SDG 13.2.2 - Total greenhouse gas emissions per year (Mt CO2-equivalent)
Definition, rationale and concepts: The ultimate objective of the Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) is to achieve the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Estimating the levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals is an important element of the efforts to achieve this objective. In accordance with Articles 4 and 12 of the Climate Change Convention and the relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties, countries that are Parties to the Convention submit national GHG inventories to the Climate Change secretariat. These submissions are made in accordance with the reporting requirements adopted under the Convention, such as the revised “Guidelines for the preparation of national communications by Parties included in Annex I to the Convention, Part I: UNFCCC reporting guidelines on annual greenhouse gas inventories” (decision 24/CP.19) for Annex I Parties and “Guidelines for the preparation of national communications for non-Annex I Parties” (decision 17/CP.8). The inventory data are provided in the annual GHG inventory submissions by Annex I Parties and in the national communications and biennial update reports by non-Annex I Parties.
The Paris Agreement adopted in 2015 marks the latest step in the evolution of the UN climate change
regime and builds on the work undertaken under the Convention. Its central aim is to strengthen the
global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well
below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature
increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The Agreement also aims to strengthen the ability of
countries to deal with the impacts of climate change.
Further reading: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-13-02-02.pdf
Ecosystems:All
Importance for ecosystem restoration: This indicator excludes the emissions related to LULUCF sector, which is the component measuring emissions from terrestrial ecosystems. Degraded ecosystems, especially wetlands, rivers, forests and agricultural areas, highly contribute to the impact of climate change and therefore to GHG emissions. Peatlands, mangroves, tidal marshes, and seagrass beds store enormous amounts of carbon and offer goods and services which increase resilience and adaptation to climate change (Fuchs and Noebel, 2022).
However, GHG emission reductions from energy and industrial processes also contribute to ecosystem health and simultaneously benefit biodiversity, food security, wood supply and other ecosystem services. Moreover, ecosystems will largely benefit from the reduction of emissions coming from the agriculture and waste sector, which in turn have direct impacts on ecosystem degradation (Pörtner et al., 2022).
References:
Fuchs, G., & Noebel, R. (2022). The role of ecosystem restoration for the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.
Pörtner, H. O., Roberts, D. C., Adams, H., Adler, C., Aldunce, P., Ali, E., ...and Stevens, N. (2022). Climate change 2022: impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the sixth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. https://www.ipcc.ch/assessment-report/ar6/
