Carbon Accounting: A Systematic Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

Abstract

Carbon accounting is an evolving approach to support decision-making for climate action and reporting of progress. This systematic literature review of 27 journal articles in the field of carbon accounting provides an overview of the current state of the field. It illustrates the lack of transparency, reliability, and comparability within current measurement systems; the lack of research on how greenhouse gas inventories are linked to monitoring, decision-making, reporting and disclosure systems; and the role of the accounting profession. Based on the findings, we provide a summary of where research gaps exist and thus suggestions for future research directions.

Keywords

• carbon accounting
• accounting profession
• measurement
• sustainability accounting
• ghg inventory
• carbon budget
• climate mitigation