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Sea level rise
Marine protected area
Light availability
Future
3. International Voluntary Reporting
Reporting Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions is part of the UAE’s
international commitment under the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Blue Carbon inventory development is important because it represents
the starting point for any subsequent quantification of the carbon
benefits associated with potential mitigation actions. These actions may
include, for example, reducing emissions from Blue Carbon habitat loss/
degradation, protection/conservation of Blue Carbon biomass stocks,
sustainable management of Blue Carbon ecosystems, and enhancement
of carbon stocks
The 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National GHG Inventories do not provide
specific guidance for the estimation and reporting of anthropogenic GHG
emissions from land use change in mangrove forests, salt marshes,
seagrasses, or other Blue Carbon ecosystems. However, UNFCCC SBSTA
39 encourages Annex 1 countries to use the “2013 Supplement to the
2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands
(Wetlands Supplement)” in preparing national inventories for 2015.
Specifically, this recommendation (also a Policy Action recommendation)
aims to develop a user-friendly GHG emission tool that can be applied
to Blue Carbon ecosystems for periodic GHG emission estimation and
reporting for Abu Dhabi. A key feature of the tool is for its design to be
compatible with potential follow-on Nationally Appropriate Mitigation
Actions (NAMA) activities under the UNFCCC, such as baseline
establishment, demonstration of additionality, leakage, and permanence
of emissions reductions. The tool will codify the emerging methodological
guidance in the IPCC’s 2013 Supplement and should be linked to the
information products of the Policy Action on Blue Carbon observation
system. The use of this tool enables Abu Dhabi to better understand
the GHG emission implications associated with past and current coastal
development activities affecting Blue Carbon ecosystems.
While it is recognised that it is likely that this would not result in any other
carbon payments to Abu Dhabi/UAE post Kyoto, it would encourage a
pioneering approach in international reporting, ensure that estimations are
at a “macro” rather than project level and avoid definitional and eligibility
issues for Blue Carbon at a local and national level.
© AGEDI /Riccardo Pravettoni
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