+44 1865 259200
On the road towards establishing a sustainable Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory, South Africa wanted to make sure that they had a high quality national GHG inventory system. With this purpose, Aether has worked together with the Department of Environmental Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, as well as Gondwana and the North-West University. The team has provided hands-on support in the development of South Africa’s institutional arrangements, work plans, data systems, QA/QC systems and improvement plans.
The challenge
South Africa’s national circumstances determine the level required for their inventory compilation. Despite being a non-Annex I country to the UNFCCC, the country is committed to developing a high-quality inventory system.
The solution
During 2015 to 2017, Aether provided hands-on support in the development of South Africa’s institutional arrangements, work plans, data systems, QA/QC systems and improvement plans. A key solution in meeting South Africa’s needs is the development of a national system portal. Launched in 2016, the online portal facilitates communication between both internal and external stakeholders, and ensures retention of institutional memory with thorough documentation. The inventory has further been improved through the adoption of best practice compilation templates, including QA/QC checklists and Aether’s QA/QC tool ‘QA Analyst’. To facilitate engagement and communication with the inventory team, as well as other stakeholders, the project incorporates multiple in-country visits and stakeholder engagement activities, as well as virtual training courses.
The result
The work will ensure that South Africa can develop and maintain a high-quality data collection, analysis and reporting system for GHG emission trends. Through this process, the system will meet the needs of its climate action policy-makers to track and develop effective policies.
Outputs will inform and engage stakeholders and the public. The system will also support transparent, high-quality reporting to the UNFCCC in support of Biennial Update Reports (BURs) and National Communications (NCs).
Chris Dore
Director
Related case studies
Barbados greenhouse gas emissions inventory
Category: National Governments, Emission Inventories
Aether worked with Engain to produce Barbados’ Second National Communications Report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Read case studyAntigua and Barbuda Biennial Update Report (BUR)
Category: National Governments, Policies and Measures
Aether has been supporting Antigua and Barbuda on their first Biennial Update Report (BUR) by writing the Mitigation chapter. This work will enable Antigua and Barbuda to report transparently on initiatives addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. Also the climate action database will enable the Department of Environment to take stock of climate related initiatives across the country, including the flow of climate finance, and relate this to national strategies and targets.
Read case studyColombia GHG inventory review – IPPU and energy
Category: National Governments, Emission Inventories
On the road towards submitting its third national communication, Colombia wanted to make sure that they had a high quality national GHG inventory.
Read case studyNews
Latest news
Posted on: 17 March 2026
Central Asia Study Tour: Air Quality Workshop
Aether provided representatives from Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) who were visiting the UK on a study tour with an introduction to air quality management.
Read full storyPosted on: 26 February 2026
Pakistan Training Workshop on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV), Carbon Markets, and Article 6 Mechanisms
Aether staff delivered a workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan on the fundamentals of MRV and GHG inventories.
Read full storyPosted on: 13 January 2026
Devolved Governments Air Pollutant Emissions Inventories
The air pollutant emissions inventories for England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland were published in September 2025. The data covers the period 2005 to 2023, for the pollutants ammonia, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, non-methane volatile organic compounds, PM10, PM2.5, sulphur dioxide, and lead.
Read full storyPosted on: 11 December 2025
Aether provided training to strengthen Government of Jersey’s climate policy modelling capacity
Aether completed a project for to train staff in Government of Jersey in using Aether's Carbon Scenario Model to quantify the carbon impacts of net zero policies. The model is a key tool for the Government of Jersey for informing policy decisions on climate actions, and other related policies.
Read full storyFilter news by category
Aether Blog Air Pollution Air Quality Assessments Barriers to Net Zero Capacity Building Carbon Footprint Climate Emergency Climate Equality Climate Finance Consumption COP28 Culture Data Visualisation Economic Status Emissions Reporting European Topic Centre GHG Infrastructure Inventories Local Government Mitigation MRV National Government Net Zero Oxfam Paris Agreement Policy Recruitment Society Stakeholder Engagement Waste Sector Wider Impacts
Testimonial
