Presentation at workshop: Reducing the costs of GHG estimates in agriculture to inform low emissions development November 10-12, 2014 Sponsored by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

1. UNFCCC Inventory Reporting Needs,
Collecting Data and Using this
Information to Inform NAMAs and LEDS
Stephen M. Ogle, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, Colorado, USA

2. National GHG Inventory Guidelines
Estimation of
Greenhouse
Gas
Emissions
and Sinks,
OECD/IPCC
1991
IPCC
Guidelines
for National
Greenhouse
Gas
Inventories
1995
1996 Revised
1996 IPCC
Guidelines
for National
Greenhouse
Gas
Inventories
2006 IPCC
Guidelines
for National
Greenhouse
Gas
Inventories
2006
2013
Supplement
to the IPCC
Guidelines for
National
Greenhouse
Gas
Inventories:
Wetlands
2013
Good
Practice
Guidance &
Uncertainty
Management
in National
Greenhouse
Gas
Inventories
2000
Good
Practice
Guidance for
Land-Use,
land use
Change and
Forestry
2003

3. UNFCCC Reporting Requirements
• Annex I Parties shall use the methodologies in the 2006 IPCC
Guidelines, unless stated otherwise in the UNFCCC Annex I
inventory reporting guidelines, and any supplementary
methodologies agreed by the COP, and other relevant COP
decisions (decision 24/CP.19)
• Non-Annex I Parties provide biennial update reports (decision 2/CP.
17)
• Use the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines, 2000 IPCC Good Practice
Guidance, and 2003 IPCC Good Practice Guidance for LULUCF

4. Basis for IPCC Good Practice Guidance
Result
• Credible
• Reliable
• Useful
Inventory
• Documented
• Assessed
for
Uncertain9es
• Subject
to
QA/QC
• Efficient
use
of
resources
• Uncertain9es
reduced
over
9me
TCCCA
• Transparent
• Consistent
• Complete
• Comparable
• Accurate

5. Basic Inventory Method
Most sources can
use defaults from
IPCC Guidelines –
Only “Key
Categories” ( ~ 1 0-
15 Sources ) need
use more detailed
parameters
G u i d e l i n e s
Activity Data
usually can be
found in national or
international
statistics .
O f f i c i a l S t a t i s t i c s
“Key Categories”
( usually ~ 10 - 15
Sources ) account
for over 95 % of a
countries
emissions , focus
resources on these
E m i s s i o n E s t i m a t e s
= X
Emission
Estimate
Emission
Factor
Activity
Data

6. IPCC Tier Methods
• Tier 1 is lowest level of methods
– IPCC default equations and factors
• Tier 2 is the next level of methods
– IPCC default equations with country-specific emission factors
• Tier 3 are the most advanced
– Country specific method/equations and emission factors
– Requires testing of method to demonstrate that the approach is an
improvement over lower tiers
• IPCC considers it good practice to use higher tier methods
with key emission source categories

7. Ogle et al. 2014, Global Change Biology

8. Basic Inventory Method
Most sources can
use defaults from
IPCC Guidelines –
Only “Key
Categories” ( ~ 1 0-
15 Sources ) need
use more detailed
parameters
G u i d e l i n e s
Activity Data
usually can be
found in national or
international
statistics .
O f f i c i a l S t a t i s t i c s
“Key Categories”
( usually ~ 10 - 15
Sources ) account
for over 95 % of a
countries
emissions , focus
resources on these
E m i s s i o n E s t i m a t e s
= X
Emission
Estimate
Emission
Factor
Activity
Data

9. Improve Activity Data Collection
• Mine existing data including national statistics and data compiled
by international organizations
• Develop surveys that monitor practices across a network of
locations, households, farms, etc.
• Elicit expert knowledge through a survey of experts

10. Improve Activity Data Collection
• Crowd-sourcing data collection to compile information on
practices
• Utilize geospatial data developed from remote sensing
technologies or other sources
– Could be combined with surveys in a phased sampling design
Produced
through
USAID
Project
in
Central
America

11. Basic Inventory Method
Most sources can
use defaults from
IPCC Guidelines –
Only “Key
Categories” ( ~ 1 0-
15 Sources ) need
use more detailed
parameters
G u i d e l i n e s
Activity Data
usually can be
found in national or
international
statistics .
O f f i c i a l S t a t i s t i c s
“Key Categories”
( usually ~ 10 - 15
Sources ) account
for over 95 % of a
countries
emissions , focus
resources on these
E m i s s i o n E s t i m a t e s
= X
Emission
Estimate
Emission
Factor
Activity
Data

12. IPCC Working Group:
Update Emission Factors
• Commission a scientific working group to develop emission
factors through Technical Support Unit for the National
Greenhouse Gas Inventory Program through a synthesis of the
literature and modeling
• Factors should be officially reviewed and be given the IPCC
“Stamp of Approval”
– Allows country compilers to utilize them as specified in the guidance
without having to defend the use of the new factors
• Disseminate the emission factors through the IPCC Emission
Factors Database
Ogle et al. 2014, Global Change Biology

13. Ogle et al. 2013, Environmental Research Letters

14. Basic Inventory Method
Most sources can
use defaults from
IPCC Guidelines –
Only “Key
Categories” ( ~ 1 0-
15 Sources ) need
use more detailed
parameters
G u i d e l i n e s
Activity Data
usually can be
found in national or
international
statistics .
O f f i c i a l S t a t i s t i c s
“Key Categories”
( usually ~ 10 - 15
Sources ) account
for over 95 % of a
countries
emissions , focus
resources on these
E m i s s i o n E s t i m a t e s
= X
Emission
Estimate
Emission
Factor
Activity
Data

15. Improve National GHG
Mitigation Analyses
• National inventories are compiled for reporting GHG emissions to
the UNFCCC
• Arguably the real value of these efforts is using the information to
evaluate mitigation potentials and inform policy actions
– Mitigation is part of the national communications that
country’s submit to the UNFCCC
• Inform policy development for LEDS and NAMAs
Ogle et al., accepted, ACSESS Book Publication

16. Mitigation Analysis for South Africa
• UNFCCC Eastern and Southern Africa GHG Inventory Capacity-
Building Project
• Developed the inventory in the Agriculture and Land Use National
Greenhouse Gas Inventory (ALU) software
• Conducted a mitigation analysis for livestock and manure
management
• One mitigation analysis featured manure management
• Option 1: 50% of manure currently managed in anaerobic lagoons is
proposed to be managed in anaerobic digesters with 75% methane capture
efficiency
• Option 2: Same as Option 1 with 75% of manure managed in anaerobic
digesters
• Option 3: Same as Option 1 with 85% methane capture efficiency
• Option 4: Same as Option 2 with 85% methane capture efficiency

17. Ogle et al., accepted, ACSESS Book Publication

18. Thanks for your attention!
• Ogle, S.M., L. Buendia, K. Butterbach-Bahl, F.J. Breidt, M. Hartman, K. Yagi, R. Nayamuth,
S. Spencer, T. Wirth, and P. Smith. 2013. Advancing national greenhouse gas inventories for
agriculture in developing countries: improving activity data, emission factors, and software
technology. Environmental Research Letters 8, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/015030
• Ogle, S.M., L. Olander, L. Wollenberg, T. Rosenstock, F. Tubiello, K. Paustian, L. Buendia, A.
Nihart, and P. Smith. 2014. Reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in developing
countries: providing the basis for action. Global Change Biology 20:1-6.
• Ogle et al., accepted, Developing National Baseline GHG Emissions and Analyzing Mitigation
Potentials for Agriculture and Forestry using an Advanced National GHG Inventory
Software System. In ACSESS book, Synthesis and Modeling of Greenhouse Gas Fluxes and
Carbon Changes in Agricultural and Forest Systems to Guide Mitigation and Adaptation.

19. • New degree program focused on greenhouse gas emissions in
agriculture and forestry
• Provide training to a new generation of practitioners focused on
reducing greenhouse gas emissions in agricultural and forestry
systems
• Offered at Colorado State University, Department of Ecosystem
Science and Sustainability
• Website: warnercnr.colostate.edu/mgma
• E-mail: WCNR_ESS_Info@mail.colostate.edu