SYNOPSIS: Under various carbon emissions trading schemes proposed around the
world including the United States, organizations will need to implement carbon management
schemes to meet carbon ration targets, earn revenue, and reduce costs.
Emission Trading Schemes will impact the accounting profession significantly; however,
discussions on how to report these transactions are in the very formative stages. So far
the accounting literature has focused on the reporting of current carbon assets and
liabilities in the balance sheet and the timing effects of carbon releases in the income
statement. However, there has been little or no discussion as to how to value and report
the underlying non-current assets and liabilities that produce or use carbon allowances
on the balance sheet. This paper proposes a model for valuing an organization’s
non-current carbon sequestration and emission capabilities. A new metric, Environmental
Capability Enhancing Asset ECEA, is introduced as the underpinning for the conversion
of non-monetary CO2 emission and sequestration measures to monetary values.
The process of bringing these monetized values within the boundaries of
conventional double-entry GAAP is also demonstrated.