Partners
Topic outline
Deforestation makes a significant contribution to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and in order to achieve goals such as the 2015 Paris Agreement, programmes such as the REDD+ framework aim to protect forests worldwide. Transparently and accurately reporting emission reductions from forest cover is a vital element.
The course combines theory with practical examples to develop capacity to accurately estimate uncertainty in forest emission estimates, comparing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s Analytical method (Approach 1) and the benefits of using The Monte Carlo simulation (Approach 2) in biennial transparency reports under the Paris Agreement.
The course is primarily designed for government technical staff, forest government entities or technical agencies involved in elaborating Forest Reference Emissions Levels (FREL), Forest Reference Levels (FRL), biennial transparency report (BTR), REDD+ technical annex and baselines for payment initiatives in developing countries. It will also be of interest to early career graduate learners, researchers and media.
- Concepts of accuracy, precision, types of error, and why estimating uncertainty is important.
- Probability distribution functions and confidence intervals.
- Sampling design concepts.
- Sample statistics, e.g. mean, median, variance, standard deviation.
- Activity data and carbon stock change factors.
- Comparison of IPCC Approach 1 (analytical method) and Approach 2 (the Monte Carlo simulation).
This course consists of four lessons of approximately 30-45 minutes duration each:
- Lesson 1 - Key concepts
- Lesson 2 - Further statistical concepts
- Lesson 3 - Calculating activity data and carbon stock change factors
- Lesson 4 - Uncertainty assessment with Monte Carlo simulation
This course runs on the latest versions of the major browsers, such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari.
The course opens in a separate popup window. If this does not happen, a popup blocker in the browser is probably preventing it from opening and you will need to disable popup blockers for this site. Please read the following instructions on how to do this.
Digital certification
This course offers certification. You will get your digital badge upon passing a final exam after completing the course and achieving a grade of at least 75%. Please click on the button below to complete the exam, or refer to our Certification section to learn more.
Evaluate this course
We would be pleased to receive your evaluation of this course, to support us in improving future e-learning courses. Please click on the button below to answer the questions in the form. It should only take you a few minutes!