New RALI Paper Highlights Tools to Strengthen Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories
National greenhouse gas inventories are critical for compliance with international reporting requirements on climate commitments, and to guide and monitor policy formulation and implementation for effective green growth.
Increasingly, these inventories are also being developed and used by states, municipalities, corporations, and organizations to better understand and manage their emissions and/or comply with emission reduction obligations. Yet many struggle with preparing emission inventories and ensuring they are sufficiently robust.
USAID’s RALI project described the benefits of a robust GHG inventory in a recent white paper, shining a light on three publicly available tools that demonstrably build capacity for improved emission inventories:
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (US EPA’s) “Developing a National Greenhouse Gas Inventory System” workbook
- US EPA’s inventory toolkit, and
- USAID’s National GHG Inventory System curriculum.
The paper describes each tool, along with the benefits it brings to inventory preparers at the national, municipal, and organizational levels. These tools systematically teach the vital processes of inventory management from start to finish by providing a comprehensive list of steps that sets the gold standard for inventory preparation. Used in tandem, these tools help inventory teams improve the quality of their inventory and instill a process that will increase the efficiency of inventory development over time.
The white paper is part of a new series launched by the USAID RALI project which is aimed at sharing examples of low emission development strategies in practice, including the economic, social, and environmental benefits and lessons learned.
Read the full paper here.
Joshua Forgotson
Joshua Forgotson is a Senior Climate Change and Sustainability Consultant at ICF, a global professional services firm that delivers consulting services and technology solutions in energy, climate change, and other areas. Josh specializes in national and project-level greenhouse gas emission methodologies and inventories, renewable energy, low emission development, energy efficiency, capacity building, and program management. He has supported numerous activities for USAID and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In 2017, he supported the Millennium Challenge Account–Indonesia’s Green Prosperity Project by estimating the greenhouse gas reductions of activities involving reforestation, agroforestry, rice cultivation, nitrogen management, and renewable energy.
Pamela Cookson
Pamela Cookson is a Senior Manager at ICF, a global professional services firm that delivers consulting services and technology solutions in energy, climate change, and other areas. Pamela manages the development of demand-driven tools for low emission development under the USAID Resources to Advance LEDS Implementation (RALI) Project, including tools and approaches related to national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions accounting, cost-benefit analysis, GHG mitigation, and more. She has 18 years of experience in GHG mitigation and accounting, stratospheric ozone protection, and corporate sustainability.
Marian Van Pelt
Marian Van Pelt is a Vice President at ICF, a global professional services firm that delivers consulting services and technology solutions in energy, climate change, and other areas. Marian currently leads ICF’s climate, energy efficiency, and transportation line of business. Nominated by the United States to the UNFCCC's Roster of Experts, Marian is an internationally recognized expert in greenhouse gas emission inventories. She is working to support low emission development strategies through designing tools and training to quantify emissions and develop and track the impact of clean energy and other reduction policies. A key focus area of her portfolio is to help increase the transparency of greenhouse gas reduction commitments and nationally determined contributions.