Promoting accuracy in GHG inventories through use of higher-tier methods: A practical guide for LDCs and other developing countries

A core requirement of the Paris Agreement is for countries to report on their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the action they will take to reduce them. Equipped with more accurate emission inventories, countries can make informed decisions around how to reduce their emissions, including which sectors to focus on.

This new toolkit supports decision makers and inventory compilers from least developed countries and other developing countries to prepare accurate GHG inventories based on their country’s capabilities, constraints and priorities. This user-friendly guide unpacks the relevant Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change decisions.

It sets out the main principles, includes exercises to support decision making and explains tricky terminology. It includes case studies from Chile, Colombia and South Africa highlighting their journey and the decision-making processes that enabled them to improve the accuracy of their national inventories.

Throughout, the guide explores key questions inventory experts may consider for each source or sink of GHGs in their country to decide when to move to higher tiers, including:

• Is this a key category?
• Does it offer mitigation potential or is it included in our nationally determined contribution?
• Are the necessary data available or potentially available to move to a higher tier? Do we have the technical expertise to apply the methodology?
• Are the data of sufficient quality and representative; allowing the method to be applied across the entire time series and the whole country?
• How much will it cost to move to a higher tier and what are the opportunity costs of investing resources in one category versus another?
• Are certain categories particularly attractive to domestic or international donor organisations, partnerships or foundations, or have any of these offered to host such a project on a bilateral or multilateral level?
• What do we need to meet international reporting obligations?