501 IPCC: Introduction to Cross-Cutting Issues
$275 – $435
This course is a rigorous introduction to the Institute’s series on greenhouse gas inventories using the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. You will learn the fundamental processes and techniques for compiling an inventory of GHG emissions and removals before you learn to estimate emissions and removals from specific sectors and activities in the other courses in this series.
The impact of human activities on the global climate has been irrefutably recorded and documented by the scientific community. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, human activities result in emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons, which accumulate in the atmosphere, causing concentrations to increase with time. Significant increases in all of these gases have been recorded during the industrial era and these increases are attributable to human activities.
National and international efforts to reduce the human impact on the global climate rely on knowing the amount of emissions released and of the carbon absorbed as result of human intervention. GHG inventories provide information that is vital for the design of policies and measures to both reduce emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and to enhance their removal in forests and other lands.
Compiling a GHG inventory can be described as the systematic approach to record and account for the contribution of human activities to global net greenhouse gas emissions. The quality of your inventory data relies on the use of appropriate methodologies, reliable statistical information and representative factors to derive emissions and removals.
In this course you will learn the importance of, and how to establish, institutional arrangements for your GHG inventory, how to identify the most important activities and how to select appropriate estimation methodologies. You will also learn how to calculate the uncertainty of your estimates, how to ensure that your inventory is as complete as possible, and how to establish quality assurance/quality control and verification procedures. In sum, upon completion you will know the state-of-the-art practices for developing high-quality emissions and removals data established by the international expert community.
Course Lessons:
- Course introduction
- Introduction to GHG inventory guidelines
- Approaches to data collection
- Uncertainties
- Methodological choice and identification of key categories
- Time series consistency
- Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Verification
- GHG inventory tools
- The course includes quizzes and exercises to help you learn to apply key lessons.
Approximate number of working hours to complete: 40
Recommended Effort: 3-5 hours a day over the course of 5-8 days, depending on your goals. More time may be needed to complete important exercises in Lessons 4 & 5.
Availability: This course is available online, 24/7
Level: Introductory
Languages: English, French y Spanish
Certificate of Proficiency: Yes, available and requires the passing of an exam for an additional fee.
Who should attend: This course is designed for anyone using, developing or working with greenhouse emissions and removal estimation and GHG inventories. It is recommended that you have some prior knowledge of technical and policy matters related to climate change (i.e., basic concepts of climate science, greenhouse gases, radiative forcing, etc.). But it is not necessary to have extensive prior experience in GHG inventories or GHG accounting. Upon completion, you will have expert level knowledge and skills necessary to use and/or prepare GHG inventories.
Course Applicability: A unique aspect of this series of courses is that it is applicable to all GHG measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) programs and accounting frameworks, including:
- National
- Sub-national (province, state, municipality)
- Sectoral/program/policy (NAMAs, REDD+)
- Entity (organization, company, or individual)
- Product/Supply chain/Technology (life-cycle)
- Facility/Installation
- Project/Activity
“It’s a great course that serve me to understand more about the process on the planning and implementation of a GHG inventory system. Currently nationally we are working on that so it was perfect.”
– Alfonso Eduardo Cordova Rau, Peru
“I found it a basic starting point for anyone getting started in GHG Inventories.”
– German Mandez, Spain
“The exercises for uncertainty, key category and gap analysis were very useful.”
– Christine Anderson, New Zealand
“As a technician of the Ministry of Agriculture in Argentina, my objective is to create and coordinate a group who supports the work of the greenhouse gases inventory and the development of mitigation actions. Considering that this topic is totally new for the Ministry, creation of capacity building is fundamental. This is the reason why I have taken 2 courses with the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute: 501 Introduction to cross cutting issues on GHG inventories, and 531 IPCC: Agriculture. Taking these courses while working gave me the opportunity to apply and focus on the methodologies I learned. Completing the courses requires dedication and a good understanding of the methodologies, which is a guarantee due to the quality offered by the Institute. I’m really grateful for the opportunity of having this experience, and I hope I will stay connected with the Institute.”
– Andres Said, Argentina
The course was developed by the GHG Management Institute with the support of the USAID Low Emission Asian Development (LEAD) program.
Instructor
Olia Glade
Olia is the Director for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Systems, bringing the expertise in natural science, education, greenhouse gas reporting and review under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol, and …
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