inventory of u.s.ghg emissions and sinks: unfccc reporting requirements and ipcc methodological...
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Inventory of U.S.GHG Emissions and Sinks:UNFCCC Reporting Requirements and IPCC Methodological Guidance
FIA User Group MeetingSan Antonio, TX—April 2, 2015
Tom WirthUS EPA—Climate Change Division
• Produced annually—due by April 15
• Accounts for anthropogenic GHG emissions and removals over time: 1990 Present
• Five methodological chapters• Energy• Industrial Processes and Product Use• Waste• Agriculture• Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry
• Six primary gases• CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, SF6
National GHG Inventory
IPCC Guidelines and UNFCCC Reporting for National GHG Inventories
IPCC GuidelinesAgriculture, Forestry and Other Land
Uses(AFOLU)
Agriculture
• Enteric Fermentation (CH4)• Manure Mgt. (CH4 and N2O)• Agric. Soil Mgt. (N2O)• Rice (CH4)• FBAR (CH4 and N2O)
• Forestland & LCF
• Cropland & LCC• Grassland & LCG• Wetlands & LCW• Settlements &
LCS• Other Land &
LCO
UNFCCC Reporting
Fiv
e C
Pools
&
Non
-CO
2
Gase
s
LULUCF (36 LU/LUC Categories)
GHG Emissions and Removals in AFOLU
2006 IPCC Guidelines for AFOLU
Required for UNFCCC reporting in 2015 IPCC Wetlands Supplement
IPCC Tiered Methodologies
Tier 1– Designed to use readily available national or international statistics (e.g., FAO) with default emission factors. Any country can apply.
Tier 2– Uses similar approach as Tier 1, but with country-specific factors or further disaggregation
Tier 3—Models, measurement or country-specific approach
Incr
easi
ng M
etho
dolo
gica
l Co
mpl
exity
and
Acc
urac
y
The Tier used is driven by significance of the flux and availability of data
For each source/sink category methods are provided at three tier levels:
Result• Credible• Reliable• Useful
Inventory
• Assessed for Uncertainties• Subject to QA/QC• Efficient use of resources• Uncertainties reduced over
time
TCCCA
• Transparent• Consistent• Complete• Comparable• Accurate
Inventory Quality Indicators and Good Practice Guidance
AFOLU Team:• USFS• ARS• CSU• NOAA• USGS• Contractor support
Agriculture and LULUCF• Census of Agriculture• NASS• FIA• NRI• NLCD• APHIS• MODIS• CTIC• Ag. Waste Mg. Hnbk.
Domestic and International Review Processes
• Annual Domestic Reviews– Expert and Public reviews
• Thirty days each• Not formal, as with regulatory
review
• Annual UNFCCC Reviews– Centralized in Bonn– In-Country by multidisciplinary
team– Annual review report developed
• Inventory team must respond to issues identified in the report
Technical Assessment of IPCC Guidelines
• Identify new emission sources, improvements to the methods and default emission factors
• Survey sent out to inventory experts asking for input• Expert meetings to evaluate survey results
– AFOLU meeting in July 2015—Sao Paulo, Brazil• US AFOLU “Dream” Team
– Chris Woodall/USFS: Forest Lands– Stephen Ogle/CSU: Croplands & Grasslands– Steve Del Grosso/ARS: Soil N2O– Lisamarie Wyndham-Myers/USGS: Wetlands– Jim Fourqurean/FIU: Coastal Wetlands– Jake Beaulieu/EPA: Reservoir CH4
– April Leytem/ARS: Manure CH4 and N2O– Ermias Kebreab/UC Davis: Enteric CH4
IPCC Guidance on Land Representation• Complete representation of the land base,
categorized into 6 IPCC LUCs
• Separate into managed and unmanaged land • Apply managed land definition• Under IPCC Guidance “managed” land
is a proxy for anthropogenic emissions
• Identify the land use conversions between lands• Lands remain in conversion category
for 20 years
• For all 36 LU/LUC categories estimate C stock changes by pool:• Above/below-ground biomass• Dead wood and litter• Soil organic matter• Non-CO2 emissions
US Managed Land Base
(1,000s ha’s)
• Includes all 50 states
• Excludes US Territories
• NRI data only goes through 2007
• C stock changes not estimated for entire managed land base:• Interior AK• HI• Federal Grasslands• Wetlands
U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks by Sector: 1990-2013
• Emissions grew 4.7% from 1990-2012• Downward trend since 2007
• CO2 (83%), CH4 (9%), N2O (6%) and HFCs, PFCs and SF6 (2%)
2013 AFOLU Emissions and Removals
Enteric CH4; 164.5
LCC CO2; 16.1
Liming CO2; 5.9
FBAR CH4/N2O; 0.4
Rice CH4; 8.3
Soil N2O (All
Lands); 265.8
Urea CO2; 4
Peat-lands CO2; 0.8
Forest Fires CH4/N2O; 9.6
Manure CH4/N2O; 78.7
GRG CO2; 12.1
2013 AFOLU Emissions (MMT CO2 eq.)
Enteric CH4 LCC CO2Liming CO2 FBAR CH4/N2ORice CH4 Soil N2O (All Lands)Urea CO2 Peatlands CO2Forest Fires CH4/N2O Manure CH4/N2OGRG CO2
FLRFL; 704.9
CRC; 23.4
LCG; 8.8
SRS/Urban Trees; 89.5
LFYTFS; 12.8
HWP; 70.8
2013 AFOLU Removals (MMT CO2 eq.)
FLRFL CRC LCG SRS/Urban Trees LFYTFS HWP
Final Points• US Inventory is one of the best in the world
– In large part due to programs such as FIA and NRI• Because it’s used to make/demonstrate compliance for our
int’l commitments, it’s important to make it even better• Improvements must be in line with the IPCC and UNFCCC
guidance• Significant improvements are underway
– Improved LU/LUC tracking and associated GHG fluxes– Decreased the latency in the reporting – Account for forest C stock changes in interior AK
• There is huge potential to improve by taking advantage of the data/technical that already exists
Thanks for listening!
Tom WirthUS EPAClimate Change Division(202) 343-9313
To download a copy of the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990-2013 at:
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html