The document summarizes discussions from breakout sessions at a Climate Change Expert Group meeting on accounting for nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Key points discussed include: 1) The purpose of mitigation accounting is to transparently explain and track progress towards greenhouse gas emission targets. Greenhouse gas inventories are the fundamental tool to do so consistently over time. 2) Issues to resolve include whether targets should be single- or multi-year, how to account for land use emissions, and how to handle NDCs with multiple targets. 3) Accounting guidance is needed before, during, and after NDC implementation to inform communication, track progress, and account for changes over time in things like business as usual projections

1. Climate Change Expert Group www.oecd.org/env/cc/ccxg.htm
Accounting:
Key takeaways
Co-facilitators: Kelley Kizzier, Harald Winkler
CCXG GFE
13 September 2017

2. 2 Climate Change Expert Group
Breakout A: Accounting for diverse NDCs-
unpacking concepts and options
 Purpose of mitigation accounting is to explain/record
your targets in a responsible manner
 Use GHG inventories as fundamental tool to track
progress in implementing and achieving GHG targets
o Methodological consistency, ex ante and ex post
o ITMOs or natural disturbance would only be applicable to
some countries
 Particular issues to resolve: single- / multi-year; land;
multiple targets in single NDC

3. 3 Climate Change Expert Group
Breakout D: Accounting within the NDC cycle
 Accounting guidance is needed before, during and
after implementation of NDCs – to inform
communication, tracking progress and account for
NDC
 Tensions between certainty in what target means
vs.continuous improvement (e..g for BAU, base year,
inventory)
 Some current NDCs include multiple targets, in future
it might be helpful if Parties identified a ‘main target’
in their NDC ?
 Challenge of voluntary application of accounting to
first NDC and differences of time-frames up to 2030