Analysis of the Factors Affecting the Choice of Whether to Internalize or Outsource the Task of Greenhouse Gas Inventory Calculations: The Cases of Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand

Abstract

Developing countries need to build long-term institutional capabilities for a national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory under the transparency framework of the Paris Agreement. By selecting three Southeast Asian countries as the cases, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand, the present study comparatively examined their institutional designs for producing the GHG inventories. They are common in terms that their national focal points make the overall coordination and other relevant line ministries provide activity data. A major difference exists regarding who is tasked to perform calculations of GHG inventories. By using the framework of Hood concerning the choice of whether to work through specific performance contracts or through direct employment, this study discussed that the variations between the countries may be associated with their differences in the following two factors: One is the number of potential service providers, as expressed by the number of GHG inventory experts as registered in the roster of the United Nations, and the other is the level of uncertainty about how the task is to be done, as measured by a share of the agriculture, forestry and other land use sector in the national GHG inventory. The development of the endogenous research base can contribute to the long-term improvement in GHG inventories. The finding has implications for assistance in building the transparency-related capacity. Development cooperation with developing countries may extend to identifying the categories that are crucial for their current GHG inventories and collaborating relevant research activities with national experts, including young researchers.