Measurement and Performance Tracking: National GHG Emissions Inventories

Overview

As part of the MAPT project, WRI will identify capacity needs and good practices of existing national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory systems by reviewing elements critical to their development and management. In addition to a review of existing national inventory systems in MAPT focus countries (Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, India, South Africa and Thailand), capacity building efforts will consist of in-country and international workshops and the publication of case studies on inventory development and management processes that provide real-world examples and recommendations to inform inventory practitioners and the international community.

With these case studies, WRI’s MAPT project will seek to build an evidence base of country experiences developing and managing a national GHG inventory system. MAPT will focus on providing a better understanding of the institutional, human resource, financial, and technological capacities associated with and necessary for select topics related to national inventory systems. From this library of country-specific case studies, MAPT will provide examples of capacity development good practices and challenges. We will also disseminate these case studies widely to national inventory practitioners and others to promote experience sharing and support national GHG inventory development. The goals of this initiative include:

• Documenting critical capacities for developing/managing a successful national GHG inventory system.
• Helping domestic governments, funders, and the international community better evaluate the capacities associated with national GHG inventory systems, as well as identify needs and prioritize improvements.
• Sharing examples of national inventory system good practices and challenges/weaknesses in an effort to support and target more effective capacity building for national GHG inventory systems.

Scoping

In 2011, WRI worked with in-country partners to conduct a scoping exercise in each of the six MAPT countries. This included a combination of surveys with key stakeholders including government officials, workshops and desk-based research.

The scoping exercise sought to assess the compilation of national GHG emission inventories in these countries, including capacity needs and current practices in each of the systems.

The results of the country surveys, as compiled by in-country partners, can be accessed here.

Outputs:

• WRI will be developing an assessment tool to identify national inventory capacity needs and gaps.
• WRI is compiling a series of case studies highlighting national inventory experiences and associated capacities from Annex I and non-Annex I countries. Experts interested in authoring a case study that shares their national experience should get in touch with Tom Damassa (tdamassa@wri.org).

Background: A national GHG inventory provides critical information regarding a country’s emissions profile and can be an important tool for assessing progress towards meeting national and/or sectoral policy goals. The development of a GHG inventory may also support non-climate activities (e.g., energy data management) or policies, as well as inform international dialogues. This area of work focuses on developing an understanding of the capacities that need to be supported to develop a comprehensive national GHG emissions inventory. While many capacity building programs to date have focused on providing technical assistance for inventory development (e.g., how to use IPCC calculation methods and tools), MAPT will focus on identifying and strengthening capacities related to the development process of a national inventory (e.g., in regard to sharing information across ministries; retaining technical know-how; developing a national inventory management system).

Contacts

For further information on this component contact Thomas Damassa.

Related Links

National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Can Help Countries Curb Climate Change
Enhancing Today’s MRV Framework to Meet Tomorrow’s Needs: The Role of National Communications and Inventories