Introduction

This chapter explores the significant scientific discoveries surrounding climate change, emphasising their role in triggering unforeseen extreme events and unfavourable ecological and economic outcomes. The repercussions of climate change disrupt global supply chains and financial markets, amplify industrial mishaps, and create cascading effects across economies. Furthermore, this chapter provides a comparative analysis of two pivotal government climate policies: the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and carbon tax. The combination of escalating global warming and evolving legislative frameworks presents monumental risks, prompting numerous companies—especially large enterprises—to embark on a strategic transformation towards a low-carbon and sustainable business paradigm. Within this context, the concept and practice of carbon accounting emerge as foundational tools, facilitating the measurement, recording, and management of carbon emissions, tracking carbon-related assets and liabilities, assessing climate risks, evaluating carbon reduction performance, and guiding the transition towards a carbon–neutral economy. Initially nestled within the realm of sustainability accounting, carbon accounting has gradually evolved into a distinct and autonomous discipline over the past two decades since the inception of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS). This chapter introduces the Dynamic Integrated Carbon Accounting (DICA) model and provides an overview of the textbook's structure, succinctly summarising the content of each subsequent chapter. This holistic exploration paints a comprehensive picture of the intertwined dynamics of climate change, policy interventions, corporate responses, and the evolving field of carbon accounting.