Category: National governments

Rwanda: Review of GHG inventory, mitigation assessments and national reports

Emma Salisbury was contracted as an international expert to support Rwanda’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The challenge

Under the UNFCCC, Rwanda is classified as a non-Annex I party, and is required to submit National Communications (NCs) and Biennial Update Reports (BURs) at regular intervals. BURs must be prepared to a high standard ready to undergo an international consultation and analysis (ICA) process which includes a technical analysis on the transparency of mitigation actions and their effects. Rwanda required support during the compilation of its first BUR to ensure that the GHG inventory and mitigation assessments were in line with international best practice.

The solution

As part of the production of the first BUR, a national GHG inventory was compiled and mitigation actions assessed for four sectors in Rwanda; Energy, Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU), Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU) and Waste. 

Emma collaborated with the national experts that compiled the GHG inventory and mitigation assessments to provide Quality Assurance (QA) in line with international best practice. The mitigation assessments were compared against the ICA criteria to check alignment with reporting expectations. The GHG inventory chapter of the BUR and the accompanying National Inventory Report (NIR) were also reviewed with the benefit of 10+ years of international experience.

The result

Rwanda submitted its first BUR to the UNFCCC in 2021, with its national GHG inventory and mitigation assessments checked in line with international best practice. A NIR containing in depth detail of the GHG inventory compilation process was also checked and submitted. National experts in Rwanda received technical guidance and support through one-to-one discussions and in-depth feedback on documents and calculations.

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Testimonial

Don't just take our word for it...

“Aether was a great asset in involving/engaging with Member States experts on highly technical subjects regarding GHG reporting. Very clear communication of issues and results.”

Andreas Pilzecker, DG CLIMA

“The team at Aether works very professionally and communicates very well which makes working with them a pleasure. Outputs are delivered on time to high quality. The team brings the rigour of technical knowledge and expertise and finds innovative ways of communicating complex messages. I would be happy to recommend the Aether team to organisations working on analysing and presenting emissions information in the public domain.”

Fiona Glover, States of Jersey

“Aether delivered training workshops and generated learning materials for our SSN members, providing technical content in a manageable and comprehendible format. We particularly benefitted from their extensive knowledge and ability to interpret the needs of our members into the training materials.”

Jennifer Anderson, Sustainable Scotland Network

“I must congratulate each of you for your professional and tireless efforts. Let me point out that this has been the 'neatest' in-country review expert review team I have coordinated, and it has been a real pleasure.”

UNFCCC Secretariat

“The Aether team were a joy to work with and I would recommend the consultancy - the service provided throughout the process was exceptional.”

Clare Bayley, Defra

“We have worked with Aether since 2019 to baseline, and subsequently update, our council and borough greenhouse gas inventories. It is a pleasure working with Aether’s professional, responsive, collaborative and helpful team. ”

Merton Council

“It is always an absolute pleasure working with Aether. I always know what is expected of me. Their work ethic is of a very high standard and projects are always handled in a very professional manner. I have learnt many skills in terms of project management, quality control and workshop training styles from Aether and I hope to carry these principles forward in my own work. I look forward to collaborating with Aether more in the future.”

Luanne Stevens, Gondwana

“It has been a pleasure to work with Chris Dore and Richard Claxton from Aether: they did their job in a very professional and timely manner. The workshop was organized and carried out in a cooperative spirit; the information provided to the workshop participants was complete and clear.”

Alina Novikova, UN/ECE Secretariat

“The support provided by Aether for this project was especially remarkable considering the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tools and methods used in order to engage local stakeholders really added value to the capacity building of the national team.”

Shanna Emmanuel, Saint Lucia BUR Project Coordinator

“Engaging Aether to support us to develop the first GHG Inventory System and first Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the United Republic of Tanzania has been a rewarding experience due to their high level of professionalism, creativity, timeliness and value for money. We will definitely consider Aether in our future initiatives.”

Abbas Kitogo, Programme Specialist Energy and Climate Change, UNDP Tanzania

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