The United NationsFramework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the leading international
treaty for action on climate change. Parties to the Convention, including the
US & Australia, must submit annually a national greenhouse gas inventory,
which tracks emissions and their various sources over time. The Kyoto Protocol
to the Convention also requires parties to commit to binding emission reduction
targets: the inventories are central to tracking progress towards these
targets. This seminar explains the UN carbon accounting principles and how
national greenhouse gas inventories are constructed for reporting under these
international instruments. The Australian Inventory is presented as a
focal case study: the data sources and estimation methods are detailed, and
trends are discussed across the Energy, Industrial Processes, Agriculture,
Waste and Land Sectors. The many parallels with the US Inventory experience are
explored, and the UN’s expert peer review process, a critical Quality Assurance
measure, is described.
Australia has over
20 years’ experience in publishing national greenhouse gas inventories, and one
of the biggest challenges, shared by the US, is the estimation of carbon in the
landscape at continental scale. In response to this challenge, Australia has
developed sophisticated methods and models using remote sensing and spatial
analysis. A key future challenge for international carbon accounting –
estimating uncertainties in land use change and forestation – is discussed.
Finally, institutional and regulatory policies supporting national inventory
data collection are presented, along with Monitoring, Reporting and
Verification activities.
The Presenter:
Dr Renée Kidson is
Director of the Australian National Inventory, and is an Energy Specialist on
the UN Roster of Experts. She is also a Fellow at the UCSC Center for
Integrated Water Research, where she conducts research as a future water supply
strategist. Renée works with major cities that have reached the limit of their
natural local water supplies (from rivers and reservoirs) and are exploring
alternative sources (such as desalination) to support their city’s future
growth given climate change. Dr Kidson performs scenario modelling under
different climate change futures, allowing cities to evaluate their options and
make sound investment decisions to secure their future water reliability.
