Dataset Information

Enhancing scientific transparency in national CO₂ emissions reports via satellite-based a posteriori estimates.

ABSTRACT: Biennial Update Reports (BURs) are essential requirements from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, many non-Annex I countries have not submitted these reports due to difficulties in compiling the inventories. We developed a satellite-based method for the top-down inverse estimation of CO₂ emissions using partial-column data in the lower troposphere obtained by the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite, adopted to validate the Mongolian 2^nd BUR (BUR2) for the energy sector in 2018. The estimated CO₂ emissions were only 1.5% higher than those reported in the BUR2; these were also very close (4.2% smaller) to estimates from the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research. Mongolia is the first country to introduce an independent inverse estimate in its BUR, thereby increasing scientific transparency. Our method could be applied into other countries and could be incorporated into UNFCCC reporting guidelines, significantly improving global CO₂ emission estimates.

SUBMITTER: Watanabe M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10507059 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Enhancing scientific transparency in national CO2 emissions reports via satellite-based a posteriori estimates.

Watanabe Masataka M Oba Akihiro A Saito Yoko Y Purevjav Gomboluudev G Gankhuyag Batjargal B Byamba-Ochir Munkhbat M Zamba Batjargal B Shishime Tomohiro T

Scientific reports 20230918 1

Biennial Update Reports (BURs) are essential requirements from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). However, many non-Annex I countries have not submitted these reports due to difficulties in compiling the inventories. We developed a satellite-based method for the top-down inverse estimation of CO2 emissions using partial-column data in the lower troposphere obtained by the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite, adopted to validate the Mongolian 2nd< ...[more]

PMID: 37723239

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Project description:BackgroundThe application of different approaches calculating the anthropogenic carbon net flux from land, leads to estimates that vary considerably. One reason for these variations is the extent to which approaches consider forest land to be "managed" by humans, and thus contributing to the net anthropogenic flux. Global Earth Observation (EO) datasets characterising spatio-temporal changes in land cover and carbon stocks provide an independent and consistent approach to estimate forest carbon fluxes. These can be compared against results reported in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (NGHGIs) to support accurate and timely measuring, reporting and verification (MRV). Using Brazil as a primary case study, with additional analysis in Indonesia and Malaysia, we compare a Global EO-based dataset of forest carbon fluxes to results reported in NGHGIs.ResultsBetween 2001 and 2020, the EO-derived estimates of all forest-related emissions and removals indicate that Brazil was a net sink of carbon (- 0.2 GtCO2yr-1), while Brazil's NGHGI reported a net carbon source (+ 0.8 GtCO2yr-1). After adjusting the EO estimate to use the Brazilian NGHGI definition of managed forest and other assumptions used in the inventory's methodology, the EO net flux became a source of + 0.6 GtCO2yr-1, comparable to the NGHGI. Remaining discrepancies are due largely to differing carbon removal factors and forest types applied in the two datasets. In Indonesia, the EO and NGHGI net flux estimates were similar (+ 0.6 GtCO2 yr-1), but in Malaysia, they differed in both magnitude and sign (NGHGI: -0.2 GtCO2 yr-1; Global EO: + 0.2 GtCO2 yr-1). Spatially explicit datasets on forest types were not publicly available for analysis from either NGHGI, limiting the possibility of detailed adjustments.ConclusionsBy adjusting the EO dataset to improve comparability with carbon fluxes estimated for managed forests in the Brazilian NGHGI, initially diverging estimates were largely reconciled and remaining differences can be explained. Despite limited spatial data available for Indonesia and Malaysia, our comparison indicated specific aspects where differing approaches may explain divergence, including uncertainties and inaccuracies. Our study highlights the importance of enhanced transparency, as set out by the Paris Agreement, to enable alignment between different approaches for independent measuring and verification.

Dataset Information

Enhancing scientific transparency in national CO₂ emissions reports via satellite-based a posteriori estimates.

Publications

Enhancing scientific transparency in national CO<sub>2</sub> emissions reports via satellite-based a posteriori estimates.

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