Greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting under

the UNFCCC process

5th session of the Joint Task Force on Environmental Indicators

Geneva, 4-6 July 2012

Hinko Vincar, Team Lead of Data Services Unit Mitigation, Data and Analysis (MDA) programmeUNFCCC secretariat

INTRODUCTION

• The ultimate objective of the Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) is to achieve

stabilization of GHG concentrations that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic

interference with the climate system. Estimating the levels of GHG emissions and

removals is an important element of the efforts to achieve this objective.

• Parties to the Convention are required to submit their national reports. The required

contents of these communications and the timetable for their submission are

different for Annex I (AI) and non-Annex I (NAI) Parties. Annex I Parties include the industrialized countries that were members of the

OECD in 1992, plus countries with economies in transition (EIT); Non-Annex I Parties are mostly developing countries.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNEX I PARTIES

• Annex I Parties under the Convention need to submit: National GHG inventories which contain information on GHG emissions and

methodologies used to estimate these emissions, annually; National communications (NC) which contain, inter alia, information on GHG

emissions, periodically.

• Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (KP) need to submit annually

supplementary information in addition to the national GHG inventory: KP-LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry) tables on the use of Articles

3.3 (afforestation, reforestation and deforestation) and 3.4 (forest management,

cropland management, grazing land management and revegetation); Holdings of and transactions of KP units in the Standard Electronic Format (SEF); Changes in national registries; Changes in national systems for emission accounting; Minimization of adverse effects under Article 3.14 (adverse effects and response

measures).

METHODOLOGIES AND GUIDELINES FOR ANNEX I PARTIES

• For national GHG inventories, the key methodological documents are: Updated UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual inventories following

incorporation of the provisions of Decision 14/CP.11 (FCCC/SBSTA/2006/9); UNFCCC guidelines for the technical review of greenhouse gas inventories

(FCCC/CP/2002/8); Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories; IPCC Good Practice Guidance (GPG) and Uncertainty Management in National

GHG Inventories; IPCC GPG for LULUCF.

• For national communications, the key methodological documents are: Guidelines for the preparation of national communications: UNFCCC reporting

guidelines on national communications (FCCC/CP/1999/7).

Convention Kyoto Protocol (KP)GHG inventory NC GHG inventory NC

ReportingMandates (Convention): • Art. 4.1 and 12 + FCCC guidelines

Mandates (KP): • Art. 5,7 + 13-17/CMP.1 + 6/CMP.3

Meth. guidance=IPCC:• 1996 Guidelines• 2000 GPG• 2003 GPG/LULUCFAnnually: • data (CRF)• methods (NIR)Overview/synthesis:• annual SA-I report • annual GHG data report• annual status report

Periodically (3-5 ys): • Nat’l circumstances• GHG inventory• P&Ms, • GHG projections• Funding and TT• V&A, R&O, Art.6Overview/synthesis:• periodic C&S report

Suppl. info (Art.7.1): • LULUCF for Art.3.3, 3.4• accounting (SEF)• changes in NS and NR• info on 3.14One-time reports:• Initial report• True-up period report Overview/synthesis:• annual C&A report

Suppl. info (Art.7.2):• NS and NR• supplementarity, • P&Ms (incl. Art.2.3)• Inst. KP arrangements• Art.10 (incl.TT&CB)• Art.11 (funding)One-time reports:• Demonstrable progressOverview/synthesis:• periodic C&S report

ReviewMandates (Convention): • Art.12 +FCCC guidelines

Mandates (KP): • Art. 8 + 22/CMP.1

Key features: • Annual technical review• By international ERTs• Synthesis reports to SBI

Key features: • In-depth review in two years from submission• By international ERTs• Synthesis reports to SBI

Key features: • Conjunction with annual Convention reviews• Once for one-time reports • Adjustments/corrections• Special: expedited review• Synthesis reports to SBI

Key features: • Conjunction with periodic Convention reviews• Once for one-time reports • Synthesis reports to SBI

ComplianceMandates (KP): • Art. 18 + 27/CMP.1 (Compliance Committee)

Issues => action: • reporting => eligibility• methods => adjustments• targets => eligibility• targets => penalty for CP2• some issues => facilitation

Issues => action:• reporting => facilitation

SUMMARY OF REPORTING AND REVIEW FOR ANNEX I

PARTIES UNDER CONVENTION AND KP

REPORTING (NC) FOR NON-ANNEX I PARTIES

• The key methodological documents are: Guidelines for the preparation of national communications from non-Annex I

Parties (FCCC/CP/2002/7/Add.2, Decision 17/CP.8 and its annex); Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories; IPCC GPG and Uncertainty Management in National GHG Inventories; IPCC GPG for LULUCF.

• Non-Annex I Parties submit periodically national communications (NC) which

contain, inter alia, information on GHG emissions.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

• The second commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol will start on

1 January 2013 (FCCC/KP/CMP/2011/10/Add.1, Decision 1/CMP.7).

Exact technical modalities for the second commitment period are being developed.

• Use of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines by Annex I Parties starting in 2015

(FCCC/CP/2011/9/Add.2, Decision 15/CP.17 and FCCC/KP/CMP/2011/10/Add.1,

Decision 4/CMP.7).

• Submission of Biennial Reports (BR) and International Assessment and Review (IAR)

for Annex I Parties starting from 1 January 2014 (FCCC/CP/2010/7/Add.1, Decision

1/CP.16 and FCCC/CP/2011/9/Add.1, Decision 2/CP.17).

• Submission of Biennial Update Reports (BUR) by non-Annex I Parties starting from

December 2014, subject to availability of funding. International Consultation and

Analysis (ICA) to commence within 6 months of submission of BUR. (FCCC/CP/

2010/7/Add.1, Decision 1/CP.16 and FCCC/CP/2011/9/Add.1, Decision 2/CP.17)

CHALLENGES

• There are indications of continued need to support and increase capacity for Annex I

EIT Parties to estimate well their GHG emissions, for example: Questions of implementation related to the national system implementation

resulted in withdrawal of the eligibility to participate in the market-based

mechanisms Bulgaria: 28 June 2010 and reinstated on 4 February 2011 Ukraine: 12 October 2011 and reinstated on 9 March 2012 Romania: 27 August 2011 Lithuania: 21 December 2011

• Some general reporting issues reported by non-Annex I Parties include: financial,

technical and institutional constraints; a lack of institutional arrangement on

continuous basis; a lack of sufficient data; and a limited number of national experts.

to be considered for reinstatement at 20th meeting of the enforcement branch (9-14 July 2012)

USE OF GHG DATA REPORTED UNDER UNFCCC

• GHG data used by: UNFCCC

COP/MOP Compliance Committee

Other organizations UNSD

o UNdata portal (http://data.un.org/)o MDG report (http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/reports.shtml)

IEA, etc. General public

UNFCCC GHG data interface (http://unfccc.int/ghg_data/items/3800.php)

GHG DATA INTERFACE

• The GHG data interface (http://unfccc.int/ghg_data/items/3800.php) is a simple but

powerful and user-friendly online tool that is designed to provide access to, search

and sort available GHG inventory data submitted by countries that are Parties to the

UNFCCC.

• Elements of the data interface: GHG data – UNFCCC: contains most recent GHG data as reported by Parties

to the Convention, including detailed data by Party, comparison by gas and

category, flexible queries, user-defined indicators and the global map; KP data – UNFCCC: contains GHG data specifically related to the Kyoto

Protocol as reported by Annex I Parties that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol; GHG data – non-UNFCCC: contains links to websites of other organizations

that provided GHG data; Online help: contains explanatory information in the use of the data interface.

USER-DEFINED INDICATORS

Thank you !