An inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a way to quantify the volume and sources of GHG emissions in a given territory. It is an important tool for outlining the adaptation and mitigation actions needed to address the climate crisis.

During the 4th Ordinary Meeting of the Bahian Forum on Global Climate Change and Biodiversity, held this Wednesday (April 14th), a contract was signed for the preparation of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories for the state of Bahia with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, which will be responsible for conducting the process; the Public Prosecutor's Office of Bahia, the institution that finances the action, through the Regional Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Cocoa Coast; with the intervention of the Secretariat of the Environment (Sema) and the Institute of the Environment and Water Resources (Inema). 

The inventories cover various activities, and in Bahia, emissions from five productive sectors will be measured: Energy; Transportation; Solid Waste and Liquid Effluents; Agriculture, Livestock and other land uses; and Industrial Processes. After collecting data from each sector, total and per capita emissions in the state will be calculated.

“This is an important step towards building the State Plan to Combat Climate Change, since the inventories provide fundamental information for prioritizing activities and developing more efficient strategies for integrating Bahia into the low-carbon economy,” points out the Secretary of the Environment, João Carlos Oliveira.

According to Rodrigo Perpétuo, executive secretary of ICLEI South America, the construction is already destined to become an internationally renowned project.“ICLEI is proud to be the partner that will provide technical input for this advancement in the state,” he says. He further emphasized that the essence of this partnership is the transfer of knowledge.

The inventory preparation activities began that same afternoon with a meeting of the Working Group formed to develop the diagnosis, during which the methodology to be used in the study was presented.

“"Our goal is to achieve solutions that are environmentally sustainable and socially just for future generations," says prosecutor Aline Salvador.  

According to the Director-General of Inema, Márcia Teles, "the diagnosis presented by the inventories will allow us to adopt effective and efficient measures and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our state."“  

What are the next steps? The work plan will be reviewed, governance will be established for the inventory preparation process, and four training sessions will be held. After these steps, data collection and analysis will begin.