UNFCCC secretariat, programme

Matthew Dudley, Programme Officer

Second workshop on the revision of the UNFCCC Annex I reporting guidelines

Methodological issues related to reporting when using the 2006 IPCC Guidelines:

Part I: AFOLU – reporting implications

Part II: Other reporting implications

Bonn, Germany, 3–4 November 2010

Part I: AFOLU reporting implications

Part I: Party submissions on AFOLU in the context of this work programme

• Key (accounting) points raised by Parties relate to the managed land proxy (MLP), inter-

annual variability and factoring out of emissions

a) Some submissions referred to outcomes contained in the IPCC expert meeting report

on MLP, especially techniques identified therein to separate non-/anthropogenic

emissions.

b) Others suggested that consideration of these matters should be deferred until

accounting rules for AFOLU/LULUCF under AWG are agreed.

• However

a) 2006 IPCC Guidelines include provisions for using MLP as a proxy to estimate

emissions/removals for the AFOLU sector.

b) AWG is a separate body and process, and the linkages with it are clearly

acknowledged in the work programme agreed at SBSTA 32 (i.e. the work programme

is not rigid and provides flexibility).

Part I: AFOLU reporting implications

Part I: Party submissions on AFOLU in the context of this work programme

• Key reporting points raised relate to

a) AFOLU reporting in the context of the MLP, inter-annual variability and factoring out

of emissions (impacts both the NIR and the CRF)

b) AFOLU in relation to the common reporting format (CRF) tables.

c) Need to provide guidance to Parties on mapping of agriculture and LULUCF to

AFOLU and how this mapping relates to the NIR and the CRF reporting.

• However,

a) Item a) above is tricky in the context of the moving forward in the work programme as

these issues are under consideration in other Bodies under the Convention.

b) The impact of AFOLU on the CRF is not a significant hurdle to overcome, but Parties

will need to be clear on the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ it is to be incorporated.

Part I: AFOLU reporting implications

Part I: What are the Party-identified implications of AFOLU on reporting when compared to

the current UNFCCC RGLs?

• NIR

a) Straight-forward if considering AFOLU as a construct comprising agriculture and

LULUCF that are both already in the NIR of the current RGLs.

b) Transparency is key.

c) „Accounting“ considerations should be incorporated in the future once these are

agreed by AWGs.

• CRF

a) Change management in incorporating AFOLU construct in CRF tables

• Sectoral tables, sectoral background data tables

• Trend tables

• Total net emissions (accounting issue)

Part I: AFOLU reporting implications

Part I: What are the Party-identified implications of AFOLU on reporting when compared to

the current UNFCCC RGLs (continued)?

Discussion points in relation to the NIR

• There are nuances introduced by the AFOLU construct when compared to agriculture and

LULUCF of the current UNFCCC RGLs

a) New structure and categorization – should there be mapping from agriculture and

LULUCF to AFOLU provided in the revised UNFCC Annex I RGLs?

b) Mandatory versus non-mandatory – a Party submission flagged potential under the

new structure where a non-mandatory category in the current UNFCCC RGLs may

fall under a mandatory category under the AFOLU construct. Is this an issue for

reporting and if so, how can this be managed?

c) „Accounting“, methodological and reporting considerations – with respect to MLP,

interannual variation, factoring out of emissions, effects of using higher tier methods

on emissions, harvested wood products, wetlands etc – what additional

supplementary information could be included in a revised UNFCCC Annex I RGLs to

guide Parties in reporting on these?

• Anything else?

Part I: AFOLU reporting implications

Part I: What are the Party-identified implications of AFOLU on reporting when compared to

the current UNFCCC RGLs (continued)?

Discussion points in relation to the CRF

• Can the current approach in reporting be continued with a separation of agriculture and

LULUCF?

a) If so, can an overarching sectoral report table (SRT) and/or sectoral background data

table (SBDT) for „AFOLU“ be created?

b) Are SBDTs under the revised RGLs to prescribe a single unit of activity data for

comparability purposes?

c) With respect to the cross-cutting and trend CRF tables, would the separation of

„AFOLU“ into its components also be mainatined in these tables?

• Anything else?

Part II: Other reporting implications

Part II: Party submissions on other reporting implications in the context of this work

programme

Focus on reporting of indirect CO2 and indirect N2O emissions

• Interpret language from the 2006 IPCC Guidelines that

a) Reporting of these emisisons is voluntary, or

b) Report on these emissions and to include these in total GHG emissions (for

completeness reasons and ensuring no potential underestimations of emissions).

• However,

a) 2006 IPCC guidelines do not provide methodologies to estimate emissions from the

precursors (methane is the exception);

b) (Holistic implications) Related issues concerning what is good practice in estimating

pre-cursor emissions, and requirements to expert review these precursor emissions.

• With respect to indirect CO2 emissions, clarifications required on the conditions under

which Parties may report these emissions (what tier, which sectors to report, temporal).

Part II: Other reporting implications

Part II: Party submissions on other reporting implications in the context of this work

programme (continued)

Issues on the previous slide are essentially „accounting“ issues.

However:

• What are the specific methodological concerns of Parties in relation to estimating indirect

CO2 and N2O emissions?

• What does not the 2006 IPCC Guidelines provide in relation to the specific sector

allocation of indirect emissions?

• What is the nature of the temporal issue raised?

• To resolve the above, what additional guidance can be provided in the revised UNFCCC

Annex I RGLs to assist Parties in reporting these emissions?

• Regardless of whether mandatory/voluntary, ‚where‘ and ‚how‘ are these emissions to be

reported (e.g. separate CRF table? Or ...?)