UNFCCC Tools and Technical Assistance 

In this newsletter, several tools and technical assistance provided by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat to facilitate and improve country’s reporting of the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement are presented. 

Side event at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bonn

On 6 June 2023, on the side-lines at of the fifty-eighth sessions of the subsidiary bodies, held in Bonn from 5 to 15 June 2023, the secretariat and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC-TFI) jointly organized a side event on the IPCC inventory software for national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, at which the latest version of the software (version 2.861) was presented  and other activities aimed at supporting the use of the software and the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2006 IPCC Guidelines) discussed.

The first version of the IPCC inventory software developed by the IPCC Task Force was released in 2012 to assist inventory compilers in using the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and meeting the reporting requirements for national GHG inventories. It is a central component of a Party’s institutional arrangements for meeting its GHG inventory reporting obligations in that it promotes consistency with the IPCC Guidelines, provides a framework for data collection among national entities, minimizes calculation and reporting errors and ultimately reduces the reporting burden. The software is continuously updated and improved to include higher-tier methods and new functions, fix any technical issues identified and enhance user-friendliness. Version 2.861 of the software incorporates the following additional functions or elements:

• Coverage of all methodological tiers and approaches in accordance with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands;
• Some categories of the 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines);
• Interoperability with the UNFCCC reporting tool for the electronic reporting of common reporting tables (CRT) for the energy sector.

The interoperability function is of key importance as it will enable a Party to both use the IPCC inventory software to estimate its GHG emissions and removals in accordance with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines or 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and generate outputs compatible with the UNFCCC reporting tool for the electronic reporting of CRT under the Paris Agreement.

In addition, the new version of the software:

• Facilitates reporting at the subnational level (e.g. tracking of specific activities or regions);
• Instead of a single methodological tier, now allows a combination of tiers to be used for each source and sink;
• Allows, in each equation, the input of user-specific values for emission factors and parameters;
• Uses the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report global warming potential values for a 100-year time-horizon of GHGs (and also allows any other user-specific metrics to be applied);

All information relevant to the joint side event can be accessed on the web page of the UNFCCC GHG Support unit, with the agenda available here and the full recording of the event on YouTube here.

Quality assurance of national greenhouse gas inventories and inventory management systems

In order to assist developing countries in meeting their reporting requirements under the measurement, reporting and verification system established under the Convention and preparing for the effective implementation of the ETF, the secretariat, through its GHG Support unit, has been providing technical assistance in the form of in-country quality assurance (QA) of their GHG inventories and national GHG inventory management systems (QA workshops) since 2018.

These in-country QA activities support developing countries in establishing and maintaining sustainable national GHG inventory management systems, enhancing technical capacity of national experts and improving data quality through in-depth interactions with the national GHG inventory team, and thus facilitate the implementation of the ETF.

In-country QA workshops are delivered upon request and are thus organized based on the applications from countries. Further information and modalities about the QA workshops can be obtained by writing to GHGCapacityBuilding@unfccc.int.

Mitigation tool

The mitigation assessment tool, a desktop application developed by Gauss International Consulting that uses advanced econometric models and time-series data to assist Parties to the Paris Agreement in developing GHG emission scenarios on the basis of national GHG inventories, draws on outputs from the IPCC inventory software and existing knowledge, methodologies and approaches pertaining to inventory compilation.

The tool provides policymakers with consistent emission projections, thereby aiding in the development of national mitigation targets such as nationally determined contributions. It can also aid in identifying the most impactful options for reducing emissions at the national level.

To use the tool, users upload information on their GHG inventory and factors taken into account therein, such as gross domestic product and population. The tool then uses this information to estimate a ‘without measures’ (WoM) emission scenario for all IPCC categories for which there are emissions in the country and then present a list of possible policies and measures (PAMs), which users can select to create ‘with existing measures’ (WeM) and ‘with additional measures’ (WaM) scenarios and compare them with the ‘without measures’ scenario. Lastly, the mitigation tool provides reporting tables for estimated projections and national policies and measures selected.

The mitigation tool will be released and available on the UNFCCC GHG Support unit web page in the coming months.

Sectoral Activity Data for GHG Emissions tool to support data collection and management

The web-based Sectoral Activity Data for GHG Emissions (SAGE) tool provides an interface for collecting, processing and storing activity data as part of national measurement, reporting and verification systems. It is fully compatible with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and supports developing countries in meeting the national inventory report requirements contained in the modalities, procedures and guidelines for transparency framework under the Paris Agreement.

The tool therefore guides users through the difficult work of identifying and filling their data gaps and conducting quality control checks on GHG inventory data, emission projections and estimated mitigation impacts.

The latest version of the SAGE tool can be accessed here. Users require authentication details and a link to access the tool. Owing to data security requirements, SAGE is installed on a server in accordance with the guidance of the country’s national inventory compiler or inventory focal point. As such, approval and the specific link to the software need to be obtained from the country’s inventory agency, which will subsequently set up the user account and provide the log-in details. In addition, a user manual has been developed, which includes an overview of SAGE and information on its different functionalities.

The key features of the latest version of the SAGE tool include:

• Facility to record and store activity data (as described in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines) and parameters intrinsic to fuel properties (e.g. fuel density or net calorific value) as a time series or on an ad hoc basis;
• Facility to collect activity data and keep track of data origins and uncertainties;
• Automatic conversion of units to units required by equations in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for stationary combustion categories;
• Classification mapping between the IPCC and UNFCCC reporting categories for flexibility;
• A modular sectoral dashboard structure that allows a seamless shift between sectoral sections of the application;
• Functions implementing splicing techniques to fill data gaps;
• Functions to assess uncertainty in line with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines;
• Excel input/output facility for all configuration tables and production of comma-separated values files compatible with emission-calculating tools (e.g. IPCC software);
• Data analytics;
• Data repository;
• Administrative interface for user access control and user management;

The latest version of the SAGE tool covers categories in the energy, industrial processes and product use, and waste sectors; agriculture sector categories will be included by early 2024.