Georgia, EU and Ghana Offer QA/QC Blueprints as BTR Deadline Nears

Georgia says it cut its emissions-inventory quality checks from two months to two weeks. The EU runs its checks on a legally binding annual cycle, and Ghana built a step-by-step plan around international guidelines. At a Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) side event at COP31 on Nov. 12, 2026, the three governments showed developing countries how to check their greenhouse gas data, with the next biennial transparency reports due by Dec. 31.

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• Georgia cut QA/QC work by roughly 75% after adding dedicated quality roles
• EU described a legally grounded annual cycle, with comprehensive reviews set for 2027 and 2032
• Ghana set out a plan-do-check-act system that checks key emission sources every two years
• CGE needs assessment ranked lack of quality data first among barriers, at 20% of identified issues
• Audience asked about IPCC software and technical aid, and the EU offered to collaborate

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Three Systems, One Goal: Checks That Survive Turnover

The basics: QA/QC means quality assurance and quality control, the checks that make a national greenhouse gas inventory accurate and consistent. Under the Paris Agreement's transparency framework, countries report these inventories in biennial transparency reports (BTRs).

Why it matters: Emissions data underpins every national climate pledge. The three presenters showed that durable QA/QC depends less on money than on clear roles, legal backing and written procedures. That gives smaller inventory teams models they can copy.

Georgia: workflow redesign. Georgia created a dedicated QC officer position and an external QA expert role, then built QA/QC into the inventory workflow instead of treating it as a final step. "We reduced the work of the QA/QC process from 2 months to 2 weeks," said Kaka Devani, CGE Member who works on transparency for Georgia.

EU: legal mandate, divided labor. The EU's system rests on a governance regulation plus delegated and implementing acts. "The European Commission keeps the legal responsibility, but the European Environmental Agency has the implementing obligations for the greenhouse gas inventory," said Roxanne Lake, EU Policy Officer who coordinates the EU's BTR and is a CGE member. Each year the agency runs initial checks on data from 27 member states, fills gaps in missing data by March 31 and compiles the EU inventory.

Ghana: a written playbook. Ghana's QA/QC plan and standard operating procedure follow the 2006 IPCC Guidelines and a plan-do-check-act cycle. Ghana signs memorandums of understanding with the institutions that supply its data and has named a lead academic institution to handle QA/QC. Ghana also concentrates its effort on key categories, the emission sources that matter most to its total. "We also focus on key categories every 2 years, and then the other ones every 4 years," said Juliana Bempah, of the Low Carbon Transitions and Environmental Market Unit at Ghana's Environmental Protection Authority and a CGE member.

Lessons from the panel: formalize, then carry forward. In the moderated discussion, Lake urged countries to write their processes down. "Formalize it so if anyone leaves, it is formalized and the one who's got to come after is going to have something which is formalized," she said. The EU logs QC findings in a dedicated tool. "Those issues that are not solved in a given year are carried over, so they are not forgotten," Lake said. Devani advised countries to use their already-published review reports to set priorities.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: No votes were taken. The event was informational. The three models give national inventory teams, data-supplying agencies and academic partners concrete templates: dedicated staff roles (Georgia), a legal mandate (EU) and formal data agreements (Ghana).

What's next: The EU's comprehensive reviews are scheduled for 2027 and 2032. Georgia and Ghana will apply these systems to their upcoming BTRs.

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Data Gaps, Not Paperwork, Top the CGE's Worry List

Why it matters: The CGE's needs assessment helps decide where the UN climate process directs QA/QC support for developing countries.

Where things stand: A CGE presentation found that lack of quality data accounts for 20% of identified issues, technical capacity for 17% and data collection processes for 15%. It also flagged weak QA/QC documentation and poor institutional coordination. Panelists asked for step-by-step guidance, automation tools, training for new team roles and regional peer exchange.

Officials opening the event framed QA/QC as a tool for gradual improvement. "QA and QC are core elements for the development and improvement of greenhouse gas inventories," said moderator Stephen Turnbull, Transparency Lead, Australia, and a CGE member. Camille Salazar, CGE Chair, said the work has to lead to documented, prioritized fixes: "QA/QC should not end with a checklist."

Julia Gardiner, Chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Implementation, said "Support for QA/QC systems in developing countries, including through peer learning, knowledge sharing, and capacity building, have an important role to play in this process."

Jigme, Manager of the UNFCCC Transparency Division, sought to make the task feel manageable. "QA/QC procedures, systems need not be very complex," he said. He urged countries to tell the CGE clearly what they need.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: No decision was taken. The findings point support toward data systems and staff capacity rather than reporting formats alone. That matters most for under-resourced inventory teams.

What's next: Jigme reminded parties of the deadline. "We are eagerly looking forward to receiving your BTRs before 31st December this year," he said. A CGE report on QA/QC practice in first BTRs is expected soon.

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Q&A: Software Checks, Aid Priorities and an EU Offer

Why it matters: The audience questions showed where countries stand on tools and outside help, and where partnerships could form.

Where things stand: Lisa Hanle, a Consultant to the IPCC Task Force on Greenhouse Gas Inventories Technical Support Unit, noted that the IPCC inventory software is widely used. She said "the software itself has kind of QA/QC checks embedded in it," and asked whether countries build those checks into their plans. Ghana said its plan aligns with the 2006 IPCC procedures. Georgia said it is moving to the software and double-checking the results against its own system.

Khetsiwe Khumalo, of the Global Support Programme (CBIT-GSP), asked Ghana and Georgia: "What would you prioritize the most in terms of where you need technical assistance?" Ghana named country-specific emission factors and putting its key-category work into practice under CBIT 2. Georgia named moving key categories to Tier 2, a more country-specific calculation method.

Bempah explained that Ghana tracks compliance by listing each paragraph of the Paris reporting rules, known as MPGs: "We have taken the different paragraphs of the MPGs and put them in an Excel sheet." Devani urged countries to link QA/QC to improvement planning. "It's also important to connect the QA/QC plan with an improvement plan that each party have to do," he said, because a single cycle cannot address every review recommendation. Lake said the UNFCCC technical expert review pushed the EU to streamline its reporting on policies and measures in its second BTR.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: Asked about collaboration, Lake said the EU is open to technical assistance and synergies. "Let's discuss together to see how we can support each other," she said. Funders such as CBIT-GSP now have specific requests from Ghana and Georgia.

What's next: Any EU peer-learning partnership remains to be discussed. No commitments were announced.

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Minor Items

• Audience poll: A Mentimeter survey showed QA/QC challenges spread evenly across respondents. Results were displayed but not read out in detail.
• Closing survey: Attendees rated checklists, templates and country examples as possible formats for upcoming CGE guidance.

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Looking Ahead

The CGE's QA/QC guidance product, shaped by the event's polling, is a key part of the group's work next year. Turnbull summed up the session's message: "It doesn't have to be sort of scary and doing everything."