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

What is an GHG Inventory

Program for?
Meet international obligations and expectations
Inform international, national, & 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

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

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

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?

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

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

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Inventory management system

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

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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

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Example: U.S. Inventory Schedule

Oct - Nov
April - September

Gather data and prepare

initial estimates

Late December
April 15th

Mid
October

Prepare draft
report

Nov - Dec

Jan - Feb

Respond to
interagency
comments

Incorporate
public
comments

Expert and
interagency
review

Release for
public
comment

Submit
Inventory
to UN

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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

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Key categories
A key category has a significant influence on a
countrys 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

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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

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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!
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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)

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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

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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.

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Please feel free to email me in

the future:
Michael Gillenwater
gillenwater@alum.mit.edu

Thank you
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ACTIVITY DATA

Collect data on transportation

fuel combustion, including fuel
consumed by jets and sailing
vessels travelling
internationally.

to US
EPA

The DoD maintains data

on fuel consumption for
the military. Data is
usually acquired via
communications with
each branch.

to US
EPA

Federal Highway
Administration

Bureau of the
Census, Dept.
of Commerce

Center for Transportation

Analysis, ORNL, Dept. of
Energy

Bureau of Economic
Analysis, Dept. of
Commerce

Department of
Defense

Mobile
Combustion

Federal Aviation
Administration

Bureau of
Transportation
Statistics, Dept. of
Transportation

Compile data on vehicle numbers

and types and provide estimates for
domestic transportation fuel
consumption.

International
Bunker Fuels

The EIA collects national and

worldwide fuel production and
consumption data for all energyrelated activities, including
stationary combustion.

Energy Use

EIA, Dept. of
Energy

The EIA publishes a variety of

monthly and annual reports and
maintains databases which are
accessible via the Web.

Mine Safety and

Health Administration

Petroleum
and Natural
Gas
State Petroleum and
Natural Gas
Agencies

US EPA, National Risk

Research Management
Research Laboratory

EPA

US EPA

Provide mine-specific
historical information
about methane gasrecovery and gas
usage.

Mining
Companies

Coal Mining

Minerals
Management
Service, Dept. of
Interior

Flow of
Energy
Data

ENERGY

Industry
Journals

Supply information about

mine-specific ventialtion
systems and gas sales
data.

Petroleum and Natural Gas

Industry Associations, Trade
Groups, and Review Panels
Provide information about
natural gas and petroleum
industries, including
production, infrastructure
statistics, and consumption.

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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

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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

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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

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Atmospheric Concentrations
Keeling and Whorf, 1999
Mauna Loa, Hawaii

370

CO2

ppbv

330
310

Neftel, et al., 1994.

Siple Station ice core

1,300
1,100

290
270
1740

CH4

Kalil and Rasmussen, 1994.

Record fromsix globally
distributed locations.

1,500

Etheridge, Pearman,
and Fraiser, 1994.
Law Dome ice core.

900

1790

1840

1890

1940

1990

700
1830

1870

1910

1950

1990

4
3
pptv

ppmv

350

1,700

2
1

Source: CDIAC

SF6

Sturges et al.,
Dome Concordia, 2000

0
1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

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