Introduction to IPCC Guidelines

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Online courses
3. Get more information
4. GHG accounting at organisational and product levels

1. Introduction

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 6th, 1988, with the aim of assessing the scientific literature on the potential environmental and socio-economic impacts of climate change as well as possible mitigation and adaptation measures to get to international consensus. From its creation, the IPCC has produced five Assessment Reports, with the most comprehensive evaluation of the science and effects of climate change as well as several Methodology Reports, Special Reports, and Technical Papers. The IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories contain the methodology and emission factors used by all the countries that are part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), also known as Parties, to prepare their annual inventories of GHG emissions and removals. The first version of the IPCC Guidelines was published in 1997, with a revision conducted in 2006. Two supplemental publications were produced in 2013 covering the reporting of GHG emissions from wetlands and good practice for estimating GHG emissions and removals resulting from land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) under the Kyoto Protocol for the second commitment period. A final refinement of the IPCC Guidelines was published in 2019. It is worth noting that while the Kyoto Protocol was applicable to a limited number of Parties (37 industrialized countries and economies in transition), the Paris Agreement extended the responsibility to report and reduce GHG emissions to over 195 countries.

The complete list of publications from the IPCC, including the Guidelines for National GHG Inventories can be found on the IPCC website

2. Online courses

Although no specific online courses to learn about the IPCC Guidelines have been found on the main online-learning platforms, several resources to understand the science behind global warming and climate change are available:

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Global Warming Science
• University of British Columbia: Climate Change: The Science
• SDG Academy: Climate Change: The Science and Global Impact

3. Get more information

Some resources are available to know more about the role of the IPCC and the development of international negotiations to tackle climate change:

• UN resolution for the establishment of the IPCC
• What is the UNFCCC
• Relationship between IPCC and UNFCCC
• Kyoto Protocol
• Paris Agreement
• Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement

4. GHG accounting at organisational and product levels

While international negotiations have led to agreements to measure and reduce GHG emissions at country level, corporations also play a significant role in the fight against climate change. Due to the rising motivation from the private sector to measure and reduce its emissions, several standards have been developed. These standards cover the methodology for GHG emissions accounting both at product and organisational levels and are useful resources to understand the use and application of the IPCC guidelines.

GHG emissions accounting standards for organisations:

• ISO 14064-1 – Quantification and reporting at organisational level
• GHG Protocol – Corporate Standard (Open access)

GHG emissions accounting standards for products:

• ISO 14067 – Carbon Footprint of Products
• PAS 2050 – Life cycle GHG emissions for products
• GHG Protocol – Product Standard (Open Access)