Theoretical System Construction Of Enterprise Carbon Accounting In The Context Of Low-carbon Economy

With the global warming problem is getting worse, Low-carbon Economy has become a new pattern of economic development, and it has also promoted an important branch of the environmental accounting-the emergence and development of carbon accounting. The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and International Accounting Standards Board (IFASB) has taken multilateral cooperation in the development of carbon accounting standards. But so far yet, there hasn’t been promulgated scientific, integrated and operational guidelines.Carbon accounting research in China has began in the last two years, there hasn’t related laws and regulations to support, and there also isn’t theoretical system as a guide. Currently there are only "Enterprise accounting system" and "Enterprise Accounting Standards" as the basis. However, these systems are lack of the relevant provisions of the unique carbon accounting. Without the constraints of the relevant national legal system, there are lack of legal supervision of the carbon accounting, and the carbon accounting information disclosure are at will. The lack of a unified and standardized carbon accounting elements of the recognition, measurement and accounting standards to make carbon accounting practices to the lack of maneuverability. Without a clear standard to measure the quality of corporate disclosure of carbon accounting information, we are unable to meet the needs of the information users. So it’s urgent for China to build a carbon accounting system.This paper attempts to explore the construction of the theoretical system of carbon accounting problem on the basis of existing research results.The paper tried to use the inductive, deductive and inferential methods to do the research. By collectting Carbon accounting literature data on specific issues to summary a relatively accurate and reasonable conclusions. Try to use the traditional accounting theory to derive the specific accounting procedures and methods.This article mainly focuses on the construction of the theoretical system of carbon accounting. The paper tries to research the basic assumptions of studies, the theoretical basis of the enterprise carbon accounting, carbon accounting, carbon accounting principles, carbon accounting elements of the recognition, measurement, disclosure and reporting.The paper is divided into seven chapters:Chapter1:Introduction. This chapter tries to Introduce the research background, the purpose of the topics, the significance of carbon accounting, the research ideas and methods. It also reviews of relevant literature and research. By comparison, for various reasons, the domestic carbon accounting research is in early stage, the research level isn’t high. This is because a low carbon economy in China is just emerging. Appropriate national policies, regulations and carbon accounting guideline haven’t been developed. In addition, domestic study on existing research abroad is just a process.Chapter2:Study the theoretical basis of carbon accounting, the definition and characteristics. The paper elaborated the concept of carbon accounting, proposed carbon accounting differences and accounting features, and described the differences and relations of carbon accounting and environmental accounting. This chapter also describes the environment and environmental economics, ecological footprint theory, sustainable development theory, low-carbon economy theory, and property rights of economic theory. It also build the theoretical basis of this article.Chapter3:The basic theory of carbon accounting. This chapter introduces the carbon accounting objectives, assumptions, and accounting principles to improve the basic theory of the carbon accounting. On the basic objectives of the carbon accounting (ie, the overall goal) in the accounting objectives and targets. This chapter combined the requirements of the development of low-carbon economy to enrich the connotation of the carbon accounting assumptions on the basis of inherited traditional accounting assumptions. The paper also developped the four major accounting assumptions of the traditional accounting:accounting entity, going concern, accounting period, measured using the currency, and increase the multiple measurement, sustainable development and environmental value of the three hypotheses. The chapter also carried on the eight principles of the traditional accounting, and solved the new problems in the field of traditional accounting theory. The paper proposed six unique carbon accounting principles.Chapter4:Proposed the elements of the accounting of carbon accounting and its confirmation, metering, accounting treatment. According to the classification of traditional accounting, this chapter divided the accounting elements of the carbon accounting into six parts:carbon assets, liabilities of carbon, carbon rights, carbon benefits, the cost of carbon, and carbon profits. Because the core content of the carbon accounting is the recognition and measurement of carbon emission rights, so this chapter focused on the elaborating of the definition of carbon assets, characteristics, classification, access way to confirm the accounting treatment of conditions under different conditions and means. The other five elements of carbon accounting is limited to a brief introduction of related concepts.Chapter5:Disclosure carbon accounting information. Carbon accounting is carried out in order to increase the supervision of the social enterprise and encourage enterprises to save energy. Therefore, the carbon accounting information disclosed enterprise carbon accounting is important. This chapter began from introducing the meaning of enterprise carbon accounting information on the theoretical foundation of our enterprise carbon accounting information disclosure. In principle, the Chinese enterprise carbon accounting information disclosed in the two proposals:Firstly, the disclosure of content, not only to carbon information disclosure statements, but also the disclosure of statements outside the carbon information to be described by the enumerated. Secondly, in the manner of disclosure both can take the subjects to be added to the traditional accounting statements related to low-carbon, carbon accounting statements or carbon accounting reports can also be prepared separately, Difficult to be measured in monetary Carbon, but also through the preparation of corporate low carbon report or other disclosure. For the first two methods, the paper test is given a brief sample, available as a reference.Chapter6:Chinese carbon accounting problems. The researchers found that there existed many problems in Chinese carbon accounting. For example:lack of the ahead theoretical research, lag the formulation of relevant laws, lack of operability, lack of theoretical and empirical research on carbon accounting, carbon accounting and the lack of professional talent. To solve these problems, this chapter has put forward countermeasures and suggestions:to improve the relevant laws and regulations, develop carbon accounting standards, strengthen our carbon accounting theory and empirical research, and develop carbon accounting work required for compound talents.Conclusion. This chapter firstly summaried the full-text content, then put forward the main four contributions of this paper:Firstly, combine the establishment of low-carbon economic development and enterprise carbon accounting system together for the first time.and try to building a new system of carbon accounting; Secondly, try to do creative research in the fields of carbon accounting, the principles of disclosure Thirdly, because the current carbon accounting theory research is in its budding stage, the paper provided a theoretical basis of the full carbon accounting theoretical system of carbon accounting. Fourthly, this paper describes the carbon accounting system,which will also provide a reference for the practical work of the enterprise carbon accounting. Then we described the shortcomings of this article. Finally, the outlook for future research.