Capacity building programs have helped REDD+ countries start to develop forest carbon monitoring and accounting programs, inventories, and REDD+ reference levels. Yet many countries still lack a sufficient number of domestically trained terrestrial carbon accounting (TCA) professionals. Carbon accounting helps countries devise appropriate mitigation plans, and is also the core metric to evaluate whether countries’ are meeting their national and international climate change aspirations. Additionally, countries with more advanced carbon accounting professionals will likely be able to attract more climate finance for their proposals. This webinar aimed to help countries develop their own national core of GHG experts, for both inventories and mitigation. Topics included reporting requirements of the Paris Agreement, overview of existing capacities, how to grow a national GHG team, and on-line and in-person ideas for moving forward.
Organization
Through academic and government partnerships, online courses, and hybrid workshops, the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute (GHGMI) has been an innovator in capacity-building since 2007. GHGMI's mission is to address climate change by building and supporting a global community of experts with the highest standards of professional practice in measuring, accounting, auditing and managing greenhouse gas emissions. GHGMI aims to meet the needs of governments, corporations and organizations large and small. The Carbon Institute is an initiative of GHGMI, bringing together governments and academic institutions to build country-driven Terrestrial Carbon Accounting (TCA) certificate programs. Doing so will position countries to attract carbon finance and focus their land use mitigation efforts, all while complying with the reporting requirements of the Paris Agreement.
Presenters
John-O Niles teaches courses on terrestrial carbon accounting and REDD+. He is Director of the Carbon Institute and a Visiting Scholar and Lecturer at the University of California San Diego.
Joseph Badevokila is a managing partner at Terra Nova Consulting in the Republic of Congo. He is also the National Focal Point for the UNFCCC and the National Designated Entity for the CTCN.