Course on greenhouse gas emissions for Bolivian technicians

(La Paz, November 21, 2011).- With technical assistance from CAF - Latin American development bank - a course on verification and validation of greenhouse gas emissions, under NB-ISO 14064, was held in the city of Cochabamba. The activity was organized by the Bolivian Standardization and Quality institute (IBNORCA).

The course is part of the project Promotion and Dissemination of Bolivian Standard NB-ISO 14064 sponsored by the financial institution to promote clean development and energy and environmental efficiency in the business sector in Bolivia, by means of a system to evaluate and neutralize the carbon footprint, which will stimulate creation of an emissions reduction system.

Emilio Uquillas, CAF director representative in Bolivia, said the private sector and consumers, governments and other stakeholders needed to learn about the value of reducing carbon emissions produced by everyday activities. "For business, climate change mitigation - as well as being a responsibility to the environment - is an opportunity to create value added for companies," he said.

The course - given by specialist Raúl Blanco of the Spanish Standardization and Certification Association (AENOR) - was attended by Bolivian technical staff from IBNORCA and the company Servicios Ambientales S.A., the technical counterpart of the project.

The purpose of the training was to familiarize specialized technicians with new tools for promoting environmental awareness in companies and projects implemented in Bolivia, with a view to introducing criteria for verification, validation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in favor of a low carbon economy.

Bolivian standard NB/ISO 14064:1 lays down principles and requirements for the design, development and management of greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories for companies and organizations, while NB/ISO 14064:2 implements the requirements for quantification and monitoring of reduction and removal at project level.

Based on this course, IBNORCA will provide a new service for organizations wishing to verify their carbon footprint under ISO standards.