着更清晰的减排指引与更简化的合规路径；对于政策制定者而言，这提供了支持信息披露法规的统一基线；对于投资者而言，这增强了对排放数据可靠性的信心。
在中欧合作的语境下，这一合作为双方在绿色经济领域的贸易、投资及联合项目提供了更紧密的衔接路径与互信基础。尽管在包容性治理与体系严谨性方面仍存在挑战，但总体趋势指向一个更加一致、透明和可信的全球可持续发展框架。
作为致力于推动中欧合作的平台，CNEUCN 将持续关注这一进展，促进多方对话，探索统一标准在实践中的应用试点。通过这些努力，CNEUCN 希望进一步实现其使命——连接人、思想与机遇，共同迈向碳中和的未来。
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