KNOWLEDGE
HUB

Resource

Understanding measurement, reporting, and verification of climate change mitigation

11am, September 09th, 2016

This paper looks into current trends around measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) relevant to climate mitigation, and aims to disentangle the concept to make it easier for practitioners to understand which types of MRV are most relevant to them, which methodologies can be used, who should perform the related activities, and how often.

When it comes to climate action, effective measurement, reporting and verification of emissions and emissions reductions is critical to help countries understand greenhouse gas sources and trends, design mitigation strategies, enhance credibility, and take other policy actions.

The challenge is that MRV can mean a lot of different things and, accordingly, has been used in many different ways. To help decision-makers identify the types of MRV that are right for their needs, the World Resources Institute has published MRV 101: Understanding measurement, reporting, and verification of climate change mitigation.

This new paper disentangles the term MRV and examines the three types of mitigation-related measurement, reporting, and verification:

  • MRV of greenhouse gas emissions: This MRV is conducted at national, organizational and/or facility level to understand an entity’s emissions profile and report it in the form of an emissions inventory.
  • MRV of mitigation actions: Often related to policies or projects, this MRV is used to assess greenhouse gas effects and sustainable development (non-greenhouse gas) effects, as well as to monitor implementation. In this case, the focus is on estimating the change in greenhouse gas emissions or other non-greenhouse gas variables.
  • MRV of support: Support can come in many forms, including climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building. This MRV helps track provision and receipt of climate support, monitor results achieved and assess impact.

The paper also presents the four initial questions any decision-maker should ask themselves to identify the appropriate type and level of measurement, reporting, and verification for their needs, and where to go from there.

Download the paper here: MRV 101: Understanding measurement, reporting, and verification of climate change mitigation

Photo: Marco Simola for Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

Institutions Involved

  • World Resources Institute

Authors

Neelam Singh, Jared Finnegan, and Kelly Levin, with contributions from Thomas Damassa, Samah Elsayed, Apurba Mitra, David Rich, Mary Sotos, Dennis Tirpak, and Davida Wood
Links for Resource