IPCC
The IPCC assesses the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change.
The main activity of the IPCC is to provide at regular intervals Assessment Reports of the state of knowledge on climate change. The latest one is "Climate Change 2007", the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report.
The IPCC produces also Special Reports; Methodology Reports; Technical Papers; and Supporting Material, often in response to requests from the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, or from other environmental Conventions.
The preparation of all IPCC reports and publications follows strict procedures agreed by the Panel. The work is guided by the IPCC Chair and the Working Group and Task Force Co-chairs. Hundreds of experts from all over the world contribute to the preparation of IPCC reports as authors, contributors and reviewers. The composition of author teams reflect a range of views, expertise and geographical representation. Review by governments and experts is an essential element of the preparation of IPCC reports.
[edit] IPCC Guidelines
The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2006 IPCC Guidelines) are the recommended scientific guidance for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. They were published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in five volumes and provide methodologies for estimating national inventories of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases.
- The availability of a number of differing "tiers" of calculation methods: For various categories of emission sources, there are several ways of calculating the emissions, described as tiers (e.g. Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3), and each tier has an associated increasing level of detail and accuracy.
- The encouragement of the use of specific emission factors or data: To evaluate GHG(greenhouse gas) emissions, "default emission factors" are provided for many different fuels and activities. These default emission factors are considered to be less accurate than country- specific and, in turn, process-specific factors. Reporters are encouraged to use emission factors and data specific to a country10 or, better yet, an industry or technology.
- A focus on the prioritization of effort: The IPCC suggests that the most effort on quantifying emissions should be spent on those sources that are the most critical — i.e. those that make up the largest quantity, are responsible for the greatest increase or decrease or have associated with them the highest level of uncertainty.
Although comprehensive and rigorous, the IPCC Guidelines maintain a flexible approach to GHG calculation procedures. The prioritization of emission sources of greatest importance is also emphasized. In prioritizing the work, these guidelines recognize that the more specific the emission factor or methodology (in terms of geography, facility or process), the better the emission estimate will be.
