Abstract.Methane is, after carbon dioxide, the most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas. Governments plan to abate methane emissions. A crude set of estimates of reduction costs is included in FUND, an integrated assessment model of climate change. In a cost-benefit analysis, methane emission reduction is found to be instrumental in controlling the optimal rate of climate change. In a cost-effectiveness analysis, methane emission reduction largely replaces carbon dioxide emission reduction. Methane emission reduction reinforces the case for international cooperation in climate policy, but complicates the efficient allocation of emission reduction efforts. Methane emission reduction at the short run does not help to achieve the ultimate objective of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In order to arrive at transparent and comparable inventories, the IPCC, in cooperation with the OECD, is currently developing a common methodology and reporting guidelines for the estimation of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. To gain experience with the IPCC methodology, inventories are currently being carried out in various countries. This paper describes the African experience regarding emission inventories and preliminary results of the studies. It focuses on several important sources of non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in Africa: biomass burning; rice cultivation; and animals.
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