Full Title: Guide for Designing Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programs
Author(s): Neelam Singh, Kathryn Bacher, Ranping Song, Mary Elizabeth Sotos, and Lei Yin
Publisher(s): World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Bank Group
Publication Date: May 1, 2015
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Key Findings
The report provides comprehensive, step-by-step guidance for policymakers to design mandatory greenhouse gas reporting programs.
Four broad steps are necessary to establish a mandatory greenhouse gas reporting program:
- Determine program objectives
- Create an enabling environment for program design and implementation
- Determine program structure and requirements
- Conduct program review
Further, six key program design elements define the structure of reporting programs and ensure reliability, accuracy, consistency, transparency, and completeness of the data. These elements and decision points include:
- Defining coverage in terms of applicable entities and emissions sources and GHGs (who reports which emissions)
- Providing calculation methodologies for different emission sources and data monitoring requirements (how to calculate and measure emissions)
- Determining reporting requirements and schedules (what to report and how often)
- Developing reporting platforms and data disclosure rules (where to report and who has access to reported information)
- Deciding on verification procedures for quality assurance and control (who verifies what and how)
- Establishing enforcement rules (what measures to apply in case of noncompliance)