Working Group 3:
The GEO Carbon and GHG Initiative
Wrap-up

9th GEOSS AP Symposium
10-12 January 2017
Tokyo, Japan

Session overview
Introduction and Background
Observing the Carbon Cycle and GHG
Budget Calculations and Breakdown Across Scales
Synergies with other Initiatives (IG3IS, GFOI)
Policy linkages and discussion on user perspectives
Wrap-up

Monitoring the Global Carbon Cycle: a complex ensemble of different players,countries, systems, networks, datasets, methodologies, rules, standards, etc.
NASA CMSCEOS (GOSAT,OCO2, TanSat)

IAGOS

GAW

IG3IS
ICOSGCOS
GCP

SOCAt
ARGO
IOCCP
GLODAP
ICOS

NEON
ICOS
TCCON
inventories
GOOS
Blue Planet
Source: GEOCARBON project… and many
OTHERS!

Addressing multiple SDGs

Responding to the Paris Agreement
Article 4 and Article 13 – National Reporting• Reported five-yearly by parties, successive reductions in emissions• Using existing methods and guidance; not validation

Article 5 Mitigation• Knowledge of evolution of sinks and sources

Article 7 Adaptation• (7.6) Strengthening cooperation,• (7.7c) Research, systematic observation

Article 10 Technology Transfer& Article 11 Capacity Development
Article 14 Global stocktaking• in the light of equity and the best available science: 2023, 2028…

Article 15 ComplianceCarbon and GHG observations• CO2 monitoring from space (e.g. TanSat, GOSAT-1,GOSAT-2, OCO-2)
o Close cooperation envisaged to provide CO2 data continuously• Ground-based measurement networks (e.g. flux towers)o Assessment of Carbon Pools, Fluxes and Net Carbon balance forterrestrial biosphereo Validation of satellite data

• CONTRAIL project: monitoring GHG observations bycommercial airliners
o provides great number of GHG data in upper air; long record ofCO2 over Pacifico Aircraft data constrain CO2 fluxes especially in Asia

Carbon and GHG observations• Ocean measurements (e.g. from ships)
o Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT); international effort
o Helpful tool for understanding observed pCO2 variation and it isavailable to the publico Oceanic CO2 uptake increases rapidly after 2010.

• Important issue to have in mindo Observational gaps in Asia-Pacific (e.g. some large countries lackmeasurements of CO2 concentrations of adequate quality)Budget calculations and breakdown• Global Carbon Project (GCP) Regional Carbon Cycle
Assessment and Processes (RECCAP)• Global budgets of major greenhouse gases are being
produced by synthesizing a large amount of data sources,
involving hundreds of scientists• Future needs are proposed toward better assessments ofregional GHGs budgets and their trends• Scientific challenges:o Uncertainties in carbon budgets and fluxes (growing quickly forregional breakdowns)
o How much flux is to Land and Ocean??

Synergies with existing efforts• Integrated Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS)
o There is an immediate need for tools to assist in national emission
inventory assessmento How to get emissions: combination of bottom-up (IPCC reporting)and top-down measurements (Inverse modelling)o Best practice studies to be established as pilot projects
o Important building block of GEO-C• Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI)
o provides data on forest carbon; feeds into REDD+o need to strengthen linkages with GEO-C

Policy linkages• Increasing recognition of usefulness of satellite data (andEO data in general) for estimating national GHG
Inventories• IPCC 2006 Guidelines will be refined in 2019
• GEO can bring added value to the UNFCCC process byintegrating data across domains

User perspectives• Role for GEO Carbon and GHG Initiativeo Advocacy for the use of EO data in policy processes
o Provide guidance to users on how to use EO data (e.g.
explain bias and uncertainties)
o Improvement of data accesso Assessment of observational gaps (identify and raiseawareness)o Facilitate integration across domains (atm./oce./terr.
and satellite/in situ/models)o Identify new scientific challenges regarding climatechange research to be addressed in the near futureSummary points• Assessing the status of carbon and GHG related
observations in the Asia-Pacific region• Highlighting gaps and weaknesses in the Asia-Pacificregiono Need for improved in situ data coverageo Raise awareness of data availability and improve access• Opportunities to contribute to IPCC guidelines• Future planso Strengthen linkages with existing effortso UNFCCC: participate at SBSTA & COP meetings + Side Evento GEO-C kick-off meeting in 2017