In 2020 the IAEA launched an interregional technical cooperation project with the support of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) entitled Developing Capacity Towards the Wider Use of Stable Isotopic Techniques for Source Attribution of Greenhouse Gases in the Atmosphere. The project aims to assist countries in building capacity in stable isotope analysis of atmospheric greenhouse gases and to accurately determine their source. 
The project intends to establish regional training and analysis centres which will support laboratories from their respective regions with developing analytical capacities for the collection and interpretation of greenhouse gas data. The trained scientists will be able to inform decision makers, help authorities tailor their climate policies and build support for focused climate action. Training is based on the development and dissemination of good practice publications and training materials and on the organization of regional and interregional training courses.
This publication is the first good practice publication developed as part of the project. It describes the analytical infrastructure, sampling strategies and approaches for measuring the stable carbon isotope ratio in atmospheric methane using laser spectroscopy and the tools for interpretating the data for source characterization.