Le compte des mille et … inventaires

Atmospheric emissions of the different pollutants are quantified in various forms (inventories, cadastres, registers, balances, etc.), depending on the scale and the other specificities defined.

Good practices exist and help to produce good-quality inventories (based on exhaustiveness, consistency, accuracy, transparency, comparability, etc.) even if the different inventories are not based on the same criteria concerning both emitting sectors and geographical and time components or the substances covered.

This article examines a wide range of inventories through an analysis of user needs (focussing on CO₂ issue, providing high-resolution land area data, meeting international requirements, etc.). Franceʼs specific situation is dealt with via the national system established by the authorities which covers different inventories, in particular concerning climate change (more specifically, the Kyoto Protocol), long range transboundary air pollution, as well as various EU Directives, and other applications. The article also considers the risks inherent to the abundance of inventories, both at international and national levels.

The paper also raises emerging items pointing out especially better consistency, streamlining and the question of accounting for direct versus indirect sources of emissions. This review highlights the current issues involved in the harmonisation and integration of systems and in how emissions are attributed (scope). These feasibility and accuracy issues are directly linked to economic, policy and financial aspects.