2019 Refinement to the2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Edited by Eduardo Calvo Buendia, Kiyoto Tanabe, Andrej Kranjc,Baasansuren Jamsranjav, Maya Fukuda, Sekai Ngarize,Akira Osako, Yurii Pyrozhenko, Pavel Shermanau and Sandro Federici

Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

A report prepared by the Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) of the IPCC and accepted by
the Panel but not approved in detail.

Whilst the information in this IPCC Report is believed to be true and accurate at the date of going to press, neither
the authors nor the publishers can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions. Neither
the authors nor the publishers have any responsibility for the persistence of any URLs referred to in this report andcannot guarantee that any content of such web sites is or will remain accurate or appropriate.

Published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
© The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2019.
When using the guidelines please cite as:
IPCC 2019, 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, CalvoBuendia, E., Tanabe, K., Kranjc, A., Baasansuren, J., Fukuda, M., Ngarize, S., Osako, A., Pyrozhenko, Y.,
Shermanau, P. and Federici, S. (eds). Published: IPCC, Switzerland.

IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
Technical Support Unit
℅ Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
2108 -11, Kamiyamaguchi
Hayama, Kanagawa
JAPAN, 240-0115
nggip-tsu@iges.or.jp
www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp

ISBN 978-4-88788-232-4

The designations employed and the presentation of material on maps do not imply the expression of any opinion
whatsoever on the part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concerning the legal status of any
country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Contents

Contents

Foreword
Preface
Dedication
Overview
Glossary
List of Contributors
Volume 1 General Guidance and Reporting
Volume 2 Energy
Volume 3 Industrial Processes and Product Use
Volume 4 Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use
Volume 5 Waste

2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventoriesiii

Foreword

Foreword
National greenhouse gas inventories are essential tools for countries to transparently report their anthropogenic
emissions and removals of greenhouse gases. They provide a fundamental basis for mutual trust and confidence
among countries that are needed for effective implementation of international agreements to address climatechange. They are also essential tools in developing policies and in monitoring impact. They provide invaluable
information for those developing policies related to climate change.
The Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) develop, periodically
update and publish their national greenhouse gas inventories, using comparable methodologies to be agreed uponby the Conference of the Parties. The “comparable methodologies” agreed on are those produced by theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Further, the Parties to the Paris Agreement decided inDecember 2018 that each Party shall use the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, andshall use any subsequent version or refinement of the IPCC guidelines agreed upon by the Conference of the Parties
serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA).
The 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2019 Refinement)
has been produced by the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) and adopted/acceptedby the IPCC at its 49th Session in May 2019. Its overall aim is to provide an updated and sound scientific basis forsupporting the preparation and continuous improvement of national greenhouse gas inventories. It provides
supplementary methodologies for sources and sinks of greenhouse gases where gaps have been identified, where
new technologies and production processes have emerged requiring elaborated methodologies, or for sources andsinks that are not well covered by the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. It also provides updated default values of emission
factors and other parameters based on the latest available science. Wherever possible, it provides additional or
alternative up-to-date information and guidance, as clarification or elaboration of existing guidance in the 2006
IPCC Guidelines.
This report is the result of almost three years of work by over 280 scientists and experts from 47 countries. Its
development has depended on the expertise, knowledge and co-operation of the Coordinating Lead Authors, LeadAuthors, Review Editors and Contributing Authors. We wish to thank these authors for their commitment, timeand efforts in preparing this report throughout all the drafting and reviewing stages of the IPCC process. We alsowish to thank the governments and agencies that hosted the Lead Author meetings for this Methodology Report,
namely: the Governments of Australia, Italy, Japan, Spain, and Zimbabwe; the Basque country government withthe assistance of the Basque Center for Climate Change and the University of the Basque Country; and the Foodand Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The steering group led by the TFI Co-Chairs Eduardo Calvo Buendia and Kiyoto Tanabe has guided thedevelopment of these guidelines, ensuring consistency across all the volumes and continuity with the 2006 IPCC
Guidelines. We would therefore wish to thank them for their considerable efforts in leading and guiding the report
preparation, as well as the members of the TFI Bureau for their support. In addition, the TFI Technical Support
Unit (TSU) worked extensively with the authors especially in the editing of the various drafts and preparing of thefinal version, and the IPCC Secretariat provided assistance and support in enabling this project to meet its tightdeadlines. We thank them for their excellent work.

Petteri Taalas

Inger Andersen

Secretary-General

Executive Director

World Meteorological Organisation

United Nations Environment Programmeiv

2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Preface

Preface
The Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) was established by the Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change (IPCC) at its 14th Session (October 1998) to oversee the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas
Inventories Programme.
The Bureau of the IPCC TFI (TFB) concluded at its 28th meeting in August 2014 that:•The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2006 IPCC Guidelines) provide atechnically sound methodological basis of national greenhouse gas inventories, and therefore fundamental
revision is unnecessary.

•To maintain the scientific validity of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, certain refinements may be required, taking
into account scientific and other technical advances that have matured sufficiently since 2006.

Following these conclusions by the TFB and approval by the IPCC at its 40th Session in October 2014, the TFIstarted a technical assessment of IPCC Inventory Guidelines through an on-line questionnaire survey and fourexpert meetings in 2015 and 2016. The technical assessment revealed that there had been abundant new scientificand empirical knowledge published since 2006 that the IPCC should take into account, particularly with respect
to data for emission factor development for some categories and gases.
Based on the decision of the IPCC at its 43rd Session in April 2016, a Scoping Meeting was held in Minsk, Belarus,
in August 2016, to prepare an outline of the Methodology Report to refine the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.
The conclusions of this Scoping Meeting were submitted to the IPCC for consideration at its 44th Session inOctober 2016. At this session, IPCC decided to prepare a Methodology Report with the following title and format:•The format should be one single Methodology Report comprising an Overview Chapter and five volumes
following the format of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2006 IPCCGuidelines).

•The title of the Methodology Report should be “2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories”.

Its overall aim was to provide an updated and sound scientific basis for supporting the preparation and continuous
improvement of national greenhouse gas inventories.
The 2019 Refinement does not revise the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, but update, supplement and/or elaborate the 2006
IPCC Guidelines where gaps or out-of-date science have been identified. It will not replace the 2006 IPCC
Guidelines. It should be used in conjunction with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.
This report was produced fully in accordance with the Appendix A to the Principles Governing IPCC Work:
Procedures for the Preparation, Review, Acceptance, Adoption, Approval and Publication of IPCC Reports. Morethan 280 scientists and experts from 47 countries contributed for three years to development of this report.
Completion of this report was not possible without the expertise, knowledge and co-operation of the Coordinating
Lead Authors, Lead Authors, Review Editors and Contributing Authors as well as the overall guidance provided
by the steering group 1. We wish to thank these authors and experts for their commitment, time and efforts in
preparing this report throughout all the drafting and reviewing stages of the IPCC process.
Lead Author meetings were held in 2017 and 2018 in Bilbao (Spain) 2 , Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) 3 , Cairns(Australia) 4 and Rome (Italy) 5. In addition, small meetings of authors were held in 2019 in Kyoto (Japan) 6,
1 The steering group consisted of TFI Co-Chairs and G. H. Sabin Guendehou, Bundit Limmeechokchai, Riitta Kristiina Pipatti,Yasna Rojas, Rob Sturgiss and Thomas Charles Wirth.
2 Hosted by the government of Spain and the Basque country government with the assistance of the Basque Center for Climate

Change and the University of the Basque Country.
3 Hosted by the government of Zimbabwe.
4 Hosted by the government of Australia.
5 Hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the government of Italy.
6 Hosted by the government of Japan.

2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventoriesv

Preface

preparatory to the 49th Session of the IPCC where this report was adopted/accepted. We would therefore like tothank the host countries and agencies for organizing these meetings. We would also like to thank all governmentsthat supported authors and reviewers, without their contributions, the production of this report might not have beenpossible.
Three reviews of these guidelines were made in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The first, an expert review, produced close
to 5000 comments, the second, a combined governmental and expert review, resulted in over 4000 comments,
while the third, government review, brought an additional almost 1600 comments. The efforts of the reviewers
and their comments have contributed greatly to the quality of the final report and we wish to thank themaccordingly. Furthermore, the Review Editors have ensured the appropriate consideration of all the comments
received, so we would also like to thank them for their work.
In addition, the TFI Technical Support Unit (TSU: Head: Andrej Kranjc (until June 2019), Sandro Federici (fromJuly 2019); Senior Programme Officer: Baasansuren Jamsranjav; Programme Officers: Maya Fukuda, Sekai
Ngarize, Akira Osako, Yurii Pyrozhenko and Pavel Shermanau; IT Officer: Toru Matsumoto; and AdministrativeOfficers: Koh Mikuni and Eriko Nakamura) has provided guidance and assistance as well as technical andorganisational support for the project. They worked extensively with the authors especially in the editing of thevarious drafts and preparing of the final version, and we wish to congratulate them for their excellent work. We
would also like to express our gratitude to the Government of Japan as well as the Institute for Global
Environmental Strategies (IGES) for its generous support for the TSU, without which this report might not havebeen completed.
We would also like to thank the IPCC Secretariat (Jesbin Baidya, Laura Biagioni, Annie Courtin, Oksana Ekzarkho,
Judith Ewa, Joelle Fernandez, Jonathan Lynn, Nina Peeva, Sophie Schlingemann, Mxolisi Shongwe and Werani
Zabula) for their assistance and support in enabling this project to meet its tight deadlines.
Finally, we would like to thank IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee, IPCC Secretary Abdalah Mokssit, IPCC Deputy
Secretary Kerstin Stendahl, and the TFB members: Fahmuddin Agus, Dominique Blain, Fatma Betül Demirok,Darío Gómez, Ghislain Hippolyte Sabin Guendehou, Bundit Limmeechokchai, Riitta Kristiina Pipatti, YasnaRojas, Batouli Said Abdallah, Rob Sturgiss, Thomas Charles Wirth, and Irina Yesserkepova for their support.

Eduardo Calvo Buendia

Kiyoto Tanabe

Co-Chair

Co-ChairTask Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Changevi

2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

Dedication

Dedication

James Michael Penman(5 June 1950 – 8 September 2016)
The 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is dedicated to the memory of James Michael Penman, anoutstanding scientist with over thirty years of national and international experience in science, energy andenvironment.
Dr. Jim Penman was one of the first members of the Task Force Bureau, where he played a key role in the workof the Climate Panel’s Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. His soft, constructive and reasoned
views in Task Force work were highly respected by all the Task Force Bureau members and experts whoparticipated in Task Force activities.
He was the Interim Co-Chair of the Task Force Bureau’s first session in 1999, and continued as a Bureau member
till 2015. He co-chaired the project that produced the IPCC Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management
in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories published in 2000. He was a member of the steering group that produced
the IPCC’s Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry published in 2003.
Jim was a member of the steering group that produced the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas
Inventories, which Annex I Parties to the UNFCCC use to estimate emission and removals of greenhouse gases intheir national inventory submissions.
Jim was also one of the leading members of the group that led the production of the Climate Panel’s latest
Methodology Reports: the 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas
Inventories: Wetlands and the 2013 Revised Supplementary Methods and Good Practice Guidance Arising fromthe Kyoto Protocol.
He was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 2009 in recognition of hiswork on establishing the United Kingdom emissions mitigation evidence base, and in international negotiations.
He is greatly missed by the scientific community both in the UK and internationally.

2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventoriesvii