Department of Climate Change

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Australian Methodology for the Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 2006

Methodology workbooks

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The Department of Climate Change is responsible for coordinating Australia's greenhouse gas inventory activities. The development of inventory methods and compilation of inventories is guided by the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory Committee which consists of representatives of the Australian, State and Territory Governments.

Greenhouse gas emissions are generated from a large number of processes and from a range of often diffuse sources. Emissions are not usually monitored directly but are generally estimated through the application of models and methodologies that link emissions to data on observable activities. The Australian methodology for estimating greenhouse gas emissions and sinks uses a combination of country specific and IPCC methodologies and emission factors. These methods are consistent with the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, IPCC Good Practice Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, and IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry, and are comparable with international practice.

The Australian methodologies were developed by a series of expert working groups and have been reviewed by a wide range of technical experts in research institutions, governments and industry, as well as community groups. They have been documented in a series of workbooks to ensure transparency. The National Greenhouse Accounts rely on the inventory methodology workbooks - Australian Methodology for the Estimation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 2006.

Emissions from the forest conversion subsector of land use change and forestry are estimated by the National Carbon Accounting System. The National Carbon Accounting System is a model based accounting system that is summarised in Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Land Use Change in Australia: An Integrated Application of the National Carbon Accounting System.

A summary of key emission factors is provided in the AGO Factors and Methods Workbook.