Greenhouse gas assessment methodology

The Framework Convention on Climate Change identifies the Global Environment Facility (GEF), as the financial mechanism for implementing the Climate Convention. To this end, the GEF must evaluate, select, and underwrite proposals for funding projects to reduce the risks of rapid climate change. To facilitate this process, the GEF requested both the University of Maryland, and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) to develop a spreadsheet-based toll for comparing the economic costs, and air pollution implications of proposed GEF projects. In response, a new analytic tool, the Greenhouse Gas Assessment Methodology - GGAM - have been developed. This report presents the GGAM, and illustrates the application of this tool to global warming projects, developed during the GEF pilot phase. The report is divided into four sections: Section I provides background on the climate problem, and the responsibilities of the GEF under the Climate Convention; Section II presents an overview of the GGAM approach, highlighting the context in which this tool may best be used. It also identifies some of the key methodological issues encountered during the development of this new tool. Section III outlines a set of unresolved questions, methodological limitations, and persistent uncertainties that must be recognized, in order to effectively make use of this tool. Section IV highlights some of the lessons learned from this new application, and, Section V provides conclusions and recommendations.