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2 BASIC CONCEPTS FOR REPORTING EMISSIONS

1. 2.1 Relationship with UNFCCC and IPCC
2. 2.2 Key Elements in Calculating Emissions
3. 2.3 Prioritizing Efforts
4. 2.4 Biomass Emission Considerations
   1. 2.4.1 Combustion of Biomass
   2. 2.4.2 Non-combustion of Biomass
5. 2.5 Auditing and Verification

2.1 Relationship with UNFCCC and IPCC

The federal government, specifically Environment Canada, is responsible for developing and reporting a reliable, accurate and timely National Greenhouse Gas Inventory as part of its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The UNFCCC is the first binding international legal instrument that deals directly with climate change.⁶ To fulfil this obligation, Canada must report its national GHG emissions according to the comprehensive guidance provided by the UNFCCC, which includes reference to three key technical documents:

• Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories⁷ (IPCC/OECD/ IEA, 1997);
• Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories⁸ (IPCC, 2000); and
• Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (IPCC, 2003).

These documents were developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).⁹

Under Phase 1 of the mandatory GHG reporting, no specific estimation methods are prescribed. Reporters can choose the quantification methodologies most appropriate for their own particular industry or application. However, where reasonable, reporting facilities should use methods for estimating emissions that are consistent with the guidelines adopted by the UNFCCC for the preparation of national GHG inventories, as discussed above.

The IPCC Guidelines and Good Practice Guidance¹⁰ describe various approaches to estimating GHG emissions at the national level, which can be applied at the facility level. These documents are available at the following link: www.ipcc-nggip. iges.or.jp/public/public.htm.

It is important to note that the Kyoto Protocol (the agreement drafted by the Parties to the UNFCCC in 1997, which became legally binding in 2005) commits Canada to a 6% reduction from 1990 GHG emissions by the period 2008-2012 (the “first commitment period”) and stipulates that progress in achieving this reduction commitment will be measured by way of annual reviews of the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report.

2.2 Key Elements in Calculating Emissions

Key characteristics of the IPCC Guidelines and Good Practice Guidance that are considered useful for reporters when calculating their facility's GHG emissions include the following:

1. 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.
2. The use of specific emission factors¹¹ or data To evaluate GHG 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 should use emission factors and data specific to a country¹² or, better yet, an industry or technology, where available.
3. 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 should be.

2.3 Prioritizing Efforts

In the spirit of the IPCC Guidelines, reporters to Phase 1 should prioritize their efforts when calculating their GHG emissions. This concept can be applied by identifying the emission sources of greatest significance at the facility and using a higher level of effort when calculating emissions from these sources. Since these emission sources have a greater impact on the totals, the use of more detailed methods would be appropriate. For example, for significant sources, efforts could be expended on using facility- or process- specific emission factors or estimation methods, if available, as opposed to general or default emission factors or estimation methods. Applying a lower level of effort (i.e. less detailed methods) to calculate emissions for less significant sources would minimize the impact on the overall total and its level of accuracy.

Since no absolute quantification standards are prescribed at this point, reporters can be flexible in their choice of emission calculation procedures. It is recognized that the approaches chosen will depend to a certain extent on the information available for the facility. Although all required gases must be reported on (see section 3), reporters are reminded that they are required to report only information to which they would reasonably be expected to have access. For example, perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are usually emitted in very small amounts relative to other GHGs. The efforts to capture such emissions are expected to vary, depending on whether the facility emits significant amounts of such gases (e.g. in the production of aluminium) or the facility has reasonable access to the emissions data.  

2.4 Biomass Emission Considerations

2.4.1 Combustion of Biomass

In accordance with UNFCCC and IPCC reporting guidelines, special consideration is necessary when reporting CO₂ emissions from biomass to ensure that there is no double counting. These guidelines, which the Government of Canada is bound to use, require the reporting (although not the counting) of CO₂ emissions resulting from the combustion of biomass materials. These emissions are not included in the national total, as it is assumed that the biomass is produced in a sustainable manner. That is, combusted biomass is replaced by growing biomass, which in turn reabsorbs the same amount of atmospheric carbon as was given offby the combusted material.¹³

• reminding reporters that these emissions need to be reported internationally;
• ensuring that CO₂ emissions from biomass are not counted in the totals; and
• demonstrating the quantity of atmospheric CO₂ loading that has been avoided.

On the other hand, as is required under the IPCC Guidelines, facilities must report and count methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from biomass combustion. There is no reverse, biogenic mechanism by which replacement biomass removes these emissions from the atmosphere. Therefore, they must be included in the GHG totals in the same way as for CH₄ and N₂O emissions from any other material combusted.

It follows that CO₂ emissions from the biomass portion of waste that may be incinerated on site are to be reported in the “memo item” but are not counted in the emission totals. See section 4.2.7 for more details.

2.4.2 Non-combustion of Biomass

Under the mandatory reporting of GHG emissions, emissions from biomass waste and wastewater decomposition are required to be reported. Reported and counted emissions are to include CH₄ and N₂O. Aerobic decomposition of waste can emit substantial quantities of CO₂, but these emissions need not be reported.

Reporting facilities will find additional details in section 4.2.7 on how to handle emissions from biomass under Phase 1 of the mandatory GHG reporting system. 

2.5 Auditing and Verification

For Phase 1 of the mandatory GHG reporting system, there are no specific requirements for a facility to have its emissions verified by a third party. The information reported by a facility should be verifiable, which means that any information that would allow a facility's emissions to be verified by either the government or a third party certified by the government to do such verifications is to be retained. Facilities can choose to have their emissions verified by a third party if they wish.

Reporters are required to keep copies of the requested information, together with any calculations, measurements and other data on which the information is based, at the facility to which it relates or at that facility's parent company, located in Canada. All information must be kept for a period of three years from the date the reporting requirement came into force (March 12, 2005).

Reporters are also required to submit a Statement of Certification, signed by an authorized official, stating that the information contained in the attached emission report is accurate and complete, to the best of their knowledge.

⁶ The UNFCCC was adopted at the June 1992 “Earth Summit” in Rio de Janeiro and has been in force since March 1994. The Convention's ultimate objective is the “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (United Nations, 1992).

⁷ Referred to as the IPCC Guidelines throughout the remainder of this document.

⁸ Referred to as the Good Practice Guidance throughout the remainder of this document.

⁹ The IPCC, established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme, makes periodic assessments of the climate change issue and reports to governments as appropriate. It also provides scientific and technical advice to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to the UNFCCC.

¹⁰ The IPCC Guidelines consist of three volumes, and the Reference Manual (Volume 3) contains information on GHG estimation methods. Both Good Practice Guidance documents provide a reference that complements the IPCC Guidelines.

¹¹ An emission factor is a factor by which certain data, such as the fuel quantity combusted, can be multiplied to estimate the GHG emissions.

¹²Environment Canada uses various emission factors that are specific to Canada for estimating emissions from several emission sources (for more details, see the latest National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report at www.ec.gc.ca/pdb/ghg/inventory_e.cfm).

¹³ For information purposes in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, if biomass materials are harvested at an unsustainable rate, net CO₂ emissions are accounted for as a loss of biomass stocks in the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry sector.