IG3IS History

Accurate long-term atmospheric measurements of greenhouse gases (GHG) are key to understanding their role in climate change, seen in rising global temperatures and sea levels, glacial retreat, and more. The urgency and complexity of the problem demand strategic investment in science-based information for planning and tracking emission reduction policies and actions.

Recognizing the need for an improved scientific understanding of human activities' increasing influence on atmospheric composition and subsequent environmental impacts, WMO established the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme in 1989. The Global Climate Observing System recognizes GHG measurements from GAW as a key component of its implementation plan under the UNFCCC.

WMO started developing an Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS) in 2013 as a "science-for-services" initiative based on GAW successes and progress in atmospheric measurements and modelling since 2010. In 2015, the 17th World Meteorological Congress passed a resolution initiating the development of IG3IS. GAW launched its new implementation plan in 2016 where it focused on “science for services” to meet user needs better. Later GAW developed the Implementation Plan for IG3IS, and it was approved by the WMO Executive Council in 2018.

In 2019, the IPCC Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (TFI) recommended incorporating more information on top-down approaches, such as IG3IS, into the 2019 Refinements to the IPCC 2006 Inventory Guidelines.

1989	Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was established to recognize the need for improved scientific understanding of the increasing influence of human activities on atmospheric composition and subsequent environmental impacts. GAW measurements of ozone-depleting gases have played and continue to play a critical role in the successful response of the Montreal Protocol to stratospheric ozone depletion and the increase of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The Global Climate Observing System recognizes GHG measurements from GAW as a key component of its implementation plan under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
2006	UNFCCC requires that certain countries report their annual greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories. These inventory reports are produced according to the statistical methods outlined in the 2006 Guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC TFI)
2010	The atmospheric, carbon cycle and climate change science communities produced a number of studies on the potential for atmospheric GHG concentration measurements and model analyses to independently evaluate and help to inform improved estimates of GHG emission [e.g., Verifying Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Methods to Support International Climate Agreements (NAS 2010); GEO Carbon Strategy (GEO 2010); IPCC Task Force on National GHG Inventories: Expert Meeting Report on Uncertainty and Validation of Emission Inventories (IPCC 2010)]. These studies concluded that a realization of this approach would require additional investment in research, increasing the density of well-calibrated atmospheric GHG measurements and improving atmospheric transport modelling and data assimilation capabilities
2015	In June 2015, the 17th World Meteorological Congress requested a plan for an Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System (IG3IS). UNFCCC nations forged the Paris Agreement in December 2015, codifying the idea of nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
2016	Historically, GHG measurements have been made in remote locations that optimized the sampling frequency of global background concentrations. In 2016, GAW launched a new implementation plan built on the concept of “science for services” and bringing an increased user orientation to the program.
2018	The 70th WMO Executive Council accepts the IG3IS Science Implementation Plan and officially recognizes IG3IS as the benchmarking initiative for standards and methodologies for atmospheric inversions, which help guide emission reduction policies and actions (EC-70 - Executive Council, Abridged Final Report of the Seventieth Session, Geneva, 20–29 June 2018 - WMO-No. 1218). WMO hosted the First IG3IS Symposium and User Summit on 13 – 15 November 2018 at WMO Headquarters in Geneva to bring together key users from a number of different sectors to engage in dialogue with technical developers of IG3IS information.
2019	The 50th session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) recognized that IG3IS is an innovative science-based framework that supports the needs of a broad range of users by combining atmospheric observations with other sources of information to enhance understanding of greenhouse gas concentrations and fluxes at multiple spatial scales and encouraged the use of the framework (Matters relating to science and review: Research and systematic observation \| UNFCCC). IPCC Plenary approves 2019 Refinement of 2006 Guideline on National Emission Inventory that includes reference to IG3IS in the section related to inventory quality control.