Towards common GHG inventory reporting tables for Biennial Transparency Reports: Experiences with tools for generating and using reporting tables under the UNFCCC

Under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement, Parties will be required to report information on national GHG inventories using a set of Common Reporting Tables (CRTs). The CRTs can provide an important source of data at the international and national levels. While a final set of tables has not yet been agreed upon, there is an emerging convergence around the view that the Common Reporting Format (CRF) tables that Annex I Parties currently use to report national GHG inventories could serve as a starting point for the development of CRTs. To support ongoing discussions, this paper provides details on the structure and functions of the existing CRF tables and the CRF Reporter software used to generate the tables, as well as some countries’ experiences with using this current system. To facilitate the transition towards reporting using CRTs, the paper also provides an overview of other tools that could support countries in reporting GHG inventories through CRTs and outlines a set of key issues that could be considered in the transparency negotiations. The paper concludes that the use of CRF tables and a CRF Reporter reduces the reporting burden on Parties – and that this could also be a significant benefit of CRTs and a CRT reporter. The paper also highlights that countries’ experience shows that effective IT arrangements can facilitate the reporting process but that as developing countries have no prior experience with the use of CRF tables and the CRF Reporter, the transition to a new CRT system may need capacity-building support, including for setting up suitable IT arrangements.