Anthropogenic greenhouse gas induced climate change is the greatest social, economic and environmental challenge of the humankind.

The climate is already changing, with more frequent and severe droughts, rising sea levels and more extreme weather events.

If the current trend in fossil fuel consumption continues, it is estimated that Earth’s temperature rise by 5 degrees Celsius and sea level rise by 140 cm is plausible by 2100, with associated droughts, heat waves, floods and cyclones, causing for water utilities:
· reduced freshwater supplies and increased customer demand for water
· increased algal blooms, taste, odour and toxicity in water
· increase infrastructure failure and investments in costly water infrastructure projects such as desalination plant

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme are the centerpiece of the Australian Government’s strategy to restrain the growth of greenhouse emissions and to position Australia for a low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways while fulfilling its international commitment to greenhouse mitigation under the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and Kyoto targets till 2011-12.

In this paper, the process for calculating carbon footprint of an integrated waterutility and the underpinning key assumptions for calculating greenhouse gas emissions in carbon dioxide equivalent, is described. Major challenges facing the water utility in determining its carbon footprint accurately especially for fugitive greenhouse gas emission will be illustrated. How this carbon footprint will be utilized in emission trading under the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) will also be explained.