1 CGE Greenhouse Gas Inventory Handson Training Workshop

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CGE Greenhouse Gas Inventory Hands-on Training Workshop for the African Region - Building an Inventory Management System Pretoria, South Africa 18 -22 September 2006 Michael Gillenwater 2

What is an GHG Inventory Program for? ▪ Meet international obligations and expectations ▪ Inform international, & local policy making ▪ Enhance credibility of national climate policies through timely, transparent, and effective analysis & communication ▪ Foster consistent estimation approaches across government & private sector programs ▪ Respond to requests for information ▪ Champion for high quality & objective inventory information 3

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. 4

Who cares? ▪ A wide audience of stakeholders. . . ▪ Decision makers & policy advisors ▪ International climate change community ▪ Provincial & local agencies ▪ The public & interest groups ▪ Businesses ▪ Scientists 5

National government ▪ Are national inventories verifiable? ▪ What are current & projected emissions and removals from key industries? ▪ What are the effects of existing or planned policies and measures (including policies that aggravate emissions)? ▪ 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? 6

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? 7

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? Scientists ▪ What are the priorities for research and measurement? ▪ What are the scientific uncertainties in the emission and sink estimates? 8

Linkages Research & international scientific community Trading and projects LU/LUCF (Sinks policies) Domestic emission reduction programs Inventory Program Negotiations & IPCC Interest groups & the public Corporate, regional, & other inventories Emission projections, climate & economic modeling 9

Inventory management systems should. . . ▪ 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 & information ▪ Coordinate with relevant ministries, agencies, and other organizations ▪ Provide inventory reports regularly ▪ Ensure the quality of inventory data 10

Inventory management system 1. Inventory planning 2. Inventory preparation 3. Inventory management 11

Inventory planning ▪ Establish national inventory agency ▪ Assign 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 12

Example: U. S. Inventory Schedule Oct - Nov April - September Gather data and prepare initial estimates Late December April 15 th Mid October Nov - Dec Jan - Feb Prepare draft report Respond to interagency comments Incorporate public comments Expert and interagency review Release for public comment Submit Inventory to UN 13

Inventory preparation ▪ Identify key categories ▪ Select methods and emission factors (e. g. , GPG decision trees) ▪ Collect activity data ▪ 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 14

Key categories ▪ A key category has a significant influence on a country’s total inventory in terms of level or trend in emissions (GPG, Ch. 7) ▪ A key category may also be determined through a qualitative assessment. ▪ A key category is one that is prioritized within the national inventory system ▪ In general, countries should focus on key categories for resources and improvements 15

Inventory management ▪ Implement inventory review processes (e. g. , expert review, public review) ▪ Obtain formal approval of final results and report within government ▪ Submit report to UNFCCC ▪ Make inventory information available to stakeholders and respond to information requests ▪ Archive all documentation and results ▪ Continuous improvement feedback 16

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 by communicating with data suppliers (e. g. , statistical agencies) Uncertainty investigations should be integrated within your QA/QC plan! 17

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 ▪ NCSP booklet on "Managing the GHG inventories process (March 2005) 18

Other resources… ▪Inventory reports from other Parties UNFCCC website/GHG Data www. unfccc. int ▪Inventory related reports from other Parties ▪GHG Inventory Experts Network www. ghgnetwork. org 19

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. 20

Please feel free to email me in the future: Michael Gillenwater gillenwater@alum. mit. edu – Thank you – 21

Flow of Energy Data EPA 22

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 23

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 24

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 25

Atmospheric Concentrations Source: CDIAC 26