Organization

About IPCC TFI

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in 1988. Its main objective was to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to the understanding of human induced climate change, potential impacts of climate change and options for mitigation and adaptation. The IPCC has completed assessment reports, developed methodology guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories, special reports and technical papers. For more information on the IPCC, its activities and publications, please see the IPCC homepage.

The IPCC has three working groups and a task force.

Working Group I (WG I) : The science of climate change
Working Group II (WG II) : Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability
Working Group III (WG III) : Mitigation of climate change
Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI)

The TFI was established by the IPCC, at its 14th session (October 1998), to oversee the IPCC National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Programme (IPCC-NGGIP). This programme had been undertaken since 1991 by the IPCC WG I in close collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Energy Agency (IEA). In 1999, the Technical Support Unit (TSU) set up at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) in Japan took over this programme in accordance with a decision taken by the IPCC at its 14th session.

The objectives of the TFI are:

to develop and refine an internationally-agreed methodology and software for the calculation and reporting of national GHG emissions and removals; and
to encourage the widespread use of this methodology by countries participating in the IPCC and by signatories of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).