CRC for Greenhouse Accounting

Research Programs

Project D.1 Good Practice Guidelines in Carbon Accounting

Project Leader: Professor Ian Noble (Email)

Team Members:
	Prof Graham Farquhar
	Dr Rod Keenan

Relevance
Objectives
Outputs
Outcomes

Relevance

Good practice guidelines are fundamental in translating the goals of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol into practical schemes for measuring and monitoring sequestered carbon and carbon fluxes for national inventory and project scale purposes.

Research objectives

To develop and promote rules and guidelines for carbon accounting in relation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and national requirements.
To support Australian scientists engaged in the IPCC "Good Practice Guidelines" and the Australian Standards Organisation’s processes.

This project will attempt to synthesis existing data relevant to the above tasks and seek to stimulate the collection of additional data where needed. These data will be freely available to scientists engaged in developing good practice guidelines. Forums for the exchange of ideas either face-to-face or via the web will be organised and syntheses of this information will be prepared.

Issues include:

Appropriate definitions for Australian conditions (e.g. biome-based definitions of a forest, de-vegetation)
Appropriate measuring techniques for Australian conditions (with Programs A & B)
Feasible guidelines on accuracy for Australian condition (with Programs A & B)
Role of uncertainty and disturbances in Australian inventories and project scale accounting (with Projects B2 & B3)
Identification of directly human-induced fluxes against those indirectly or naturally caused (Program B).

Outputs

A publicly available knowledge-base of relevant information on scientific tools and accounting procedures.
A series of syntheses and issues papers to assist scientists and user groups to discuss the relative merits of different practices and options for accounting and inventory

Outcomes

Effective engagement of Australian scientists in setting guidelines both nationally and internationally
A forum for scientists and user groups to discuss and progress good practice issues.

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