1 Atmospheric Concentrations Source: CDIAC

2 CGE Greenhouse Gas Inventory Hands-on Training Workshop for the Asian Region - Building an Inventory Management System - Shanghai, China 8-12 February 2005 Michael Gillenwater

4 What is an GHG Inventory Program for? ▪Meet international obligations and expectations ▪Inform international, national, and local policy making ▪Enhance credibility of national climate policies through timely, transparent, and effective analysis and communication ▪Foster consistent estimation approaches across government and private sector programs ▪Respond to requests for information ▪Champion for high quality and objective inventory information

5 What is quality? ▪Transparency ▪Completeness ▪Comparability ▪Consistency ▪Accuracy Transparency is the most fundamental. If you do not document, then there is no way to demonstrate any of the other principles have been met.

6 Who cares? ▪A wide audience of stakeholders... ▪Decision makers and policy advisors ▪International climate change community ▪Provincial and local agencies ▪The public and interest groups ▪Businesses ▪Scientists

7 National government ▪What are the emissions and removals in other countries (both Annex I and non-Annex I)? ▪What are the uncertainties in GHG estimates and are national inventories verifiable? ▪What is our country’s contribution to global emissions & removals? ▪What are current and projected emissions and removals from key industries?

8 National government (cont.) ▪What are the effects of existing or planned policies and measures (including policies that aggravate emissions)? ▪Is our country meeting its UNFCCC obligations? ▪Is there consensus among government agencies and key stakeholders on our emission estimates? ▪What are the relationships between reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental pollutants?

9 International community ▪What is the your country’s contribution to global emissions and removals? ▪Are your GHG estimates credible and transparent? ▪Is your country meeting its UNFCCC obligations?

10 Scientists Businesses & NGOs ▪How do we quantify and get credit for activities that reduce emissions or sequester carbon? ▪What activities, industries, companies, or policies have been responsible for significant increases or decreases in GHG emissions or removals? ▪What are the priorities for research and measurement? ▪What are the scientific uncertainties in the emission and sink estimates?

Inventory Program Trading and projects Research & international scientific community LU/LUCF (Sinks policies) Corporate, regional, & other inventories Emission projections, climate & economic modeling Domestic emission reduction programs Negotiations & IPCC Interest groups & the public Linkages

12 ▪Ensure inventory processes are in compliance with COP decisions (i.e., Non-Annex I Party National Communications) ▪Define and apply appropriate procedures for collecting, processing, communicating, and archiving inventory data and information ▪Coordinate with relevant government departments, national agencies, and other organizations ▪Provide inventory reports regularly ▪Ensure the quality of inventory data Inventory management systems should...

13 Inventory management system ▪Inventory planning ▪Inventory preparation ▪Inventory management

14 Inventory planning ▪Appoint national inventory agency ▪Allocate responsibilities for inventory preparation and management ▪Develop schedule ▪Make arrangements to collect data from statistical agencies, companies, industry associations, etc. ▪Create QA/QC plan ▪Define formal approval process within government ▪Develop review processes ▪Integrate continuous improvement

15 Example: U.S. Inventory Schedule Submit Inventory to UN April 15thApril - September Gather data and prepare initial estimates Jan - Feb Incorporate public comments Late December Release for public comment Nov - Dec Respond to interagency comments Oct - Nov Expert and interagency review Mid October Prepare draft report

16 Inventory preparation ▪Identify key sources ▪Select methods and emission factors (GPG decision trees) ▪Activity data collection ▪Manage recalculations ▪Implement QA/QC plan ▪Basic checks should be completed on entire inventory (Tier 1) (see GPG Ch. 8) ▪More in-depth investigations into key sources (Tier 2) ▪Documentation

17 Key categories ▪A key source has a significant influence on a country’s total inventory in terms of level or trend in emissions (GPG, Ch.7) ▪A key source also may be determined through a qualitative assessment. ▪A key source category is one that is prioritized within the national inventory system ▪In general, countries should focus on key categories for resources and improvements

18 Inventory management ▪Implement inventory review processes (e.g., expert review, public review) ▪Obtain formal approval of final results and report within government ▪Submission of report to UNFCCC ▪Make inventory information available to stakeholders and respond to information requests ▪Archive all documentation and results ▪Continuous improvement feedback

19 Uncertainty ▪Uncertainty analysis is a subjective exercise, as it relies to a large extent on expert judgment ▪Therefore, it is not a valid basis to compare inventories between countries ▪Uncertainty analysis should be used as a way to investigate the quality of your inventory data and identify ways to improve data quality ▪You achieve this by investigating data quality ▪And communicating with data suppliers (e.g., statistical agencies) Uncertainty investigations should be integrated within your QA/QC plan !

20 Resources ▪IPCC Guidelines ▪Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines ▪IPCC Good Practice Guidance ▪IPCC LULUCF GPG ▪New 2006 IPCC Guidelines ▪UNFCCC reporting guidelines ▪IPCC Emission Factor Database (EFDB) ▪IPCC software

21 Other resources… ▪Inventory reports from other Parties UNFCCC website/GHG Data Inventory related reports from other Parties ▪Online network of inventory professionals?

22 Closing remarks… ▪A greenhouse gas inventory is more than just a report. It should be viewed as an broader analytical program. ▪A “cookbook” approach to developing a GHG inventory is not practical. There will always be a large and essential need for expert judgment at all levels of the process. ▪A well constructed inventory should include enough documentation to allow readers to understand the underlying assumptions and to reconstruct the calculations.

23 Please feel free to me in the future: Michael Gillenwater Environmental Resources Trust – Thank you –

24 EPA Flow of Energy Data

25 Emission Inventory Basics ▪An emission inventory is an accounting of the amount of air pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. It is generally characterized by the following factors: ▪The chemical or physical identity of the pollutants included ▪The geographic area covered ▪The institutional entities covered ▪The time period over which emissions are estimated ▪The types of activities that cause emissions

26 Inventory Agency Responsibilities ▪A single national entity to be responsible for the overall inventory ▪Arrangements with collaborating entities that contribute data, research, estimate emissions or provide expert reviews ▪Define legal authority to collect and disseminate data necessary for the preparation of the inventory ▪Ensure inventory processes are in compliance with COP decisions ▪Define and apply procedures for collecting data, preparing inventory, communicating results, submitting report, and archiving ▪Liaise among government departments, national agencies, ▪Ensure the implementation of QA/QC

27 Goals  Develop high quality inventory at regular intervals (e.g., annually, every 2-4 years, etc).  Resources are focused on the most significant emission sources in the country