New challenges for standardization from COP28

Ruggero Lensi, Member of the ISO Council and of CEN Board and UNI Director-General, took part in the meetings as an expert accredited by the Italian Government. Another Italian standardizer, Daniele Pernigotti, President of CEN/TC 467 'Climate change' and Italian expert in ISO/TC 207 'Environmental management;, was also there.

The large participation at the ISO Standardization Pavilion confirms the leading role that standardization has carved out for itself on a global level. It also reaffirms the role of standards as essential tools for addressing the issue of climate change. From sustainable supply chains to reducing carbon emissions, technical standards are recognized as shared benchmarks.

There were two events in the official program of COP28 which directly called into question the role of standardization: “Credible and accountable climate commitments: We can’t do it alone” and “Global clean hydrogen market – Harmonizing of measuring, reporting, verification and accreditation”.

COP28 was not just a parade of good intentions, but also an opportunity to present new, concrete results achieved. The first is the new standard ISO 14068-1 'Climate change management - Transition to net zero - Part 1: Carbon neutrality', which outlines a standardized approach to achieve and demonstrate 'carbon neutrality', i.e. a perfect balance between carbon emissions and absorption.

The second deliverable is the technical specification ISO/TS 19870 'Hydrogen technologies - Methodology for determining the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production, conditioning and transport of hydrogen to consumption gate', presented by ISO president Ulrika Francke during a ministerial roundtable of the COP28 presidency.

The event may be over, but the collective commitment to promote a more sustainable future remains. A commitment from which standardization does not shy away, but rather it relaunches with ever-greater vigour, in the belief that standards are powerful tools of growth and development for the entire society.