Agriculture is one of the main emitters of greenhouse gases globally. However, as sources differ from country to country, calculating emissions on a national level can be tricky. At the same time knowing the sources and the amount of the exhaust of the green house gases is a crucial step for formulating sound climate mitigation and adaptation policies. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO offers an online course to guide practitioners in calculating national greenhouse gas inventories (NGHGI) of the agricultural sector.
With this course you will learn how to build a sustainable national greenhouse gas inventory (NGHGI) and how to assess emissions from the agriculture sector. The course includes overview about:
- the role and the goals of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC;
- the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC guidelines for NGHGIs;
- the inventory cycle and the main elements and principles for preparation of GHG inventories (Unit 1).
- information about methodological improvements between the different versions of the IPCC Guidelines.
In addition, it presents details on the biological and physical processes behind the production of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture-related activities. The course also contains methodological instruction and guidance for calculating emissions according to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, including Tier 1 method (Unit 2). Theory is accompanied with a series of exercises.
The course is part of the e-learning series ”Building a sustainable national greenhouse gas inventory for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use” aimed at strengthening institutional and technical capacities in national entities and allow them to meet the enhanced transparency requirements of the Paris Agreement.
Audience
The course is designed for staff in relevant national agencies tasked with the preparation of the NGHGI for the Agricultural sector. It is also a useful tool for anybody else wishing to improve their knowledge on UNFCCC reporting processes.
Content
The course consists of 7 lessons, organized in two units. Lessons last approximately 15 to 120 minutes each.
Unit 1 Basic concepts for reporting gas emissions and removals from agriculture and land use
- Lesson 1.1 Why is it important to monitor greenhouse gases from agriculture and land use?
- Lesson 1.2 National Greenhouse Gas Inventory for agriculture, forestry and other land use
Unit 2 Building a national Greenhouse Gas Inventory for agriculture
- Lesson 2.1 Introduction
- Lesson 2.2 Livestock-related emissions
- Lesson 2.3 Soil-related emissions: managed soils
- Lesson 2.4 Soil-Related: Rice Cultivation, Liming and Urea Fertilisation
- Lesson 2.5 Fire-related emissions
You can find more information and access the course on the FAO website.
If you’re interested in learning more, there are plenty of other courses available at the FAO E-learning Centre.