Barbara V. Braatz - Böcker

As atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases continue to increase, so does the potential for atmospheric warming and associated climate change. In an effort to address the threat of global climate change, 155 countries signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. As of the first session of the conference of the parties, 128 nations had ratified the convention. Among their other commitments, parties to the convention must develop and periodically update national inventories of net anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions using comparable methodologies, and must develop and implement national programs to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. To further the development of emission inventories and mitigation options within the African context, 64 governmental and non-governmental scientists and policy analysts from 23 nations gathered at a workshop near Johannesburg, South Africa from 29 May to 2 June 1995.The workshop focused on forestry, land-use change, and agriculture, because these sectors not only are responsible for the majority of emissions from the continent and provide promising opportunities for emissions mitigation, but also are a vital component of African economic growth and development. This work presents the workshop's major conclusions and findings, as well as individual papers that were prepared for the workshop, each of which was peer-reviewed and accepted for publication as part of the workshop process. The papers cover four areas: (1) issues are associated with data collection and emission factor determination; (2) problems associated with applying the IPCC inventory methodologies in Africa; (3) results of national inventory assessments in Africa; and (4) possible emissions mitigation options and methods for evaluating their potential viability.

International concern for the continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions, and the potentially damaging consequences of resultant global climate change, led to the signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by 155 nations at the Earth Summit in June 1992. The Convention came into force on 21 March 1994, three months after receiving its 50th ratification. All Parties to the Convention are required to compile, periodically update, and publish national inventories of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and sinks using comparable methodologies. In support of this process, the US Country Studies Program (US CSP) is providing financial and technical assistance to 56 developing and transition countries for conducting national inventories. This book presents the results of preliminary national inventories prepared by countries participating in the US CSP that are ready to share their interim findings. In some cases, inventories were prepared with support from other organizations. Preliminary inventories of twenty countries in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, and Latin America are presented, as well as regional and global syntheses of the national results. The regional and global syntheses also discuss results of eleven other preliminary national inventories that have been published elsewhere with the assistance of other programs. Results are discussed in the context of national and regional socioeconomic characteristics, and the regional and global syntheses compare national inventory estimates to other published estimates that are based largely on international databases. Papers also discuss inventory development issues, such as data collection and emission factor determination, and problems associated with applying the IPCC inventory methodologies. The preliminary inventory results reported here represent significant progress towards meeting country commitmentsunder the Framework Convention, and provide useful information for refining international greenhouse gas emission databases and improving inventory methodologies. As the first book to compile national greenhouse gas emission estimates prepared by national experts in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, this will be an invaluable resource to scientists, policymakers, and development specialists in national, regional and global anthropogenic sources and sinks of greenhouse gases.

International concern for the continued growth of greenhouse gas emissions, and the potentially damaging consequences of resultant global climate change, led to the signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by 155 nations at the Earth Summit in June 1992. The Convention came into force on 21 March 1994, three months after receiving its 50th ratification. All Parties to the Convention are required to compile, periodically update, and publish national inventories of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and sinks using comparable methodologies. In support of this process, the US Country Studies Program (US CSP) is providing financial and technical assistance to 56 developing and transition countries for conducting national inventories. This book presents the results of preliminary national inventories prepared by countries participating in the US CSP that are ready to share their interim findings. In some cases, inventories were prepared with support from other organizations. Preliminary inventories of twenty countries in Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States, and Latin America are presented, as well as regional and global syntheses of the national results. The regional and global syntheses also discuss results of eleven other preliminary national inventories that have been published elsewhere with the assistance of other programs. Results are discussed in the context of national and regional socioeconomic characteristics, and the regional and global syntheses compare national inventory estimates to other published estimates that are based largely on international databases. Papers also discuss inventory development issues, such as data collection and emission factor determination, and problems associated with applying the IPCC inventory methodologies. The preliminary inventory results reported here represent significant progress towards meeting country commitmentsunder the Framework Convention, and provide useful information for refining international greenhouse gas emission databases and improving inventory methodologies. As the first book to compile national greenhouse gas emission estimates prepared by national experts in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, this will be an invaluable resource to scientists, policymakers, and development specialists in national, regional and global anthropogenic sources and sinks of greenhouse gases.