United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC was adopted in 1992 and it entered into force in 1994. As of 24 May 2004, 189 Parties have ratified or acceded to the Convention, thus binding themselves to the Convention's terms.The Convention sets an ultimate objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system. It states that "such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner."
The UNFCCC addresses land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) through various channels, including commitments for countries to:
- produce national inventories of greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks;
- formulate and implement measures to mitigate climate change;
- promote sustainable management, conservation and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs of all GHG including biomass and forests;
- prepare for adaptation to the impacts of climate change, elaborate appropriate and integrated plans for the protection and rehabilitation of areas affected by drought and desertification.
National Reports to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The national communication (Article 12) is the main channel through which all Parties to the Convention report on steps they are taking to implement the Convention. National reporting requirements for developed countries (National Communications of Annex I Parties) are more detailed than guidelines for developing countries (National Communications of Non-Annex I Parties).In national communications, forest-related information is reported under each chapter, such as national circumstances, national inventory of emissions and removals by sinks, policies and measures, impacts, adaptation and vulnerability.
Forest-related reporting under UNFCCC
In meeting their commitments under Articles 4 and 12 of the Convention, Annex I Parties to the Convention submit to the secretariat annual national inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. These annual national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories cover emissions and removals of direct GHGs (CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF6) from six sectors (Energy, Industrial processes, Solvents, Agriculture, LULUCF and Waste), and are reported for all years from the base year or period to the most recent year. These inventories are subject to an annual technical review process. Under the UNFCCC reporting guidelines for Annex I Parties, inventory submissions are in two parts:- Common reporting format (CRF) - a series of standardized data tables containing mainly numerical information and submitted electronically.
- National Inventory Report (NIR) - a comprehensive description of the methodologies used in compiling the inventory, the data sources, the institutional structures and quality assurance and control procedures.
The UNFCCC Secretariat maintains a database of greenhouse gas emissions and removal data. The data are taken from the annual GHG inventory submissions of Annex I Parties as well as from the national communications submitted by non-Annex I Parties.
Methodologies for the preparation of national GHG inventories
The national GHG inventory is prepared following the new 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, produced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC Guidelines consist of five volumes with directions for calculating emissions from the six major emission source categories, information and methods for estimation of emissions and removals. Volume 4 is specifically dedicated to Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU). Default methodologies, emission factors and activity data are provided in the Guidelines for the estimation of greenhouse gas emissions and removals. Annex I Parties are encouraged to go beyond the default methods where possible and use their own national methodologies, emission factors and activity data that they consider as more appropriate for their national situation. These methodologies, emission factors and activity data should be developed in a manner consistent with the IPCC Guidelines and IPCC GPG.In addition, Annex I Parties should also use the IPCC Good Practice Guidance for LULUCF to improve transparency, consistency, comparability, completeness and accuracy of their LULUCF inventories. The GPG LULUCF provides tiered methodologies and guidance for reporting of six broad categories of land use in the annual GHG inventory submissions; these being forest land, cropland, grassland, wetlands, settlements and other lands. Land conversion between one land use to another is also reported (for example, forest land converted to cropland). Countries use their own definitions of these land use categories but may also refer to internationally accepted definitions. Only "managed lands" are reported. Under each of these land use categories, the carbon stock changes in broad pools are estimated. These pools include living biomass (above and below ground), dead wood and litter and soil organic matter (organic carbon in mineral and organic soils).
Forest-related Reporting Under the Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol sets emission limitation and reduction targets for developed countries and countries with economies in transition (Article 3.1). Article 7 of the Protocol requires Annex I Parties to submit annual greenhouse gas inventories, as well as national communications, at regular intervals, both including supplementary information to demonstrate compliance with Article 3.Two Articles allow Annex I Parties to meet their commitments under the Protocol through land use, land-use change and forestry activities. Eligible activities under Article 3.3 include afforestation, reforestation and/or deforestation that are direct human-induced and took place on or after 1990. Annex I Parties will also be allowed to elect additional activities, which include forest management, cropland management, grazing land management and revegetation (Article 3.4). These activities will generate removal units that can be used to meet Kyoto targets. The implementation of LULUCF activities under the Kyoto Protocol are bound by a set of definitions, modalities, rules, guidelines (Decision 11/CP.7: Land use, land-use change and forestry) and reporting requirements (Decision 22/CP.7: Guidelines for the preparation of the information required under article 7 of the Kyoto Protocol).
In addition, Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism allow for implementation of some forest-related project-based activities.
The COP, at its tenth session (December 2004),encouraged Parties to use the supplementary set of tables of the common reporting format for reporting their estimates of GHG emissions and removals resulting from LULUCF activities under Article 3.3 and 3.4 on a voluntary basis in 2007(Decision 15/CP.10, FCCC/CP/2004/10/Add.2). During the commitment period, the inventory on emissions and removals from these LULUCF activities will be submitted in updated tables of the CRF, which will be supplementary to the annual inventory under the Convention.
Go to: UNFCCC National Reports page
Last updated: april 2006