2REPORTING THE NATIONALINVENTORYThis chapter contains step by step instructions for reporting a nationalgreenhouse gas inventory.

How To Report Your Inventory
At the end of these reporting instructions you should have•filled in the Sectoral Report Tables•

filled in the Summary Report and Overview Tables•

prepared an Inventory Report which contains the required numericaland text documentation (see step 5)

Do Step 1 if you have an existing inventory and would like to report it tothe IPCC. If you are working from a completed CORINAIR inventory (seeAnnex 2). If you are using the Workbook methods and you now want toreport your inventory, go directly to Step 2 to begin to fill out the Sectoral
Report Tables.
Remember that the Reference Manual (Volume 3) contains backgroundinformation and full explanations of the methodologies referred to here.

STEP 1 REVIEW THE IPCC COMMONREPORTING FRAMEWORKInventory Scope
You are requested to provide a complete inventory for 1990. This should
include all anthropogenic emissions by source and removals by sink ofgreenhouse gases and ozone precursors, except those covered by theMontreal Protocol.
You have the option to add other greenhouse gases or precursors to yourinventory report. If you add other gases you should use the IPCC source
category structure as far as possible. If you add or change the definitions of
any categories to report these additional gases, you should clearly explainthese changes. Use the spare copies of Tables 7A & 7B with blank column
headings to report these emissions. Countries that wish to report Montreal
Protocol substances for completeness may do so using this procedure.

Standard Units (pollutants, activity dataand emission factors)
All estimates should be reported in gigagrams (Gg) of the pollutant.
Preferred units for activity data, emission factors and other data areindicated in each of the worksheets of the Workbook (Volume 2).

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:

Reporting Instructions

2.1

REPORTING THE NATIONAL INVENTORY

Source/Sink Categories
Your emissions inventories should use the IPCC source/sink categories as
far as possible. The structure for reporting inventory information issummarised in the preceding chapter and in the Tables in this book.
Compare the IPCC source/sink categories (Chapter 1: Understanding theCommon Reporting Framework) with the categories already used in yournational inventory. Where there are differences it may be possible toallocate a larger category among appropriate smaller IPCC categories.
Alternatively, if there is no way to allocate the category, you could report
several of your smaller categories at a higher level of aggregation in theIPCC structure. .
If your inventory cannot be re-structured to fit the IPCC model, or if you
must show estimates under an "other" category, you should:•explain precisely where there are differences and what they are, and•explain precisely what is included in "other" categories.

Time Periods
Inventories are prepared on a calendar year basis. In the Agriculture andLand-Use Change/Forestry categories, it may be desirable to estimate
average emissions over a several year period. The Workbook methods
describe default recommendations which are summarised in the tablebelow.

2.2

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:

Reporting Instructions

REPORTING THE NATIONAL INVENTORYTABLE 2-1
TIME PERIODS
GREENHOUSE GAS SOURCE AND SINKPERIODCATEGORIES
1 Energy
A Fuel Combustion Activities

Yearly figures

B Fugitive Fuel Emission

Yearly figures

2 Industrial Processes

Yearly figures
Previous yearly figures

3 Solvent and Other Product Use

Yearly figures

4 Agriculture
A Enteric Fermentation
B Animal Wastes

Three-year average
Three-year average

C Rice Cultivation

Three-year average

D Agricultural Soils
E Prescribed Burning ofSavannas
F Field Burning of Agricultural
Residues

Three-year average
Three-year average
Three-year average

5 Land-Use Change/Forestry
A Changes in Forest and OtherWoody Biomass Stocks
B Forest and GrasslandConversion- Immediate release from onsite burning- Delayed release from decay

Three-year average

C Abandonment of Managed
Lands

Cumulative figures over previous
20 years
Total figures more than 20 years
agoYearly figures
Previous 20 year figures

D6 Waste

CO2 Emissions and Removals
from soil

Three-year averagePrevious 10 years average

Yearly figures

Review these assumptions and be prepared to:•

explain if, and precisely where, your inventory has different time period
assumptions, and•explain the reasoning why the averaging periods were chosen.

STEP 2 FILL IN THE SECTORAL AND
SUMMARY REPORT TABLES
You should fill in Sectoral and Summary Report Tables for the main
source/sink categories that you have included in your inventory. If your data
do not conform to the IPCC source/sink category structure, you should

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:

Reporting Instructions

2.3

REPORTING THE NATIONAL INVENTORY

clearly footnote on the corresponding table(s) any differences and provide
an explanation of the differences in the documentation note of theinventory. If you have estimated ranges of uncertainty for emission or
supporting data, read Task (c) of this step before beginning.
Task a: Complete Sectoral Report Tables.
EITHER: transfer emission estimates data from worksheets
ORCONVERTING CORINAIR
INVENTORIESCORINAIR is one type of detailed
inventory system. Guidance forconverting a CORINAIR Inventory
into an IPCC inventory is given inAnnex 2.

convert your existing inventory data into Sectoral Report format(Tables 1 to 6). As explained above under Step 1, this may
require transforming your data to fit the IPCC source/sink
category structure.

Task b: Complete Summary Report Tables.
This is done by transferring data from the Sectoral Report Tables into
Summary Report Tables 7A & 7B.
Task c: Report Uncertainty Ranges
An approach to estimating the uncertainty associated with point emission
estimates and emission factors is described in Annex 1.
If you have ranges of uncertainty for point emission estimates bysource/sink of greenhouse gas, as well as for emission factors or activity
data, you can report the ranges by using the same Sectoral and Summary
Report Tables. These tables should be in addition to the point estimatesthat are requested in Task (a) and (b) of this Step (above).
If you have ranges that you would like to report, please:•make copies of the Sectoral or Summary Report Tables.

•mark them clearly with a heading "UNCERTAINTY RANGES" and thecorresponding uncertainty area, e.g. EMISSION ESTIMATES, EMISSION
FACTORS and/or ACTIVITY DATA.

•

for each data point fill in the ranges if available.

STEP 3

VERIFICATION

Task a: Checking Results
Countries are asked to carry out the following types of verification andsummarise results (in text form) in the inventory report:•checks for arithmetic errors•checks of country estimates against independently published estimates•checks of national activity data with international statistics (default data)•checks of CO2 emissions from fuel combustion calculated using national
methods with the IPCC Reference Approach (see below).

Further verification checks that may be done centrally, or assisted centrally
are:
•

2.4

cross-country comparisons of estimates through use of a single set ofsource categories

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:

Reporting Instructions

REPORTING THE NATIONAL INVENTORY•

cross-country comparisons of emission factors

A more detailed sample set of questions for countries to consider inreviewing the quality of their own inventories is provided below.
Verification
In completing the inventory you should also make a report in which you summarise
the verification procedures you have used. This report should include an overall
assessment of the quality and completeness of each of the main source and sink
estimates for each greenhouse gas. You should ask yourself the following questions
about your inventory when attempting to provide an overall assessment of theinventory’s quality and completeness.
Method•Is the approach well documented and reproducible?

•Have results been checked against other methods of estimation?

•Are measurement data part of the estimate? If so, has the source activity beensummarised in part (for the remaining non-measured part of the activity) andhas it been summarised in total? Have you verified that the emissions from agiven activity are not included in several source categories?

Emission estimates•

Have any estimates been compared with measured emission and concentrationdata?

•In some instances it is possible to cross-check emission estimates against
roughly comparable statistics (e.g. for NMVOC, solvent production + imports- exports should equal total of applications). Have these checks been doneand if so how do these data compare?

•Have results been compared for reasonableness with outside or independently
published estimates? This could include comparison with estimates from acountry of similar size or economic profile.

Activity data assumptions•Does the level of activity reported cross-check reasonably well with othersources of information on this activity, e.g. with international statistics?

•Do units match emission factors reported?

Emission factors•Do emission factors represent operating cycles or conditions from the region
reporting?

•Are the sources of emission factors well documented? Are the conventions
the same as those found in the activity data e.g. using net calorific value?

•Have emission factors been compared with other sources (taking into accounttechnologies, maintenance, operating cycles, or other conditions that may
influence emission factors)?

If you have already performed some verification, please describe what you
did and what you found.

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:

Reporting Instructions

2.5

REPORTING THE NATIONAL INVENTORY

Task b: CO2 from Fuel Combustion - Standard Verification
With respect to CO2 emissions from energy, all users are asked to provide
a standard set of information that will assist the verification process. Thismeans that:•Users who have estimated their CO2 emissions from energy using theReference Approach outlined in Volume 2 of the Guidelines should
include the worksheets used to estimate these emissions in thedocumentation submitted with their inventory.

•Users who have used their own methodology or the IPCC Sectoral
Approach to estimate CO2 emissions from energy should present theresults of their work in the Sectoral Table for Energy provided in theReporting Instructions, along with the worksheets used forcalculations. They should also estimate their CO2 emissions fromenergy using the Reference Approach provided in Volume 2 of theGuidelines. It is recommended that users provide (in text form) anexplanation for any significant differences between these two sets ofresults.

Task c: Assessing Quality
Prepare a brief self-assessment of the quality of the resulting inventory and ofthe verification that has been performed. A simplified format for reporting onthe quality and completeness of the inventory is suggested in the Overview
Table and Disaggregation Key (Tables 8A and 8B) in this book. This should be
included with the other tables in the Inventory Report.

2.6

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:

Reporting Instructions

REPORTING THE NATIONAL INVENTORYSTEP 4

DOCUMENTATION STANDARDSDOCUMENTATION

Prepare text to accompany the inventory which should:•describe any differences from IPCC source/sink category structure;•describe any differences from IPCC default methods for the estimationof greenhouse gases and precursors;•

clearly describe the estimation methods, as well as major assumptions
that may not have been captured in the worksheets , for all greenhousegases contained in the inventory;•

provide complete references to all data sources used to construct theinventory;•

highlight any new or interesting data sources, references or researchfindings used to construct the inventory;•describe any significant changes in emission factors and otherassumptions from those used in previous inventories that have beensubmitted.

You are also invited to report any difficulties you faced in developing andreporting the inventory (e.g. lack of data, lack of resources etc.).

STEPTHE

5 ASSEMBLING
INVENTORYAND

TRANSMITTING

Assemble all elements of the National Inventory, including:•

Sectoral Report Tables•

Summary Report Tables•

Overview Table•

Uncertainty Estimates (if available)•

Written documentation•

Computer diskette containing data (if applicable)•Any supporting documents

IPCC/OECD/IEA PROGRAMME FOR NATIONAL
GHG INVENTORY.
OECD, Environment Directorate
2, rue André-Pascal
75775 PARIS CEDEX 16
FRANCE

Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories:• If worksheets from Volume 2 ofthe Guidelines have been used toestimate greenhouse gas emissions
in the inventory, these worksheets
should be part of the documentation
includedin
theinventory
submission. Comparable worksheets
should be provided when estimation
procedures other than the IPCC
Guidelines are used.
• Documentation should containenough information to explain
differences
betweennational
methods and data, and the IPCC
default methods and assumptions.
Reasons for the differences should
be explained and sources ofemission factors and other national
data should also be clearly cited.
Minimum requirements include:
emission factors, activity data, and alist of references documenting any
differences from IPCC recommendations.
• Measurement studies containing
new values should be referenced,
and made available upon request. It
is preferable that new emission
factors be taken from publishedsources.

Mail the complete package to:

FAX: (33-1) 45 24 78 76• National inventory reports should
provide minimum information toenable
theresultsto
bereconstructed, and to justify thechoice of methodology and dataused. This means, for example, thatto the extent possible, activity data
should be provided at the level ofdetail at which the emissions areestimated.

•Any significant changes inemission
factorsandotherassumptions from those used inprevious inventories that have been
submitted
shouldbeclearlyreferenced and explained.
• Documentation should be kept
for future years (by the country andby the IPCC) and countries areencouraged
topublish
thedocumentation of their inventories.
This extensive record keeping willfacilitate the recalculation ofhistorical inventory estimates whenchanges in national methods orassumptions occur.

Reporting Instructions

2.7