Corporate Carbon Accounting: A Literature Review of Carbon Accounting Research from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement

Abstract

This paper describes the development of and gaps in knowledge in research on carbon accounting based on a systematic review of 117 papers published in influential accounting journals between 2005 and 2018. The review shows the literature has developed into four major streams of carbon accounting: carbon disclosure, management, performance and assurance and that carbon accounting is emerging as a distinct discipline. Finally, our paper highlights future research opportunities to improve carbon accounting, so it can play an even more important role to help business achieve the climate goals of the Paris Agreement.

Keywords: Carbon accounting, literature review, climate change, corporate carbon management, Paris Agreement