Indicator 13.2.2 Total greenhouse gas emissions per year

Indicator 13.2.2: Total greenhouse gas emissions per year

Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning

UN Climate Change (UNFCCC Secretariat)

Definition, rationale and concepts:

The ultimate objective of the Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) is to achieve the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Estimating the levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals is an important element of the efforts to achieve this objective.

In accordance with Articles 4 and 12 of the Climate Change Convention and the relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties, countries that are Parties to the Convention submit national GHG inventories to the Climate Change secretariat. These submissions are made in accordance with the reporting requirements adopted under the Convention, such as the revised “Guidelines for the preparation of national communications by Parties included in Annex I to the Convention, Part I: UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual greenhouse gas inventories” (decision 24/CP.19) for Annex I Parties and “Guidelines for the preparation of national communications for non-Annex I Parties” (decision 17/CP.8). The inventory data are provided in the annual GHG inventory submissions by Annex I Parties and in the national communications and biennial update reports by non-Annex I Parties.

The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 marks the latest step in the evolution of the UN climate change regime and builds on the work undertaken under the Convention. Its central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Agreement also aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.

Mt CO₂-equivalent

• Annual GHG inventory submissions from Annex I Parties

• National communications (NC) and/or Biennial update reports (BUR) from non-Annex I Parties

Parties to the UNFCCC

Data is limited to Parties that submit their GHG inventories. As the reporting requirements for non-Annex I Parties are not as rigid as those for Annex I Parties, information for these Parties are available usually only for selected years.

The annual timing of submission of updated inventory reports is very close to publication date of annual SDG progress reports.

Total GHG emissions are calculated as the sum of emissions of direct GHGs: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3), measured in units of CO2-equivalent, by using a common weighting factor, the so-called Global Warming Potentials (GWP). In accordance with the latest reporting guidelines for Annex I Parties under the UNFCCC, the GWP values to be used are those for the 100-year time horizon listed in Table 2.14 of the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar4/wg1/). However, non-Annex I Parties should use the GWP provided in the IPCC Second Assessment Report (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ipcc-second-assessment-full-report/) based on the effects of GHGs over a 100-year time.

2021-03-01

UN Climate Change (UNFCCC Secretariat)