Towards Climate Transparency: Strategies to Enhance National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

National inventories of greenhouse gases (GHGs) serve as pivotal tools for assessing a country’s climate progress. They enable the calculation of human-induced GHG emissions and absorptions over a specific timeframe. In Colombia, for instance, GHG emissions amount to 302,974 Gg CO2 eq, with the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) sector accounting for 59% of these emissions. While this sector (unlike others such as energy or transportation) displays an absorption of -23,776 Gg CO2 eq, refining calculations, especially in sustainable livestock farming, remains paramount.

Although many current calculations rely on a Tier 1 approach, which is more generalized, there’s a growing acknowledgment of the need to refine these estimates. The CGIAR’s Livestock and Climate Initiative, for example, champions international cooperation to enhance accounting methodologies in Latin America. This collaboration aims to boost the accuracy and efficacy of inventories, emphasizing the Tier methodology and critical areas like sustainable livestock farming.