A review on carbon emission accounting approaches for the electricity power industry

The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have reached their highest levels since measurements began in recent years. This is widely regarded as one of the primary factors contributing to the increasing frequency of extreme climate events. Consequently, accurate and reliable CO2 emission data becomes the benchmark in shaping policies and setting targets aimed at reducing emissions, which are essential for carbon emission-related research. Among all industries, the electric power sector takes the highest proportion of CO2 emissions, making the carbon emission accounting for this sector a crucial component of overall carbon emissions accounting. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the applied technologies and research progress in electricity carbon emissions accounting. The paper begins by introducing the fundamental concept of electricity carbon emission accounting. Electricity carbon emissions are categorized into two types: direct carbon emissions from electricity production and indirect carbon emissions from electricity consumption. Then, the current applied approaches for accounting for these two types of emissions are reviewed separately. After analyzing the shortages of existing applied carbon emission accounting approaches, the paper proceeds to review the research on the improved approaches of direct and indirect carbon emission accounting. Finally, the paper outlines the future development prospects of carbon emission accounting technology.