Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Methods to Support International Climate Agreements
2010

Consensus

You must be logged in to download this publication.

Select Book Type

Paperback - $36.90
Ebook - $29.69

See project
Request an exam or desk copy

The world's nations are moving toward agreements that will bind us together in an effort to limit future greenhouse gas emissions. With such agreements will come the need for all nations to make accurate estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and to monitor changes over time. In this context, the present book focuses on the greenhouse gases that result from human activities, have long lifetimes in the atmosphere and thus will change global climate for decades to millennia or more, and are currently included in international agreements. The book devotes considerably more space to CO2 than to the other gases because CO2 is the largest single contributor to global climate change and is thus the focus of many mitigation efforts. Only data in the public domain were considered because public access and transparency are necessary to build trust in a climate treaty.

The book concludes that each country could estimate fossil-fuel CO2 emissions accurately enough to support monitoring of a climate treaty. However, current methods are not sufficiently accurate to check these self-reported estimates against independent data or to estimate other greenhouse gas emissions. Strategic investments would, within 5 years, improve reporting of emissions by countries and yield a useful capability for independent verification of greenhouse gas emissions reported by countries.

Additional materials

Press Release

Publication information

124 pages · 8.5 x 11 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-15211-9
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-15212-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/12883

Suggested citation

National Research Council. 2010. Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Methods to Support International Climate Agreements. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Import this citation to:

Bibtext
EndNote
Reference manager

First Name
Last Name
Email (required)
I agree to receive emails from the National Academies (required)

We respect your privacy and will never share your information.

Search this publication

Front Matter i-xiv
Summary 1-10
1 Introduction 11-20
2 National Inventories of Greenhouse Gas Emissions 21-36
3 Measuring Fluxes from Land-Use Sources and Sinks 37-52
4 Emissions Estimated from Atmospheric and Oceanic Measurements 53-70
References 71-82
Appendixes 83-84
Appendix A: UNFCCC Inventories of Industrial Processes and Waste 85-88
Appendix B: Estimates of Signals Created in the Atmosphere by Emissions 89-92
Appendix C: Current Sources of Atmospheric and Oceanic Greenhouse Gas Data 93-102
Appendix D: Technologies for Measuring Emissions by Large Local Sources 103-104
Appendix E: Biographical Sketches of Committee Members 105-108
Appendix F: Acronyms and Abbreviations 109-110

Log In

Former MyNAP users: You'll need to reset your password on your first login to MyAcademies. Click "Forgot password" below to receive a reset link via email. Having trouble? Visit our FAQ page to contact support.

Members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, or National Academy of Medicine should log in through their respective Academy portals.

Email (required)
Password (required)

Don't have an account?

Register

Email (required)
New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters
I accept the terms of use
terms of use

Thank You

Thank you for creating a MyAcademies account!

Enjoy free access to thousands of National Academies' publications, a 10% discount off every purchase, and build your personal library.

Forgot Password

Enter the email address for your MyAcademies (formerly MyNAP) account to receive password reset instructions.

Email (required)

Reset Requested

We sent password reset instructions to your email . Follow the link in that email to create a new password. Didn't receive it? Check your spam folder or contact us for assistance.

Reset Password

New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters

Reset Password

Your password has been reset.

Verify email

Verify Your Email Address

We sent a verification link to your email. Please check your inbox (and spam folder) and follow the link to verify your email address. If you did not receive the email, you can request a new verification link below

Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Methods to Support International Climate Agreements (2010)

Chapter: Appendixes

Appendixes