Refining national greenhouse gas inventories

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Climate Policy
• International Relations

Background:

• Greenhouse gas inventories are essential for governments to set and meet emissions reduction targets.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) develops methodologies for reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
• Current IPCC guidelines may not adequately support national greenhouse gas inventory development for many countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of current IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventory development.
• To identify opportunities for improving the timeliness and accuracy of greenhouse gas inventories.
• To advocate for reforms that better align inventory processes with climate action goals and Paris Agreement commitments.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of existing IPCC methodologies for greenhouse gas inventory calculation and reporting.
• Review of challenges faced by countries in developing national inventories.
• Exploration of recent advances in quantitative and expert synthesis for process improvement.

Main Results:

• The current IPCC guidelines present limitations for developing comprehensive national greenhouse gas inventories in most countries.
• There are significant opportunities to enhance the timeliness and accuracy of inventory data.
• Reforms are needed to better support countries in tracking progress toward their climate commitments.

Conclusions:

• Overhauling the current guideline development process is necessary to improve the accuracy and utility of national greenhouse gas inventories.
• Enhanced inventories will better equip multi-national efforts to limit climate change and achieve Paris Agreement goals.
• Integrating advanced quantitative and expert synthesis methods can significantly improve the process.