GUIDANCE NOTE
Explanatory Note accompanying the
Global Covenant of Mayors
Common Reporting Framework

Version 9
12 April, 2019
FINAL Version

Table of Contents

Executive Summary4

Chapter 1 – Introduction

8

1.1 About the GCoM and the Common Reporting Framework8

1.2 About this Guidance Note9

1.3 About the Regional Covenants

10

Chapter 2 – Definitions and General Principles

11

Chapter 3 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories

13

3.1.

GHG Emissions accounting principles

13

3.2.

Defining the inventory boundary

14

3.3

Identifying emission sources

15

3.4

Using notation keys

18

3.5

Calculating and reporting emissions – overview

22

3.6

Calculating and reporting emissions – by source

25

3.7

Reporting on energy generation sector

35

3.8

Disclosing information on emissions credits

36

3.9

Recalculating and re-submitting inventories

37

3.10

Summary of reporting output

38

Chapter 4 – Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

41

4.1. Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment – Initial steps

42

4.2. Step 1: Identification of climate risks and their impacts (at different timescales)

42

4.2.1

42

Identifying past climate hazards and their impacts

4.2.2
Identifying current (last 5 to 10 years) and future (mid-century) climate hazards andtheir impacts

44

4.3. Step 2: Vulnerability and adaptive capacity45

4.3.1. Step 2a: Identifying population groups vulnerable to climate hazards

45

4.3.2 Step 2b: Assessing adaptive capacity

46

Chapter 5 – Energy Access Assessment

49

Chapter 6 – Target and Goal Setting

50

6.1

Prepare for target setting

50

6.2

Define the target boundary

51

6.3

Choose the target type

51

6.4

Set the target timeframe

53

6.5

Set the level of ambition

54

6.6

Summary of reporting output

56

6.7

Setting adaptation goals

57

Chapter 7 – Developing a Climate Action Plan(s) (short summary)58

7.1 Key principles and requirements for climate action plan(s)58

7.2 Key considerations on developing and implementing climate action plan(s) at the municipal
level
59
7.3 Joint action planning with neighbouring local governments

62

Chapter 8 – GCoM monitoring and reporting63

8.1 Reporting platforms and overall reporting timelines

63

8.2 City-level monitoring and reporting to GCoM

64

8.3 Minimum requirements and GCoM badges

66

Annexes68

Annex 1 – Chapter 3: Mapping of emission source categories with other commonly used guidance
68
Annex 2 – Chapter 4: Core definitions for the climate risk and vulnerability assessment

69

Annex 3 – Further guidance materials, tools and resources

73

Executive Summary
About the GCoM, the Common Reporting Framework (CRF) and this Guidance Note
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) is the world’s largest coalition of cities
and local governments1 voluntarily committed to actively combatting climate change and with ashared long-term vision to moving to a low emission, climate resilient future. Local governments arecommitted to GCoM’s pledge to implement policies and undertake measures to: (i) reduce/limit
greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) prepare for the impacts of climate change, (iii) increase access tosecure, affordable and sustainable energy and (iv) track progress toward these objectives.
To effectively reduce emissions, respond to current climate impacts and plan for the future, cities
require data and information at the right geographical and temporal scales. The newly established
GCoM Common Reporting Framework (CRF), formally endorsed by the GCoM Board in September
2018, introduces the first global reporting framework that will allow for cities across the world to use
one standardised approach to sharing information on their climate activities. It guides GCoM cities inassessing their greenhouse gas emissions, climate change risks and vulnerabilities, as well asplanning and reporting in an integrated and coherent way. This means the CRF is the reference
document for GCoM signatories throughout all phases of engagement with the initiative. This will
not only enable cities to identify and take the right actions in a timely manner, but it will also allow
for better identification of shared challenges, greater cooperation and development of common
responses to the impacts of climate change.
This Guidance Note accompanies the GCoM CRF with the purpose of explaining the framework andits applicability in more detail. It offers examples and references to help understand and correctlyinterpret all the requirements and recommendations laid out by the CRF. It aims to offer
explanations and examples for cities, Regional Covenants and anyone who wants to interpret andapply the framework.
This Guidance Note is not a methodological guidebook and is understood as complementing the CRF,
while not replacing available guidance materials which exist from various sources along all the stepsof the GCoM initiative in the different regions. This document provides references to these extended
resources and tools and explains how they can help cities in meeting the requirements of the CRF(please refer also to Annex 3 – Further guidance materials, tools and resources).
Regional Covenants are invited to translate this guidance note and adapt it to their regions, e.g.,
making references to regionally relevant frameworks and resources.
Guiding principle and reporting levels
The guiding principle embedded in the CRF and the GCoM initiative is that cities should strive as
much as possible to report in a way that enables meaningful comparison and aggregation with their
1 The terms “cities” and “local governments” are used throughout this document, understanding that the geo-politicalinstitutions of local governments may vary from country to country and terminology used may differ. In thisdocument, a city refers to a geographical subnational jurisdiction (“territory”) such as a community, a town or a citythat is governed by a local government as the legal entity of public administration.

4

peers while ensuring robust monitoring of their progress at the local level. This also enables
assessment of the collective impact of GCoM cities in the fight against climate change.
However, neither the CRF nor this Guidance Note prescribe specific templates, methodologies ortools. The CRF allows flexibility so it can be applied by cities and local governments in different
regions and of all sizes, allowing to accommodate different local circumstances and needs.
The Common Reporting Framework defines three levels of reporting, reflecting the need forflexibility to meet specific local or regional circumstances while also allowing for global aggregationand comparison of data:
Level 1: Mandatory requirements
These provisions form the minimum set of requirements that a GCoM city has to meet under
the three pillars of the initiative.2
Level 2: Recommendations
These provisions are considered good practice and therefore GCoM cities are strongly advised
to follow these recommendations whenever possible.
Level 3: Additional options
These provisions refer to options that are acceptable under the initiative which a local
government can decide to follow.
Main requirements and timelines outlined by the CRF
The CRF is designed for signatories of the GCoM in any region around the globe. It outlines therequirements and timeframes for each of the steps a city takes under the initiative, which are
explained in more detail in this Guidance Note.
Error! Reference source not found. outlines which elements have to be covered by a city-wide
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory. Signatories of the GCoM shall submit their city-wide
GHG emissions inventory to GCoM within two years upon joining GCoM, using any of the formallyrecognized reporting platforms. Once the city has reached the monitoring phase, a more recent GHG
emissions inventory shall be submitted every two years to GCoM.
The city-wide GHG emissions inventory shall report emissions occurring from different sectors, atminimum stationary energy, transportation and waste, as well as distinguish between direct andindirect emissions. At a minimum, the inventory shall quantify emissions of the following gases:
carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The Guidance Note provides adetailed description of the sectors and guidance on how to calculate and report emissions from eachsector and sub-sector.
To accommodate limitations in data availability and differences in emission sources between local
governments, different notation keys may be used in absence of emissions data or if an emission

2Please note that the requirements for the 3 rd pillar of the initiative – energy access – have not yet been defined. This

Guidance Note will be updated with additional sections related to energy access once the reporting requirements onenergy access have been formally endorsed as part of the Common Reporting Framework.

5source category does not occur in the city. Where notation keys are used, an accompanying
explanation shall be provided.
Error! Reference source not found. provides details on the aspects that have to be covered by acity-wide Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA). GCoM signatories shall prepare andsubmit a CRVA within two years after joining the initiative. The CRVA requires to identify the climate
hazards faced by the local government, to estimate the future risk level (probability x consequence)and expected change in intensity and frequency due to climate change, and to assess what impacts
can be expected from these hazards on all relevant sectors, assets or services.
Chapter 5 – Energy Access Assessment is under development.
Error! Reference source not found. explains which requirements must be met when setting citywide emissions reduction targets, adaptation/climate resilience goals and access to secure,affordable and sustainable energy goals. Local governments shall submit their city-wide
greenhouse gas emissions reduction target(s) to GCoM within two years upon joining GCoM. New
targets should be reported when previously reported targets have expired or been revised. At aminimum, targets adopted by local governments shall be as ambitious as the unconditional
components of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). However, to demonstrate leadership,
local governments are encouraged to set targets that are more ambitious. This Note provides further
guidance on how to set a target boundary that is consistent with the boundary of the GHG emissions
inventory, on setting the target timeframe and which of the four target types to choose when
designing targets.
Adaptation goals should be formulated, equally within two years, based on the results of theclimate risk and vulnerability assessment. The goal statement should include the baseline year aswell as the delivery date.
Error! Reference source not found. summarizes which information has to be contained in climate
action plans. Local governments that joined the GCoM are committed to taking concrete measureswith long-term impact to tackle the interconnected challenges of climate change mitigation,
adaptation and access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy. At the core of this commitment
stands a formally adopted plan that captures the intentions and concrete policies and measuresforeseen to (i) reduce/limit greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) prepare for the impacts of climate changeand (iii) increase access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy in the community and within
the boundaries of the local government. The local government can decide to adopt separate plansfor each of the three pillars or to integrate the pillars into one plan. Alternatively, the three pillars
can be mainstreamed into other plans developed and officially adopted by the local government,such as in the energy sector or in local development plans. GCoM signatories are required to present
their plan(s) within 3 years from joining the initiative.
Next to the clearly stated mitigation target(s) and adaptation/climate resilience goal(s), including thebaseline and delivery year(s), all actions of priority sectors must be included in the plan(s). For
mitigation actions, an assessment of the expected energy savings, renewable energy production and
GHG emissions reduction resulting from the implementation of each action, action area or sector
must be provided.

6

Chapter 8 – GCoM monitoring and reporting provides an overview on what and how often cities
have to report under the initiative. Monitoring and progress reporting are important cornerstonesof the GCoM initiative. Once a GCoM signatory has completed the steps related to assessment,
target/goal setting and planning, the city should regularly monitor progress in implementing theaction plan(s) and toward achieving the targets and goals set. A robust monitoring system andtimeline should be put in place from the beginning and be an integral part of the climate action
plan(s) adopted by the city. While the monitoring of the implementation of the planned actions isdone by each individual local government according to the locally applicable rules and the provisions
included in the action plan(s), progress reporting to the GCoM is done at least biannually throughone of the officially recognized reporting platforms.
Key city data under the GCoM, reported through any of the recognized reporting platforms, will beshared, consolidated and made publicly available through the GCoM website, and subsequently used
for analysis and aggregation and shared with the UN’s NAZCA platform.

7

Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1 About the GCoM and the Common Reporting Framework
The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) is the world’s largest alliance of cities
and local governments3 voluntarily committed to actively combatting climate change and with ashared long-term vision of moving to a low emission, climate-resilient future. The GCoM has
currently over 9260 signatories across 6 continents and more than 130 countries4, representing
more than 10% of the world’s population. Local governments are committed to GCoM’s pledge toimplement policies and undertake measures to: (i) reduce/limit greenhouse gas emissions, (ii)prepare for the impacts of climate change, (iii) increase access to secure, affordable and sustainableenergy and (iv) track progress toward these objectives.
GCoM cities are not only committed to taking bold local action but also to working side-by-side withpeers around the world to share innovative solutions that enable mayors to do more, faster. GCoM
cities connect and exchange knowledge and ideas, supported by relevant regional stakeholders.
To effectively reduce emissions and respond to current climate impacts and plan for the future,
cities require data and information at the right geographical and temporal scales. The newly
established Common Reporting Framework, will guide GCoM cities in assessing their greenhouse gas
emissions, climate change risk and vulnerabilities, as well as planning and reporting in an integrated
and coherent way. This will not only enable cities to identify and take the right actions in a timely
manner, but it will also allow for better identification of shared challenges, greater cooperation anddevelopment of common responses to the impacts of climate change.
GCoM cities agree to make key data publicly available through the GCoM via regular reporting,which is needed to track overall progress in achieving the aims of the alliance. This information will
make the case for accelerated support to cities by creating an evidence base for increased
investment as well as unlocking access to financing necessary for low-carbon and climate-resilient
urban and local development as well as for the energy transition. Showcasing climate and energy
action leadership from cities is also instrumental in inspiring and driving stronger ambition at thenational level.
Developed by multi-disciplinary experts among GCoM partners and in consultation withstakeholders, cities and local governments around the world, the CRF is the first global reporting
framework that will allow for cities across the world to use a single, standardised approach to
sharing information on climate activities. With this in mind, the framework accommodates current
differences in measurement approaches and reporting practices and also ensures robust
assessment, target setting, integrated climate action planning and monitoring, as well as streamlined
reporting across all three pillars of the initiative – climate change mitigation, adaptation and access

3 The terms “cities” and “local governments” are used throughout this document, understanding that the geo-politicalinstitutions of local governments may vary from country to country and terminology used may differ. In thisdocument, a city refers to a geographical subnational jurisdiction (“territory”) such as a community, a town or a citythat is governed by a local government as the legal entity of public administration.
4 As of January 20198

to secure, affordable and sustainable energy.5 The CRF was formally endorsed by the GCoM Board in
San Francisco in September 2018 and has been in effect since January 1, 2019. After a brieftransition period, all official GCoM reporting platforms (see Chapter 8 for details) as well asprocedures for validation and checking against GCoM minimum requirements6 will align to this newframework.
The CRF is designed for signatories of the GCoM in any region around the globe and serves as areference document for GCoM signatories as they navigate through all milestones.7 It outlines therequirements and timeframes for each of the steps a city takes under the initiative. It specifies:
1) which elements have to be covered by a city-wide GHG emissions inventory (see Error!
Reference source not found. for further details)
2) which aspects have to be covered by a city-wide Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment(see Error! Reference source not found. for further details)
3) which requirements have to be met when setting city-wide emissions reduction targets,
adaptation/climate resilience goals and access to secure, affordable and sustainableenergy goals (see Error! Reference source not found. for further details)
4) which information has to be contained in climate action plans (covering the 3 GCoM pillars,
i.e. mitigation, adaptation, energy access) adopted by GCoM cities (see Error! Reference
source not found. for further details)
5) and what and how often cities have to report under the initiative (see Chapter 8 – GCoM
monitoring and reporting for further details)
1.2 About this Guidance Note
This Guidance Note accompanies the GCoM Common Reporting Framework with the purpose of
explaining the framework and its applicability in more detail. It offers examples and references tohelp understand and correctly interpret all the requirements and recommendations laid out by the
CRF. It also provides explanations and examples for cities, regional covenants or anyone who wants
to interpret and apply the framework.
This Guidance Note is not a methodological guidebook and is understood as complementing the CRF,
while not replacing available guidance materials which exist from various sources along all the stepsof the GCoM initiative in the different regions. This document provides reference to these extended
resources and tools and how they can help cities in meeting the requirements of the CRF (pleaserefer also to Annex 3 – Further guidance materials, tools and resources).
Regional Covenants are invited to translate this guidance note and adapt it to their regions, e.g.,
making reference to regionally relevant frameworks and resources.

5Please note that the energy access pillar of the Common Reporting Framework is currently being defined. The

present guidance document will be complemented with supplementary information on energy access as soon as the
updated framework has been endorsed.
6 Further information on the GCoM validation process will follow later in 2019 and will be published separately.
7 Together with other Regional Covenant guidance materials (as applicable).

91.3 About the Regional Covenants
Regional and National Covenants already exist or are being developed with the aim of supporting
cities and local governments in different regions all around the world, operating under the sharedvision of the GCoM and principles and methods that best suit each region.
A Regional/National Covenant consists of all relevant local, regional and national partners and city
networks that support and contribute to the implementation of the mission and vision of the Global
Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy in a given geographic area. Regional/National Covenants
tailor the GCoM to regional realities, ensuring effective implementation in line with regional or
national priorities.
The Common Reporting Framework was developed with the intention to be flexible in meeting
specific local or regional circumstances while also allowing for global aggregation and comparison ofdata. It has been designed in consideration of local governments’ needs and provides a step-wise
approach to meeting GCoM commitments. The CRF is built upon already existing and broadly usedframeworks for reporting on climate change, especially those developed under the former Compactof Mayors and Covenant of Mayors initiatives.

10Chapter 2 – Definitions and General Principles
The terms “cities” and “local governments” are used throughout this document, understanding thatthe geo-political institutions of local governments may vary from country to country and terminology
used may differ. In this document, a city refers to a geographical subnational jurisdiction (“territory”)
such as a community, a town or a city that is governed by a local government as the legal entity of
public administration. The term “city boundary” refers to a local government’s administration
boundary.
The terminology and majority of definitions used in the CRF follow those used in the IPCC Fifth
Assessment Report (AR5).8
The guiding principle embedded in the Common Reporting Framework (CRF) and the GCoM initiativeis that cities should strive as much as possible to report in a way that enables meaningfulcomparison and aggregation with their peers while ensuring robust monitoring of their progress at
the local level. This also enables assessing the collective impact of GCoM cities in the fight against
climate change.
The Common Reporting Framework defines three levels of reporting:
Level 1: Mandatory requirements
These provisions form the minimum set of set of requirements that a GCoM city has to meet
under the three pillars of the initiative.9 In the CRF these requirements are introduced by theterm “shall.”Level 2: Recommendations
These provisions are considered good practice and therefore GCoM cities are strongly advised
to follow these recommendations whenever possible. They are however not mandatory and a
GCoM city is still considered as having met the requirements of the initiative even if not being
able to follow these recommendations. In the CRF these recommendations are introduced by
the term “should.”
Level 3: Additional options
These provisions refer to options that are acceptable under the initiative and that a local
government can decide to follow. These options are introduced by the term “may.” In somecases, choosing these options can mean that a city needs to consent to GCoM making certain
recalculations in order to ensure continued comparability and coherence of data reported
under the global alliance.
These three reporting levels reflect the need for flexibility to meet specific local or regional
circumstances while also allowing for global aggregation and comparison of data.

8https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/AR5_SYR_FINAL_Glossary.pdf
9Please note that the requirements for the 3 rd pillar of the initiative – energy access – have not yet been defined. This

Guidance Note will be updated with additional sections related to energy access once the reporting requirements onenergy access have been formally endorsed as part of the Common Reporting Framework.

11

The greenhouse gas emissions inventories and sectors covered, the identification of climate hazards,
risks and the assessment of vulnerabilities should be relevant to the city, its geographic location,socio-economic and demographic profile, etc. Similarly, target(s) and goal(s) of the climate actionplans should be relevant to the local and regional situation, reflecting the specific activities, capacity
and regulatory context of the local government.
The Common Reporting Framework allows flexibility so it can be applied by cities and local
governments in different regions and of all sizes, allowing to accommodate different local
circumstances and needs, such as: (i) the use of different methodologies under the IPCC frameworkor as prescribed by national regulations or practices, (ii) varied access to necessary and quality data,(iii) different levels of capacity and available resources and (iv) differentiated relevance ofrecommended elements of the framework in different geographical locations.
Local governments can decide to develop either GHG emission inventories, climate risk andvulnerability assessments, targets and action plans (covering mitigation, adaptation or both), or all of
the above jointly with neighbouring GCoM community(ies) (please see chapters 3, 6 and 7 forfurther details). In this context, it is important that each of the communities have formally endorsed
joining the GCoM and it remains a requirement that the climate action plans are adopted by eachmunicipal council individually, according to local government’s formal procedure. The reporting
platforms will be able to accommodate reporting from signatories that follow this joint/grouped
approach.

12Chapter 3 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories
A city-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions inventory quantifies the amount of GHG emissions
occurring due to activities in the community in a given year. It enables local governments tounderstand the emissions contribution of different activities, determine where to best direct
mitigation efforts, create strategies to reduce GHG emissions and track their progress.10
Signatories of the GCoM shall submit their city-wide GHG emissions inventory to GCoM11 within two
years upon joining GCoM, using any of the formally recognized reporting platforms (please see
chapter 8 for further details). Once the city has reached the monitoring phase (i.e. after having
submitted the climate action plan(s)), every two years a more recent greenhouse gas emissions
inventory shall be submitted to GCoM.12
The following GHG reporting guidance elaborates on the requirements that must be followed, as
well as provides advice and recommendations for good practice.
3.1. GHG Emissions accounting principles
In addition to the general reporting principles mentioned in section 2.2 above, local governments
shall follow the GHG emissions accounting principles outlined below:●

The inventory shall be relevant to the local and regional (where relevant) situation. This means it
needs to reflect the specific activities and policy-making needs of the city and take into accountthe city’s capacity and regulatory context.

●

Local governments shall consider all categories of emission sources outlined in this guidance andreport all emissions that are significant13 and applicable in their local context. The exclusion ofemission sources shall be disclosed and justified, using the appropriate notation keys set out inthis guidance (see Section 3.4).

●

Local governments shall compile GHG emissions inventories on a regular basis (at least every
two years), to enable monitoring of the impact of climate actions, also to support continuous
improvement in data quality and accuracy of the inventories.

●

Local governments shall ensure sufficient accuracy to give local decision makers and the publicreasonable assurance of the integrity of emissions reported. Efforts shall be made to reduce
uncertainties and make improvements over time.

●

To the extent possible, all relevant activity data14, data sources, methodologies, assumptions,exclusions and deviations shall be documented and reported. Such transparency is important to

10 In this guidance, the term “local government” is used to refer any geographically identifiable sub-national entity

including a ward or borough, a combination of administrative divisions, town, city or metropolitan area.
11 Inventory should be submitted to the GCoM secretariat where a Regional or National Covenant does not exist.
12 Some cities may find that certain data sources used in the inventory are updated on a less frequent basis. In suchcircumstances, it is recommended that cities make best estimates possible from the available data.
13See Section 3.3 of the guidance for definition of insignificance.
14Activity data is a quantitative measure of a level of activity that results in GHG emissions taking place during agiven period of time. See Section 3.5.1 of the guidance for more details.

13allow for review, replication of good practice to support consistent inventories over time andtackling challenges identified.
The above principles are applicable throughout the inventory development and reporting process,from determining the inventory boundary and selecting calculation methods, to identifying data andpreparing inventory reports. These principles are reflected throughout this guidance.
3.2. Defining the inventory boundary
Local governments shall define the inventory boundary and record this in the inventory
documentation. This includes:(1) Geographic boundary
This is the spatial dimension or physical perimeter of the local government’s administrative
boundary. Local governments shall provide a map that depicts the boundary and provide important
context, including at least the population. It is recommended to report other useful city context such
as GDP, type of climate, heating/cooling degree days, where available, to enable meaningfulcomparisons over time and between local governments.
(2) Inventory year
The inventory shall cover a consecutive period of 12 months, ideally aligning to either a calendar
year, or a financial reporting year commonly used by the local government. This 12-month period iscalled the inventory year and shall be specified in the inventory.
(3) Types of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
At a minimum, the inventory shall quantify emissions of the following gases: carbon dioxide (CO2),methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).15 All GHG emissions data should be reported as metrictonnes of each gas, and/or metric tonnes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e).16
In all cases, the Global Warming Potential (GWP) values that are used to convert GHGs other than
CO2 to CO2e shall be clearly identified. Local governments should use the 100-year17 GWP values
provided in the IPCC Assessment Reports (AR).
Local governments should also use GWPs from the latest version of the IPCC AR or the version usedin the country’s reporting to the UNFCCC. Where values from other versions of AR are used, thisshould be justified.
Each GHG should be reported individually where possible but may be reported in aggregated form
(as Total CO2e) if it is not possible to disaggregate.

15When reporting emissions from the IPPU sector, the inventory should also include hydro fluoro carbons (HFCs),

perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
16CO2 equivalent (CO2e) can be determined by multiplying each gas by its respective global warming potential(GWP). The IPCC Assessment Report used for the GWP factors should be clearly referenced (i.e. FAR; SAR; TAR; AR4;AR5).
17Cities who wish to use other GWP values of other timeframes for their own reporting may produce a separate
inventory which does not need to be reported to GCoM. In such case, cities are recommended to disclose thediscrepancy between the results of the two inventories in their own reporting to avoid confusion.

14

Local governments may report CO2 emissions from biogenic carbon18, as long as they are categorised
separately and not counted in emissions totals. Where an activity produces both biogenic and nonbiogenic CO2 emissions, the two shall be reported separately. For example, biogenic CO2 emissions
released from combustion of gasoline blended with ethanol should be calculated on basis of theethanol content in the blend fuel and reported separately from non-biogenic CO2 emissions
calculated based on the gasoline content.
3.3 Identifying emission sources
The city-wide GHG emissions inventory shall report emissions occurring from different sectors aswell as distinguish between direct and indirect emissions. This is aligned with the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, as well as someother commonly used GHG accounting and reporting frameworks (see Annex 1 for comparison ofemission sources categories between these and the GCoM framework).
(1) Sector and sub-sectors
Local governments shall distinguish emissions from different sectors and sub-sectors as categorisedin

18Biogenic carbon emissions are those that result from the combustion of biomass material such as wood, bio-waste,biofuels, etc.

15

Table , in order to identify the most significant opportunity areas for mitigating emissions. The
following labels are used in the table to indicate whether a sector/sub-sector shall be included in theinventory:•

Required shall be reported, unless not applicable or considered insignificant in the city (inwhich case notation keys can be used – see section 3.4 for more details). These are coloured
in green in the table.

•

Optional: may be reported and is highly recommended to be reported if it is significant (seeBox 1 for how to determine if emissions are insignificant). These are coloured in blue in thetable.

Detailed description of the sub-sectors and guidance on how to calculate and report emissions fromeach sector and sub-sector are provided in Section 25.
It is good practice to further disaggregate emissions in a sub-sector into more specific categories. For
example, identifying emissions associated with specific types of buildings, facilities, industries,
vehicles, etc. Detailed, disaggregated data helps local governments identify emissions hotspots more
precisely and design more specific mitigation actions.
Box 1. Insignificant emission sources – definition and reporting requirements
An emission source can be considered insignificant if the size of emissions is smaller than any other subsector that shall be reported.
In addition, the combined emissions from all sources that are considered insignificant should not exceed
5% of total emissions that shall be reported. For example, if all the emissions sources that shall bereported amount to one million tonnes of CO2e, the total emissions of all insignificant sources cannot
exceed 5% of that, i.e. 50,000 tonnes of CO2e.
Local governments need to make a crude estimate of such emissions in order to determine if it isinsignificant. For example, if the only waterborne activities that start and end within the city boundary
are sightseeing cruises, to make a crude estimate of emissions from fuel oil used by the ferries, the local
government may calculate the number of trips made per year based on the cruise timetable and estimate
the average fuel consumption per trip.

(2) Direct and indirect emissions
To avoid double counting between local governments within the same region, the inventory shalldistinguish and report the following types of emissions based on where they physically occur:•

Direct emissions due to fuel combustion in the buildings, equipment/facilities andtransportation sectors within the city boundary. These emissions physically occur inside thecity boundary.19•

Other direct emissions that are not related to fuel combustion, including: fugitive emissions
from disposal and treatment of waste (including wastewater) generated within the city

19These are often referred to as Scope 1 emissions in some other commonly used GHG inventory standards.

16

boundary, which may occur inside or outside the city boundary20, and; fugitive emissions
from natural gas distribution systems (such as equipment or pipeline leaks).
•

Indirect emissions due to consumption of grid-supplied energy (electricity, heat or cold)
within the geographic boundary.21 Depending on where energy is generated, theseemissions may physically occur inside or outside the city boundary.

Cities shall quantify emissions in the three categories above for all the sectors and sub-sectors thatare marked as “Yes” as highlighted in green cells in

20 Emissions occurring outside the city boundary as a result of city activities, such as emissions from waste generated

by the city but treated outside the city boundary, are often referred to as Scope 3 emissions in some other commonlyused GHG inventory standards.
21 These are often referred to as Scope 2 emissions in some other commonly used GHG inventory standards.

17

Table . This is referred to as the mandatory reporting level in this guidance.
Separately, cities shall also report emissions from the generation of grid-supplied energy that occurs
inside the city’s boundary, or outside the city boundary but from facilities that are fully or partiallyowned by the local government. However, as these emissions will have already been accounted forthrough the emission factor for grid-supplied energy that is reported under indirect emissions, theyshall be excluded from direct emissions and not accounted for in the total emissions. See section 3.7
for further guidance on reporting emissions from generation of grid-supplied energy.
In addition, local governments may also report other emissions that occur outside the boundary as aresult of activities taking place inside the boundary. Examples include transmission and distribution(T&D) losses of grid-supplied energy consumed within the boundary22, out of boundary proportionof transboundary transport activities, upstream activities in the production process of fuel andproducts consumed within the boundary. These emissions, if reported, shall be clearly described anddo not form part of the GHG emissions inventory total at the mandatory reporting level.
3.4 Using notation keys
To accommodate limitations in data availability and differences in emission sources between local
governments, the following notation keys may be used in the GHG emissions inventories in absenceof emissions data or if an emission source category does not occur in the city. Where notation keys
are used, an accompanying explanation shall be provided.
●“NO” (not occurring): An activity or process does not occur or exist within the city. This notation
key may also be used for insignificant sources (see Box 1 for definition).
For example, NO may be used for the Aviation sub-sector if there are no aviation activities thatboth start and end within the city boundary. This reason should be stated in the inventory as an
explanation for the use of the notation key.
Another example of the use of NO, is a city that determines that emissions from waterborne
transportation within the city boundary are insignificant. The notation key NO can be used, aslong as it is explained why it is considered insignificant.

●“IE” (included elsewhere): GHG emissions for this activity are estimated and presented inanother category in the same inventory, stating what that category is. This notation key may be
used where it is difficult to disaggregate data into multiple sub-sectors.
This notation key can also be used when waste is used for generating energy. In thesecircumstances IE can be used in the relevant waste sub-sector (See section 3.6.3 for moredetails).

●“C” (confidential): GHG emissions which could lead to the disclosure of confidential information,
and as such are not reported publicly. For instance, certain military operations or industrial
facilities may not permit public data disclosure where this impacts security.

22 In some cases, the electricity grid emission factors already include the T&D losses. If it is not possible todisaggregate, cities may report T&D losses as part of the emissions associated with grid electricity consumption, andclearly describe this.

18●“NE” (not estimated): GHG emissions occur but have not been estimated or reported, with ajustification why. NE cannot be used for emission sources that are required by the mandatory
reporting level (see Table 1). Use of NE should also be minimised for non-mandatory emission
sources by exploring methodologies and data sources to make best estimates.

Notation keys can be applied at the sub-sector level (i.e. for an entire emission source category), orat activity/facility level (i.e. for a specific emission source).
Cities should make efforts to obtain/estimate and report data where possible, and only use notation
keys as a last resort. For example, it might be possible to obtain confidential data throughconfidentiality agreements with providers, and such data may be reported in an aggregated form
with other emission sources, or cities may report emissions without disclosing information on thetype or level of activities.

19

Table 1. GCoM categorisation of emission sources
Included?
Sectors and sub-sectors

DirectemissionsIndirect
emissions

Required
Required

Required

Required

Required

Required

Required

Agriculture

Required

Required

Fugitive emissions

Required

Note

IPCC ref. no.

Stationary energy
Residential buildings
Commercial building and facilities
Institutional buildings andfacilities
Industrial buildings and facilities

RequiredThis covers emissions from fuel combustion and use of grid-supplied energy bybuildings, equipment and facilities within city boundary (including transportation
and waste facilities), as well as fugitive emissions from production, transformationand distribution of fuels.
Emissions from sources covered by a regional or national emissions trading systemshould be identified and described. See section 3.6.1 for detailed guidance andrequirements.

1A4b
1A4a
1A4a
1A1, 1A2
1A4c
1B1, 1B2

Transportation
On-roadRequired

RequiredRail

Required

Required

Waterborne navigation

Required

Required

Aviation

Required

Required

Off-road

Required

RequiredThis covers emissions from fuel combustion and use of grid-supplied energy for allmodes of transportation activities within city boundary (for waterborne andaviation, cities only need to report journeys fully confined within the cityboundary).
On-road and rail travel should additionally be disaggregated by municipal fleet,public transport, private and commercial transport. See section 3.6.2 for detailed
guidance and requirements.

1A3b

This covers non-energy related emissions from disposal and treatment of waste(incl. wastewater) generated within the city boundary, as a result of aerobic or
anaerobic decomposition of waste, or incineration. Emissions from waste-toenergy, where waste/wastewater material is used directly as fuel or converted
into a fuel, should captured under the Stationary Energy sector. See section 3.6.3
for detailed guidance and requirements.

4A

1A3c
1A3d
1A3a
1A3e

Waste
Solid waste disposal

Required

Biological treatment

Required

Incineration and open burning

Required

Wastewater treatment andRequireddischarge
Industrial Process and Product Use (IPPU)
Industrial Process

Optional

Product Use

OptionalThis covers non-energy related emissions from industrial processes, the use ofcertain products and non-energy use of fossil fuels. See section 3.6.4 for detailed
guidance and requirements.

4B
4C
4D

2A, 2B, 2C, 2E
2D, 2F, 2G, 2H

20

Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)
Livestock

Optional

Land use

Optional

Other AFOLU

OptionalThis covers non-energy related emissions produced in the digestive processes of
livestock and emissions/removals as a result of land use and management. See
section 3.6.5 for detailed guidance and requirements.

3A
3B
3C, 3D

Energy Generation
Electricity-only generation

Required

CHP generation

RequiredHeat/cold generation

Required

Local renewable generation

Optional

OptionalThis means disclosure of information on activity and emissions specifically related
to energy generation within the city boundary or outside the boundary but can becontrolled or influenced by the city. It is for information only and not added to thetotal emissions.

1A1

21

3.5 Calculating and reporting emissions – overview
For some activities, local governments may be able to use direct measurements of GHG emissions(e.g., through use of continuous emissions monitoring systems at power stations). However, formost emission sources, local governments will need to estimate GHG emissions by multiplying
activity data by an appropriate emission factor:
GHG emissions = Activity data x Emission factor
Activity data is a quantitative measure of a level of activity that results in GHG emissions taking place
during the inventory year. Examples of activity data are:•amount of natural gas used for space heating in residential buildings, measured in MWh•distance travelled by private car journeys, measured in vehicle kilometres travelled (VKM)•

amount of waste sent to landfill, measured in tonnes

Emission factors are coefficients which quantify the emissions associated with each unit of activity,for example:•

amount of CO2 emitted per litre of petrol combusted•

amount of CH4 emitted per tonne of waste sent to landfill

Emission reductions can be achieved by reducing activity level, increasing fuel efficiency, switchingfuels or a combination of above. Therefore, to better inform mitigation strategies and track impactsof actions, local governments shall also report activity data and emission factors, disaggregated by
activity and/or fuel type, in addition to GHG emissions data.
3.5.1

Sourcing data

It is good practice to start data collection activities with an initial screening of available data sources.
This will be an iterative process to improve the quality of data used and should be driven by two
primary considerations:•

Data should be from reliable and robust sources•

Data should be time- and geographically-specific to the inventory boundary, and technologyspecific to the activity being measured. In general, local specific data should be sought andused before considering using national or international data.

Data can be gathered from a variety of sources, including government departments and statistics
agencies, utility companies and service providers, a country’s national GHG inventory report,
universities and research institutes, scientific and technical articles in environmental books, journals
and reports and sector experts/stakeholder organisations. Sometimes it may be necessary to
generate new data if the required data does not exist or cannot be estimated from existing sources.
This could involve physical measurement, sampling activities or surveys.
(1) Activity data

22

Local governments should aim to obtain the following types of data, categorised by the approaches
in which data are generated (listed from most preferred to least preferred). Examples are provided
for the stationary energy and waste sectors, but the principles apply to other sectors:•

Real activity data disaggregated by sub-sector. For example, the amount of energy
consumption monitored at the point of use or sale, or amount of waste at the point ofdisposal or treatment. This should ideally be obtained from utility or fuel providers.

•

A representative sample set of real activity data from surveys. For example, surveying
buildings for fuel consumption.

•

Modelled data. For example, determine energy intensity, by building and/or facility type,
expressed as energy used per square meter (e.g., GJ/m2/year) or per unit of output, in orderto calculate energy consumption of the relevant sub-sector.

•

Incomplete or aggregate real activity data: For example, if fuel consumption data by subsector are unavailable, but data are available for total emissions from stationary sources
within the city, apportion by total built space for each sub-sector or building type. If data are
only available for a few of the total number of fuel suppliers, determine the population (orother indicators such as industrial output, floor space, etc.) served by real data to scale-up
the partial data for total city-wide energy consumption.

•

Regional or national fuel consumption data scaled down using population or otherindicators. Where the best available data do not align with the geographical boundary ortime period of the inventory, the data can be adapted to meet the inventory boundary byadjusting for changes in activity using a scaling factor. The scaling factor represents the ratio
between the available data and the required inventory data and should reflect a high degreeof correlation to variations in the data. For example, population is a commonly used scaling
factor for household waste data, as expressed in the equation below:
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 =𝐶𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛∗ 𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎 𝑎𝑡 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑙𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙
𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑜𝑝𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

When scaling regional or national data, cities should consider whether it represents anappropriate estimate of the local situation and make local adjustment where necessary. For
example, the amount of waste generated per capita in a city may be higher than that at
national level.
(2) Emission factors
When reporting emission factors, local governments shall also disclose which of the following two
types of emission factors are used in their inventories:•

Activity-based emission factors, also referred to as IPCC emission factors.23 They are basedon the carbon content of relevant fuel and account for emissions resulting from the final

23Note this is different from default emission factors from IPCC. Activity-based emission factors developed at the

local/regional/national level can also be called IPCC emission factors, and they should be used instead of default
emission factors from IPCC.

23

combustion of the fuel. This is the recommended type of emission factors that local
governments should use.
•

Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA)-based emission factors, which not only include the emissions of the
final combustion, but also all emissions resulting from all stages of the supply chain such as
extraction, transport and processing of the fuel. Local governments may use LCA emission
factors where it is required for reporting at the national level or allowed in reporting tools
recognised by national governments; in this case, they shall also consent to GCoM
recalculating and reporting their inventory using standard activity-based emission factors toenable comparison and aggregation across local governments.

Special notes on emission factors for grid-supplied electricity:
Like other data in the inventory, the grid emission factors should be time-specific to the inventory
year, and geographically-specific to the inventory boundary.
Local governments shall use electricity grid emission factors that are based on a location-based
approach, i.e. the average electricity generation emission factors that represent the electricity
produced in the defined location (e.g., the area covered by a local, regional, national or
supranational grid). Furthermore, local governments shall specify whether the grid emission factor is
locally estimated and accounts for local production of renewable electricity, or whether it covers aregional, national or supranational grid.
Local governments that are part of the European Covenant of Mayors and following the European
Covenant of Mayors reporting framework may use emission factors based on the EU Covenant
methodology for accounting indirect emissions, which takes into account location and market-based
methods, as well as tracking instruments, like guarantees of origins, renewable energy certificates bycity customers.24 Further guidance for calculating local emission factors for electricity is available in
the Emission Inventory Guidance from the European Covenant of Mayors.25 Where local
governments choose to use the European Covenant methodology for determining grid emission
factors, they shall also report the location-based (national or regional) grid emission factor andreport the associated energy-related emissions.
3.5.2

Reporting data sources and methodologies

Local governments shall document and adequately report the methodologies used to calculate ormeasure emissions, including key assumptions and information on tools used. This also includes
reporting the sources of all activity data, emission factors and emissions data that are reported,
including full references. Web links should be provided if available.

24 In some cities, energy suppliers or utilities can provide consumers with emission factors for either their standard

portfolio or for any low-carbon or renewable energy consumer labels, tariffs or other programs. The market-based
method reflects contractual relationships between energy suppliers and customers, but not necessarily the carbon
intensity of the actual grid serving the customers. See more information about location-based vs. market-based
methods in the GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance at https://ghgprotocol.org/scope_2_guidance
25 http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC112986/jrc112986_kj-nb-29412-en-n.pdf pg. 53-55

24

3.6 Calculating and reporting emissions – by sourceThis section provides more detailed guidance on how to collect data and calculate emissions for eachsector, including further definitions and reporting guidance.
3.6.1

Stationary energy

This sector refers to energy used in buildings and facilities. It is one of the largest contributors to
GHG emissions in cities. Emissions shall be disaggregated by different types of buildings and facilities,
as per the sub-sectors defined in the table below. Emissions can be estimated by multiplying energy
consumption (activity data) by the corresponding emission factors for each energy type, by gas andby sub-sector.
Table 2. Definitions for sub-sectors under the Stationary Energy sector
Sub-sectors

Description

Residential buildings

Emissions from energy use (i.e. fuel combustion and use of grid-supplied energy)
in buildings that are primarily used as residential buildings. Energy uses include
cooking, heating/cooling, lighting, appliances, etc.
Cities may further categorise this sub-sector by different types of buildings (bytenure or age, for example). Informal residential settlements and social housing
are included in this sub-sector.

Commercial buildings
and facilities

Emissions from energy use in buildings that are primarily used as commercial
buildings (e.g., commercial offices, banks, shops, hotels, private schools or clinics,
other privately owned facilities, etc).
Cities may further categorise this sector by different types and/or sizes ofbuildings.

Institutional buildings
and facilities

Emissions from energy use in public buildings such as schools, hospitals,
government offices, publicly-owned water/waste/wastewater facilities, otherfacilities, etc. Public lighting is also included in this sub-sector.

Industrial buildings andfacilities

Emissions from energy use in manufacturing and industrial facilities, construction
activities and energy industries. Due to the complex nature of this sub-sector,
local governments are recommended to further disaggregate emissions by thesecategories. Note: this sub-sector does not include emissions from the generationof grid-distributed energy.

Agriculture, forestry
and fishing facilities

Emissions from energy use in agriculture, forestry and fishing activities, including
energy use associated with plant and animal cultivation, afforestation,
reforestation and fishery activities. This could include, for example, the on-site
operation of farm vehicles and machinery, generators to power lighting, pumps
and heaters.

Fugitive emissions

All fugitive emissions from the extraction, transformation and transportation ofprimary fossil fuels within the city boundary, including:1)

Fugitive emission occurring during mining, processing, storage andtransportation of coal2)

Fugitive emissions from oil and natural gas systems, such as equipment or
pipeline leaks, evaporation and flashing losses, venting, flaring, incineration,
accidental releases, etc.

This is usually a small emission source in a city. Emissions data may be directly
measured at facility level, or cities can estimate emissions using default emission

25

factors from national inventories or the IPCC26.

There are some particular scenarios that may occur and complicate classification of sectors or subsectors, such as mixed-use buildings and energy used in transportation and waste facilities etc.
Further guidance on how to report those emissions are provided in Error! Reference source notfound., with the general principle being to avoid double counting.
For the Stationary Energy sector, emissions from sources covered by a regional or national emissions
trading system (ETS) should be identified and described, i.e. the names and/or registration numberof relevant facilities and the trading scheme are specified.
Box 2. How to report emissions that may cover multiple sectors- Mixed-use buildings
Where buildings or facilities are used for multiple purposes, such as residential units in commercial complex,
or offices in an industrial facility, inventory developers can either i) subdivide such mixed-use buildings basedon the floor area (square meters) of a building dedicated to different uses (and allocate the activity data andresulting emissions accordingly), or ii) categorise the entire building under one of the sub-categories andprovide justification.
- Manufacture of transport equipment
GHG emissions from the manufacture of motor vehicles, ships, boats, railway and tramway locomotives,aircraft and spacecraft, etc. are attributable to the relevant industrial buildings and facilities and thus shall bereported under the Stationary Energy sector rather than the Transportation sector (see section 3.6.2 forfurther guidance).
- Transport premises
On-site energy use in transport premises (e.g., airports, train stations, bus terminals, harbours, etc.) andassociated GHG emissions shall be reported in Stationary Energy sector, not Transportation.
- Waste and wastewater treatment and disposal facilities
GHG emissions resulting from on-site energy use within these facilities (e.g., electricity used for pumping,natural gas for heating, etc.) shall be reported in the Stationary Energy sector.
Emissions as a result of energy used for transporting waste to and from these facilities (e.g., diesel used inwaste collection vehicles) shall be reported in the Transportation sector. The exception to this is the emissions
associated with off-road vehicles operating within the facilities (e.g., forklift trucks on landfill sites), which shallbe reported in the Stationary Energy sector.
Fugitive emissions from the decay of solid waste and the anaerobic degradation of wastewater in thesefacilities are non-energy related and shall be reported in the Waste sector (see section 3.6.3 for further
guidance).
Where waste (including by-products of waste disposal and treatment, such as landfill gas, biogas, sludge, etc.)
is used to generate energy using waste, this is considered to be energy related, so they shall be captured under
the Stationary Energy sector. If the energy generated is not grid-connected but used on-site, this should bereported as direct emissions, similar to fuel combustion. If energy generated is supplied to the grid, this should
be reported as indirect emissions. Additionally, the emissions should be disclosed in the Energy Generation
section of the inventory. See section 3.6.3 for more details.
- Farms, aquaculture sites, forests
26www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/pdf/2_Volume2/V2_4_Ch4_Fugitive_Emissions.pdf

26

Energy used in buildings (e.g., sheds, offices, lodges) and by equipment (such as off-road vehicles andmachineries) on these sites should be reported as a Stationary Energy emission source under the Agriculture,
forestry and fishing facilities sub-sector.
On-road transportation to and from these sites, such as trucks and fishing boats, should be reported under theTransportation sector.
Emissions from enteric fermentation of livestock, manure management and burning of agricultural residues
should be reported under the AFOLU sector (see section 3.6.5 for further details).

3.6.2

Transportation

This sector is often referred to as mobile energy. Vehicles produce GHG emissions directly by
combusting fuel or indirectly by consuming grid-supplied electricity. All emissions shall be reported
and disaggregated by transportation mode as per the sub-sectors defined in the table below.
Emissions can be calculated by multiplying energy consumption (activity data) by the corresponding
emission factors for each energy type, by gas and by sub-sector.
Table 3. Definitions for sub-sectors required under Transportation sector
Sub-sectors

Description

On-roadEmissions from energy use for on-road transportation of people or goods.
Cities only need to report emissions from journeys occurring inside the city boundary.
Cities should further categorise this sub-sector by municipal fleet, public transport,
private and commercial transport, and may breakdown further by mode such as cars,
taxis, buses, motorbikes, etc.

Rail

Emissions from energy used for rail transportation of people or goods, such as trams,
urban railway subway systems, regional (inter-city) commuter rail transport, national
and international rail system, etc.
Cities only need to report emissions from journeys occurring inside the city boundary.

Waterborne
navigation

Emissions from energy use for water transportation of people or goods, such as ferries,
domestic inter-city vehicles, international water–borne vehicles, etc.
Cities only need to consider emissions from journeys that are fully confined within thecity boundary (i.e. both start and end inside the city, such as sightseeing cruises).
Reporting of this sub-sector is only required if considered significant (see Box 1 fordefinition of insignificant emission sources).

Aviation

Emissions from energy use for air transportation of people or goods, including civil andmilitary aviation.
Cities only need to report emissions from journeys that are fully confined within the cityboundary (i.e. both start and end inside the city, such as sightseeing or emergency
helicopters and other local aviation).
Reporting of this sub-sector is only required if considered significant.

Off-road

Emissions from energy use by off-road vehicles and mobile machinery within the cityboundary.
Reporting of this sub-sector is only required if considered significant.

27

Reporting of the in-boundary components of regional or international waterborne or airborne
journeys, such as the landing and taking-off (LTO) components of regional or international flights, isoptional. Cities may use the notation key “Included Elsewhere” to identify such activities without
reporting emissions. If emissions are reported, cities should distinguish between LTO emissions andemissions from journeys fully confined within the boundary.
Local governments may also separately report emissions from the portion of trans-boundary
journeys occurring outside the boundary.
Depending on data and resource availability, local governments may choose from the following two
approaches to calculate the energy consumed for transportation activities within the city boundary:(1) Fuel sales approachThis approach treats the quantity of transport fuels sold as a proxy for transportation activities.
Cities may assume that all fuels sold within the boundary are used for journeys within the boundary.
It is also possible to use surveys or other methods to determine the portion of fuels sold that are
attributable to journeys within the boundary. Fuel sales data can be obtained from fuel dispensing
facilities and/or distributors, or from fuel sales tax receipts.
This approach is consistent with national inventory practices and is suitable for cities that have
limited resources, technical capacity or time. However, it does not capture all transportation
activities within a city boundary (for example, vehicles may be fuelled outside the boundary but
driven inside), nor does it disaggregate the reasons for travel emissions (such as origins, destinations,modes, vehicle types and efficiency). Therefore, it does not comprehensively demonstrate mitigation
potential.
(2) Model-based approachThis approach estimates fuel consumption from detailed activity data on the basis of the following
parameters:
Energy consumption (by fueltype and mode)

Transport
Activity•

Mode Share

Energy Intensity

Transport activity

This is a measure of traffic flow reflecting the number and lengths of trips, usually expressed as
VKM (vehicle kilometres travelled). The VKM is determined by multiplying the number ofvehicles on a given road or traffic network by the average length of their trips measured inkilometres (or miles). It can be measured as passenger-kilometre (a unit of measurement = 1

28

passenger transported a distance of 1 kilometre) and tonne-kilometre (a unit of measurement =1 tonne transported a distance of 1 kilometre).
The VKM may be available from the local or regional transport department who collect suchdata for transport planning purposes, or from sample surveys (i.e. traffic counts), household
transport surveys, etc.
•

Mode share

This represents the portion of trips taken by different modes (e.g., walking, biking, public
transport, private transport, etc.) and vehicle types (e.g., cars, taxis, buses, motorbikes, trucks,etc.).
The mode share can be estimated from traffic counts and surveys, vehicle registration,
local/regional/national statistics, etc.
•

Energy intensity

This is the energy consumption per km travelled by each vehicle type. This is determined by thetype of energy used, the make, model and age of vehicles, the road condition, the driving cycle
and a number of other factors. Cities may estimate the average fuel consumption of vehicles
driving on the street network based on polls, information from inspection agencies or vehicle
registration information.
The model-based approach can produce detailed and more actionable data for mitigation planningand integrates better with existing transport models and planning processes in some cities. However,it can be expensive and time consuming to establish. Where possible, cities should use both fuelsales and model-based approaches to validate results and improve reliability.
Under the model-based approach, cities can choose one of the following methods to identify
transport activities attributable to the city:a) Geographic or territorial: This method quantifies travel activity occurring solely within
the city boundary, often based on surveys at the physical boundary and regardless of theorigin or destination of the journeys. Some European traffic demand models alreadycollect such data for local air pollution estimates and traffic pricing.
b) Resident activity: This method quantifies travel activity undertaken by residents within
the city boundary only, often based on resident VKT, from vehicle registration records
and surveys on resident travels. While such information may be more manageable andcost-effective than traffic models, their limitation to resident activity overlooks theimpact of non-residents such as commuters, tourists, logistics providers and othertravellers.
c) Induced activity: This method seeks to quantify travel activity induced by thecommunity, including trips that begin, end or are fully contained within the cityboundary (usually excluding pass-through trips). It relies on models or surveys to assess
the number and length of all on-road trips occurring - both transboundary and inboundary only. These models are more common in US cities.

29

Please refer to the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories orthe ”Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan” Guidebooks for further details on themethodological approaches above.
3.6.3

Waste

Waste (including solid waste and wastewater) disposal and treatment produces GHG emissions
through aerobic or anaerobic decomposition, or incineration. All GHG emissions from disposal andtreatment of waste generated within the city boundary shall be reported and disaggregated by thefollowing sub-sectors. Further definitions and guidance on sub-sectors are provided below.
Table 4. Definitions for sub-sectors required under the Waste sector
Sub-sectors

Description

Solid waste disposal

All emissions from solid waste that are disposed of at managed sites (e.g., sanitary
landfill and managed dumps) and unmanaged sites (e.g., open dumps, including aboveground piles, holes in the ground and dumping into natural features such as ravines).

Biological treatment

All emissions from biological treatment of waste, including composting and anaerobic
digestion of organic waste.

Incineration andopen burning

All emissions from waste that are burned either in a controlled, industrial process or in
an uncontrolled, often illicit, process. The former is often referred to as incineration, andthe latter as open burning.
Note that this excludes emissions from waste incineration for the purposes of energy
generation, also known as energy recovery. See Box 2 for more details.

Wastewater
treatment anddischarge

All emissions from the treatment process of wastewater, either aerobically or
anaerobically, and direct discharge of wastewater into an open body of water.

Note that this sector excludes emissions resulted from the waste to energy process inside or outside
the city boundary (e.g., energy recovery from waste incineration, energy generation using
landfill/biogas/sludge produced by waste facilities, etc.). Where the energy generated from waste isconnected to a grid, the resulting GHG emissions will have been included under the indirectemissions within the Stationary Energy sector. Additionally, these sources shall be disclosed in the
Energy Generation section of the inventory. If the energy generated is not connected to the grid but
used on-site, then the associated emissions should be reported as direct emissions under theStationary Energy sector. In both cases, the notation key IE should be used in the relevant waste
sector where the waste is used to generate energy (see Section 3.4 for more details on notationkeys).
Box 3
The inventory should quantify emissions released during the inventory year. In certain cases, theavailable or nationally consistent methodologies may also estimate the future emissions that result
from activities conducted within the inventory year. For instance, as it can take many years for waste
to decompose, when reporting emissions from landfill sites, local governments may choose to reportemissions released during the inventory year as a result of waste disposed during that year andprevious years. Alternatively, they can report emissions that may be released during the inventory year30

and in future years as a result of the actual quantity of waste deposited during the inventory year. Seefootnote 27 for further details about the two methods for calculating emissions from waste landfill.

For example, a hypothetical landfill site captures 80% of the landfill gas produced, which is then
combusted to generate electricity that is supplied to the grid. The city should report the amount oflandfill gas captured and combusted for energy generation (i.e. 80% of total landfill produced), as
well as the associated emissions, in the Energy Generation section of the inventory. Then in the
Waste sector, the city should report the landfill gas that is not combusted (i.e. the remaining 20%) as
direct emissions released to the atmosphere, and also use notation key IE in a separate line toindicate the landfill gas that is used as energy source without reporting the relevant emissions.
Generally speaking, the quantification of GHG emissions from disposal and treatment of waste
should include the following steps:(1) Identify the quantity of waste generated, and how and where it is treatedThis is the activity data. Local governments should identify the quantity of waste generated in theinventory year27, categorised by different types of generation and treatment pathways where
possible. How waste is generated affects the composition of waste, which determines the emission
factors that need to be used (further elaborated below). How waste is treated determines what
GHGs are emitted as well as the emission factors.
Activity data on quantities of waste generated and disposed/treated at managed sites can becalculated based on records from waste collection services, such as weigh-ins at the landfill sites.
Waste disposed at unmanaged sites (e.g., solid waste sent to open dumps, wastewater discharged toopen water) can be estimated by subtracting the amount of waste disposed/treated at managedsites from the total waste generated. Total waste generated can be calculated from the per capita
waste generation rate and the population. More guidance on collecting this information is available
in IPCC Guidelines.
(2) Determine the emission factor
This is dependent on how waste is treated and the composition of the waste.
Disposal of solid waste produces significant amounts of CH4, which contributes approximately 3 to 4
percent to the annual global anthropogenic GHG emissions.28 In addition, solid waste disposal sites(SWDS) also produce biogenic CO2 and smaller amounts of N2O as well as other non-methane
volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide. As a minimum, local
governments should quantify the CH4 emissions. According to IPCC Guidelines, the emission factor ofCH4 from SWDS is illustrated as methane generation potential, which is a function of degradable

27For solid waste disposal, methane emissions continue several decades (or sometimes even centuries) after waste

disposal. In line with the IPCC Guidelines, local governments may choose to either estimate emissions that physicallyoccur during the inventory year, which is contributed by waste disposed in that year and previous years, or estimate
emissions based on waste disposed in the inventory year. The former is often referred to as the First Order of Decay
method, the latter as Methane Commitment method. If local governments choose the former, waste disposed in thelandfill site from previous years should also be quantified.
28www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/pdf/5_Volume5/V5_3_Ch3_SWDS.pdf

31

organic content (DOC). DOC varies between different types of waste and is therefore dependent on
the waste composition.
Similarly, anaerobic digestion of organic waste also produces CH4, biogenic CO2 and trace of N2O. In
cases where waste is composted, the DOC in the waste material is converted into CO 2 which is ofbiogenic origin. CH4 is also formed in anaerobic sections of the compost but is oxidised to a large
extent in the aerobic sections of the compost. Composting can also produce a small amount of N2Oemissions.
Like other types of combustion, incineration and open burning of waste emit CO2, CH4 and N2O. Local
governments should distinguish non-biogenic CO2 emissions from biogenic CO2 by identifying thefossil carbon contained in the waste.
Wastewater can be a source of CH4 when treated or disposed anaerobically, and the emission factor
is largely dependent on the organic content and the methane generation capacity of the wastewater,
as well as the amount of organic component removed as sludge and the amount of CH4 recovered.
Wastewater treatment produces trace amounts of N2O emissions through the nitrification anddenitrification of sewage nitrogen, which can be considered negligible. N2O emissions can also occur
during disposal of wastewater effluent into waterways, which local governments should quantify
where possible.
Further guidance for calculating emission factors from different waste disposal and treatment
pathways, including equations and default data that local governments may use in absence of local
or regional/national data, is available within the IPCC Guidelines and the Global Protocol for
Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories.
3.6.4

Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU)

Reporting GHG emissions from the IPPU sector is optional but it is recommended where such
emissions are considered relevant or significant (see Box 1 for guidance on how to determine if anemission source is significant). Cities should consider emissions from two sub-sectors:(1) Industrial processes
GHG emissions are produced from a wide variety of industrial activities and processes thatchemically or physically transform materials, including:•Mineral industry, such as production of cement, lime, glass, etc., where notable CO2
emissions can be released from the calcination of carbonate compounds.

•

Chemical industry, such as production of ammonia, nitric acid, adipic acid, caprolactam,
glyoxal, glyoxylic acid, carbide, titanium dioxide, soda ash, etc. Depending on the process
and technology, major GHG emissions could include CO2, N2O and CH4.

•

Metal industry, such as the production of iron steel and metallurgical coke, ferroalloy,
aluminium, magnesium, lead, zinc, etc. Major GHG emissions could include CO 2, CH4 and insome cases (such as in magnesium production), SF6, HFC and other GHG emissions.

(2) The use of products

32

GHGs are often used or contained in products such as refrigerators, foams or aerosol cans. For
example, HFCs and PFCs are used as alternatives to ozone depleting substances (ODS) in various
types of product applications. Several advanced electronics manufacturing processes also utilise
fluorinated compounds (FC) for plasma etching intricate patterns, cleaning reactor chambers, andtemperature control, all of which emit GHGs.
This sub-sector also includes GHG emissions from non-energy uses of fossil fuels as a product.
Typical examples include: lubricants used in transportation and industry; paraffin waxes used incandle making, paper coating, adhesives, food production, packaging, etc.; road oil and otherpetroleum diluents used in asphalt production for road paving; and white spirit, kerosene and somearomatics used as solvent (e.g., for paint and dry cleaning).
Where fossil fuels are combusted to provide heat or mechanical work, or used to produce secondary
energy or another fuel, the associated emissions shall be reported in the Stationary Energy sector.
GHG emissions from IPPU are usually less significant than other sectors but can be notable for somelocal governments, in which case emissions should be quantified.
To estimate GHG emissions from this sector, local governments should first identify major industries
or product use within the city boundaries that release GHG emissions. Unless emissions aremonitored or measured on site, local governments should then also identify:•

Activity data – this includes the amount of production output and raw material consumptionof the identified industrial process and the amount of identified product use in the inventory
year.

•

Emission factors of raw material/product in the identified industrial process and emission
factors of the identified product use. If factory-specific or local-specific data is not available,
local governments may refer to national GHG inventories or IPCC Guidelines for default
factors.

Further guidance on calculation methods, including equations, and default emission factors that
local governments may use in absence of local or regional/national data, are available in the IPCC
Guidelines and the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories.
3.6.5

Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)

Reporting GHG emissions from the AFOLU sector is optional but it is recommended where such
emissions are considered relevant or significant. In line with the IPCC Guidelines, cities should
consider emissions from three sub-sectors:(1) Livestock
Livestock production emits CH4 through enteric fermentation and the amount of CH4 emitted byenteric fermentation is driven primarily by the number of animals, type of animals/digestive systemand the type and amount of feed consumed.
Manure management produces CH4 from the decomposition of manure under anaerobic conditions,
during storage and treatment. The amount of CH4 emissions produced depends on the amount ofmanure produced (determined by the number of animals and the rate of waste production) and the33portion of the manure that decomposes anaerobically, which is affected by how the manure ismanaged.
Manure management also releases N2O emissions via combined nitrification and denitrification of
nitrogen contained in the manure. The amount of N2O emissions is also dependent on the nitrogenand carbon content of manure and how it is managed.
Respired CO2 emissions from livestock can be considered as biogenic. Emissions associated with theburning of manure shall be reported under the Stationary Energy sector or under the Waste sector ifburned without energy recovery.
(2) Land use
The IPCC divides land use into six categories: forest land, cropland, grassland, wetlands, settlements
and other. Emissions and removals of CO2 are based on changes in the ecosystem Carbon (C) stocks
as a result of land use and change in land use. C stocks consist of above-ground and below-groundbiomass, dead organic matter (dead wood and litter) and soil organic matter.
Detailed definition of land use and calculation guidance is available in the IPCC Guidelines. Cities may
adopt a simplified approach that consists of multiplying net annual C stock change for different landuse (and land-use change) categories by surface area. All changes in carbon stock are summed
across all categories and multiplied by 44/12 to covert to CO2 emissions.
• Land-use categorization by surface area
Such data can be obtained from national agencies or local government using land zoning or
remote sensing data. Lands with multiple uses can be assigned into a single land-use category
using the following ranking: Settlements > Cropland > Forest land > Grassland > Wetlands >Other land.
In addition to the current land use, any land-use changes within the last 20 years will need to
be determined. Large quantities of GHG emissions can result as a consequence of a change inland use. When the land use is changed, such as from urban farms or parks to residential
development, soil carbon and carbon stock in vegetation can be lost as emissions of CO 2.
Examples include change of use from agriculture (e.g., urban farms) or parks, to another use(e.g., industrial development). Lands stay in the same category if a land-use change has notoccurred in the last 20 years.
• Net annual C stock change for different land use and land-use change categories
Default data can be obtained from the relevant country’s national inventory reporting body,the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)-reported GHG
emissions for countries, IPCC and other peer-reviewed sources. Alternatively, annual carbon
stock changes can be determined for different land-use categories by subtracting estimatedcarbon stocks in a previous year from estimated carbon stocks in the inventory year, divided
by the total area of land in the inventory year. Default data on annual carbon stock changes
can be obtained from the above listed sources.
(3) Other AFOLU

34

This sub-sector intends to capture the following emissions sources:• Biomass burning without energy recovery, such as periodic burning of land or accidental
wildfires. Note that emissions associated with biomass burned for energy should be reported
under the Stationary Energy sector instead.
• Liming: Adding carbonates in the form of lime (e.g., calcic limestone or dolomite) to reduce
soil acidity and improve plant growth of managed lands, particularly agricultural lands andmanaged forests, can lead to CO2 emissions as the carbonates dissolve and releasebicarbonate which then evolves into CO2 and water.
• Urea application: The use of urea as fertilizer leads to emissions of CO2 that were fixed during
the industrial production process. Urea in the presence of water and urease enzymes areconverted into ammonium, hydroxyl ion and bicarbonate which then evolves into CO2 andwater.
• Direct and indirect N2O from managed soils: Agricultural emissions of N2O result directly fromthe soils to which N is added/released, such as through the application of synthetic or organic
fertiliser, crop residue and mineralization of organic carbon in mineral soils due to land-use
change or management; and indirectly through the volatilization of N, biomass burning,leaching and runoff of N additions to managed lands.
• Indirect N2O from manure management as a result of volatile nitrogen losses that occur
primarily in the forms of NH3 and NOx.
• Rice cultivation: CH4 can be released through anaerobic decomposition of organic material inflooded rice fields.
• Harvested wood products (HWP): HWP include all wood material that leaves harvest sites andconstitutes a carbon reservoir. The time carbon is held in products will vary depending on the
product and its uses. For example, fuel wood may be burned in the year of harvest, whilst
wood used for panels in buildings may be held for decades to over 100 years. Due to thisstorage in products, the oxidation of HWP in a given year could be less, or potentially more,than the total amount of wood harvested in that year, resulting in emissions or removals of
CO2 from the atmosphere.
GHG emissions from AFOLU are usually less significant than other sectors but can be notable forsome local government areas, in which case emissions should be quantified. Further guidance on
calculation methods, including equations, and default emission factors that local governments may
use in absence of local or regional/national data, are available in the IPCC Guidelines as well as the
Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories.
3.7 Reporting on energy generation sector
Local governments shall report all activity data and GHG emissions from the generation of gridsupplied energy by facilities within the city boundary, as well as by facilities owned (full or partial) by
the local government outside the boundary. The reporting of such information is important toindicate the influence that the local government has over power generation and the decarbonisationof the energy grid in the region.

35

As the energy generated by such facilities is supplied to the grid, the resulting emissions will havealready been captured as the indirect emissions from consumption of grid-supplied energy, under
the Stationary Energy sector of the inventories for the local authority where the facilities are locatedand other local authorities that share the same grid. As such, emissions reported in the Energy
Generation sector will not be included in the emissions total of the local government in order toavoid double counting.
Where possible, local governments should further disaggregate this sector by electricity-only
generation, heat/cold-only generation and combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation (including
combined cooling, heat and power - CCHP), as defined in Table 5 below.
Emissions from sources covered by a regional or national emissions trading system (ETS) should be
identified and described, i.e. the names and/or registration number of relevant facilities and the
trading scheme are specified.
In addition, local governments should report all activity data for distributed local renewable energy
generation, as an important indicator of their investment in local generation. Local governments
may report zero emissions associated with this generation.
Table 5. Definitions for sub-sectors under Energy Generation

Generation ofgrid-suppliedenergyGeneration of
distributed
energySub-sector

Description

Electricity-only
generation

All activity data and GHG emissions from energy (both renewable
and non-renewable29) consumption for the purpose of generating
grid-supplied electricity in power plants that solely generate
electricity.

CHP generation

All activity data and GHG emissions from energy consumption (bothrenewable and non-renewable) for the purpose of generating
electricity and thermal energy in Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
plants (including combined cooling, heat and power plants). Where
possible, data should be further disaggregated between generationof power and thermal energy.

Districtheating/cooling

All activity data and GHG emissions from energy (both renewable
and non-renewable) consumption for the purpose of generating
thermal energy only in district heating/cooling plants.

Distributed local
renewable energy
generation

All activity data and GHG emissions from local energy generation(electricity, heat, etc.) facilities that are not grid-connected.

3.8 Disclosing information on emissions credits
Local governments should clearly identify GHG emissions from sources covered by a regional or
national emissions trading system (ETS), and where possible, also provide the names and/or
registration number of relevant facilities and the trading system or programme. This is particularly
29No emissions need to be reported for electricity generation from renewable energy such as wind, solar thermal,

solar photovoltaic, geothermal energy, ambient heat or hydropower. Cities may apply LCA emission factors related torenewable energy sources, by doing which they also consent to GCoM recalculating and reporting the emissions aszero. CO2 emissions from combustible renewables (such as biofuels, bioliquids, biogas and solid biofuels) areconsidered biogenic and do not need to be reported either.

36

relevant to the Stationary Energy and Energy Generation sectors. Emissions covered byregional/national trading systems will still be accounted for in gross GHG emissions inventory total,
except those reported in the Energy Generation sector.
Separately, local governments are recommended to report any offset credits generated in the cityboundary and sold, or any offset credits purchased from outside the boundary, as well as any green
energy purchased by consumers in the city boundary. These credits are not to be “netted” ordeducted from gross GHG emissions inventory total.
3.9 Recalculating and re-submitting inventories
In order to track emissions over time and demonstrate progress toward targets, local governments
shall develop inventories consistently through the years. This means that as far as possible, theinventories should be calculated using the same boundary definitions, emission sources, data
sources and methodologies over the years.
Examples of scenarios where recalculation is needed are listed in Table 6 below. GCoM has adopted
a threshold of significance of impacts on the total emissions as +/-10%, to determine whether
recalculation and re-submission of inventory is needed. That means, if the methodological changes
result in total emissions of an historic inventory to change by more than 5%, that inventory should
be recalculated and resubmitted to GCoM.
Note that this should not undermine the requirement for local governments to make continuous
efforts to improve data quality and methodologies to more accurately reflect the level of emissions.
Table 6. Triggers for re-calculating inventories
Type of changes

Changes ininventoryboundary

Changes incalculation
methodology or

ExamplesRecalculationneeded?

A community is included in or removed from a local government’s
administrative boundary

Yes (if significant)Inclusion of AFOLU or IPPU sectors that are not previously
included, or reporting additional types of GHGs

Yes (if significant)Shut down of a power plant or construction of a new factory

No

Change in transportation calculation method from Fuel Sales to
Induced Activity, or change in landfill emissions calculation methodfrom Methane Commitment method to First Order Decay

Yes (if significant)

Adopt more accurate activity data (or localised emission factors)
instead of scaling down national data (or using national emission
factors)

Yes (if significant)Change in electricity emission factor due to cleaner grid

No

Change in the Global Warming Potentials used

Yes

Discovery of mistake in unit conversion for emissions calculation

Yes (if significant)improvements
in data accuracy

Discovery oferrors37

3.10

Summary of reporting output

Local governments may use existing GHG emissions inventory reporting tools available from GCoM
partners (some examples listed below) or other bespoke tools, as long as all the information outlinedin Table 7. are provided. Please note that the format of the output table may vary (incl. from one
reporting platform/tool to another).
•City Inventory Reporting and Information System (CIRIS)•

ClearPath GHG Inventory tool - ICLEI•‘Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan Template’ - Covenant of Mayors

A mapping of emission source categories with other commonly used guidance can be found in Annex
1.

38

Table 7. GHG emissions inventory reporting output summary
Colour coding: green cells – required for mandatory reporting, blue cells – optional
A. City InformationDatasourceOfficial name of local government

N/A

Country

N/A

RegionN/AInventory year (specify months covered)

N/A

Description of boundary and map
Resident population
GDP
Heating / cooling degree days

These columns are not included in the final output table submitted to GCoM
reporting platform, but they should be included in the inventory files thatcities need to submit to GCOM (variation of format is allowed).
For these columns, cities should report multiple rows in each sub-sector fordifferent types of energy or activities.

B. Inventory Setup
GWP (IPCC AR version used)
Types of emissions factors (IPCC or LCA)
C. Emission Sources and Emissions

SectorSub-sector

Direct (fuelcombustion)or Indirect(grid energy)
or Other(in separate
rows)

Total
tC2Oe or
NotationKey

ETS ornon-ETS(in separate
rows)

Subcategory

TypeofenergyDescription ofactivity/facility

Emission factors(Disaggregated by gases oras total CO2e)

Activity data

AmountUnit

DatasourceAmountUnit

DatasourceEmissions(Disaggregated by gases or as total
tCO2e)
AmountUnit

DatasourceMethodNotation keys
(if no data toreport)Notationkey

Residential
Commercial
Stationary
EnergyInstitutional
Industry
Agriculture
Fugitive
On-roadTransportation

Rail
Waterborne

39

Explanation

Aviation
Off-road

Waste

IPPU

AFOLU

Solid waste disposal

N/A

N/A

Biological treatment
Incineration andopen burning
Wastewater

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Industrial process

N/A

N/A

Product use

N/A

N/A

Livestock

N/A

N/A

Land use

N/A

N/A

Other AFOLU

N/A

N/A

D. Energy Generation

Category

Inside oroutside cityboundary(in separate
rows)

Total
tC2Oe

ETS ornon-ETS(inseparaterows)

Subcategory

Allocation
to sector

Subcategory

Descriptionof activity

Type of(primary)energyActivity data

ETS ornon-ETS
AmountUnit

DatasourceEmission factors
Emissions(Disaggregated by gases or as(Disaggregated by gases or
total tCO2e)
as total tCO2e)
Data
Data
AmountUnit
AmountUnitsourcesourceElectricity-only generation
CHP generation
Heat/cold generation
Local renewable energy generation

N/A

E. Emission Credits

Category

Sold orpurchased

Offset credits generated in the city

Sold

Credits purchased from outside

Purchased

Purchase of certified green electricity

Purchased

Total tC2Oe
or Notation
Key

Descriptionof activity

Date ofsale/
purchase

Activity data
AmountUnit

DatasourceEmission factors(Disaggregated by gases or as
total tCO2e)
Data
AmountUnitsourceEmissions(Disaggregated by gases oras total tCO2e)
Data
AmountUnitsource40

Chapter 4 – Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment
This chapter explains in more detail the GCoM requirements and recommendations for undertaking
a Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA)30 – one of the initial steps for developing climatechange adaptation plans. GCoM signatories shall prepare and submit a CRVA within two years after
joining the initiative.
A climate change-related disaster occurs when a combination of factors come together at the sametime in the same place. For example, a climate hazard (e.g., a heat wave) might occur in a
municipality, but it becomes a climate risk only when inhabitants and/or assets are exposed to thisparticular hazard and if those exposed inhabitants or assets are vulnerable to it (such as the elderly,
persons with chronic diseases, children, homeless, etc.). These factors are not static, but rather
conditional to the impacts of climate change on climate hazards, and to the local government’s
adaptation actions to improve resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related shocks andstresses. Cities’ climate change adaptation and resilience efforts have the potential toreduce/mitigate the exposure and/or vulnerability factors and increase the long-term adaptive
capacity. For a visualization of climate risk, see Figure 1, while core concepts used in this paragraphare defined in Annex 2 – Chapter 4: Core definitions for the climate risk and vulnerability
assessment.
Figure 1. Visualizing climate risk

Source: IPCC, 201231
30 Please note that the term Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (CRVA) was introduced to be as concise as

possible, while it is understood that CRVA is equal to the often-used term and abbreviation Risk and Vulnerability
Assessment (RVA).
31IPCC, 2012: Summary for Policymakers. In: Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate
Change Adaptation [Field, C.B., V. Barros, T.F. Stocker, D. Qin, D.J. Dokken, K.L. Ebi, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, G.-K.
Plattner, S.K. Allen, M. Tignor and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. A Special Report of Working Groups I and II of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, and New York, NY, USA, pp.
3-21.

41

The understanding of climate risks, i.e. the combination of hazards, exposure and vulnerability in a
specific territory is the main goal of a CRVA. In the following sections, each of these elements arepresented in detail to support cities and local governments in the process of understanding andcorrectly reporting their climate risks using the Common Reporting Framework.
4.1. Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment – Initial steps
The local government shall prepare and submit a CRVA within two years after committing to the
GCoM including the following:➢ Leading/coordinating team in the city. A lead municipal team should be identified to collectdata and deal with reporting. The creation of an Advisory Group of relevant experts fromacademia, non-governmental organizations, citizens, city government and the private sector
could help to construct sound and policy-relevant indicators and select the best scale ofanalysis (e.g., neighbourhood).32➢ Boundary of assessment. It shall be equal to or smaller/greater than the city boundary (i.e.
local government’s administrative boundary) or partially cover the city boundary andadjoining areas.
➢ Data sources. The main sources of information – such as city agencies, civil protection, utility
companies and universities, among others – should be mapped. The contact point at the
local authority should be entrusted to facilitate the communication between the parties andfoster data sharing.
➢ A glossary of key terms and definitions. For the purposes of reporting to the CRF, cities shalluse the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) terms and definitions given in thelast Assessment Report (AR5), or any relevant version preceding or update following theAR5, as well as key terminology contained in official literature sources (see Annex 2 for a
glossary of key terms and definitions), since these are the most updated internationallyrecognized concepts.
It is further recommended to include information on the foreseen update and revision process of theCRVA.
4.2. Step 1: Identification of climate risks and their impacts (at different timescales)
In a first step of the CRVA, the signatory shall identify the climate hazards faced by the local
government. Thereby, the local government is taking a close look at hazards that occurred in thepast and the impact these hazards had in their jurisdiction. Once current hazards are identified, thelocal government assesses how these hazards are expected to change in the future and what
impacts can be expected from these hazards.
4.2.1

Identifying past climate hazards and their impacts

With regards to past climate hazards, the local government shall report the following information
about major hazards that occurred in the past years:

32Weber, S., Sadoff, N., Zell, E., Sherbinin, A., 2015. Policy relevant indicators for mapping the vulnerability of urban

populations to extreme heat events: a case study of Philadelphia. Applied geography 63, pp. 231-243.

42

➢ Type of climate hazard that occurred in the past and the current risk level (probability x
consequence). Climate risk levels estimated by multiplying probability and consequence ofoccurring hazard (see “heat map” representation in Box 4 below).
➢ Local governments are asked to report the probability (likelihood of occurrence) andconsequence (outcome/impact/gravity) of identified hazards. Climate hazards reported by
local governments as having “high probability” and “high consequence” of bearing an
impact are considered “high risk” (see Box 4). This means that such hazards are expected toresult in serious impacts and catastrophic disruptions to the city. On the contrary, climate
hazards with a low probability of occurrence and low consequence are considered “low risk,”
low priority hazards (see example in Box 5).
➢ Intensity and frequency of past hazards. Both the intensity (how strong they were) andfrequency (how many events occurred) could have increased, decreased, suffered no change
or not be known.
➢ Description of the impacts experienced in the past. Local governments shall report on thepast impacts as a result of the identified climate risks, including loss of human lives,
economic and non-economic losses (direct and indirect, if possible), environmental andother impacts. Direct losses might refer, for example, to losses in crop yield, or direct
damage to infrastructure from flooding. Indirect losses, on the other hand, usually manifest
through markets, for example, how an impacted economic sector would affect others.33 This
includes all relevant sectors, assets, or services most impacted by the identified hazards andthe magnitude of the impact for each of them. The sectors potentially affected might beenergy, water supply & sanitation, transport, waste management, information &communications technology, food & agriculture, environment, industrial, commercial,residential, education, public health, community & culture, law & order, emergency
management and others.
If this information is readily available, local governments may also report on vulnerable
population groups (see Section 4.3) potentially affected by the identified climate hazards. Suchinformation is relevant to identify trends in socio-economic, environmental, physical and othervulnerabilities that may exist in the city.

Box 4 Guidance on probability and consequence of hazards34

Local governments are asked to indicate the likelihood of each reported climate hazard. The response should
ideally be based on the outcome of a conducted CRVA, but qualitative descriptors are also used for the
purposes of reporting, i.e. local governments are asked to select the response that most appropriately
represents the probability and consequence of each climate hazard from the following list of values:

33J.C. Ciscar, D. Ibarreta, A. Soria, A. Dosio, A.Toreti, A. Ceglar, D. Fumagalli, F. Dentener, R. Lecerf, A. Zucchini, L.

Panarello, S. Niemeyer, I. Pérez-Domínguez, T. Fellmann, A. Kitous, J. Després, A. Christodoulou, H. Demirel, L. Alfieri,
F. Dottori, M.I. Vousdoukas, L. Mentaschi, E. Voukouvalas, C. Cammalleri, P. Barbosa, F. Micale, J.V. Vogt, J.I. Barredo, G.
Caudullo, A. Mauri, D. de Rigo, G. Libertà, T. Houston Durrant, T. Artés Vivancos, J. San-Miguel-Ayanz, S.N. Gosling, J.
Zaherpour, A. De Roo, B. Bisselink, J. Bernhard, L., Bianchi, M. Rozsai, W. Szewczyk, I. Mongelli and L. Feyen, Climate
impacts in Europe: Final report of the JRC PESETA III project, EUR 29427 EN, Publications Office of the European
Union, Luxembourg, 2018, ISBN 978-92-79-97218-8, doi:10.2760/93257, JRC112769.
34 CDP, CDP Cities 2018 Reporting Guidance, Hazards and Adaptation:
https://guidance.cdp.net/en/guidance?cid=4&ctype=theme&idtype=ThemeID&incchild=1&microsite=0&otype=Gui
dance&tags=TAG-637%2CTAG-638.

43

[Probability of climate hazard]• High – Extremely likely that the hazard occurs (e.g., greater than 1 in 20 chance of occurrence).
• Moderate – Likely that the hazard occurs (e.g., between 1 in 20 and 1 in 200 chance of occurrence).
• Low – Unlikely that the hazard occurs (e.g., between 1 in 200 and 1 in 2,000 chance of occurrence).
• Do not know – City has not experienced or observed climate hazards in the past or has no ways of
accurately reporting this information based on evidence or data.
[Consequence of climate risk]• High – The hazard represents a high (or the highest) level of potential concern for your jurisdiction.
When it occurs, the hazard results in (extremely) serious impacts to the jurisdiction and (catastrophic)
interruptions to day-to-day life.
• Moderate – The hazard represents a moderate levelof potential concern for your jurisdiction. When it
occurs, the hazard results in impacts to yourjurisdiction, but these are moderately significant to
day-to-day life.
• Low – The hazard represents a lower (the lowest)
level of potential concern for your jurisdiction.
When it occurs, the hazard results in impacts to yourjurisdiction, but these are deemed less significant (orinsignificant) to day-to-day life.
• Do not know – City has not experienced or observed
climate hazards in the past or has no ways of
accurately reporting this information based onevidence or data.

Figure 2
Source: https://ukcip.ouce.ox.ac.uk/about-us/

Box 5. Example

Often climate hazards with high probability of occurrence but medium high/medium consequence(e.g., rain storms or flash floods) could also be considered as significant risk for local governments as
the prevalence of such hazards demands constant attention, resources and disaster risk
management effort to mitigate the imminent “moderate” risk. However, local governments shallreport based on conducted CRVA or estimations of past risk and further explain how these“moderate” hazards affect their jurisdiction (i.e. scale of hazard, loss and damage to assets, loss of
lives, environmental and other impacts).

4.2.2

Identifying current (last 5 to 10 years) and future (mid-century) climate hazards and theirimpacts

Local governments shall identify the climate hazards faced by the community and are asked todefine how they expect climate change to trigger these climate hazards in the future. For eachidentified climate hazard, the local government shall report the following information:➢ Future risk level (probability x consequence) and expected change in intensity andfrequency, as well as the timescale35 of expected changes of the identified climate hazards.
35 Immediately = hazard is already taking place; short term = by 2025; medium term = 2026 -2050; long term= after

2050; not known= city has no information on when this hazard will occur or if hazard has already occurred.

44

EXAMPLE of how to report expected climate hazards:
City A’s recent CRVA shows that the main climate hazards affecting their jurisdiction are:drought, extreme hot days and flash floods. It is projected that in the next two decades
these hazards will intensify and be more frequent and erratic. It is also projected thatwarmer conditions are expected to reduce extreme cold days. Lastly, if no adaptation
effort is taken, an under-projected increase of urbanisation, cholera and E.coli outbreaks
are expected to increase in the City in the long-term future.
City A would report the following:
Hazards
Drought
Extreme hot days
Flash/surface floods
Extreme cold days
Water-borne disease

Frequency
Increase
Increase
Increase
Decrease
Increase

Intensity
Increase
Increase
No change
Decrease
Not known

TimescaleMedium-term
Medium-term
Medium-term
Not known
Long-term➢ Description of expected future impacts. Local governments should describe the futureexpected impacts as a result of the identified climate hazards, including loss of human lives,
non-economic and economic losses (direct and indirect, if possible), environmental andother context-specific impacts. Local governments shall report all relevant sectors, assets orservices that are expected to be most impacted by the identified hazards in the future andthe magnitude of the impact for each of them (ranging from high, moderate to low, or
unknown). The sectors to analyse here refer to the same sectors as presented above. See
also the next section for more detailed information on how to report this required
information.

Furthermore, local governments should assess which vulnerable population groups will bemost affected by the identified hazards in the future (see the next section for further details).

4.3. Step 2: Vulnerability and adaptive capacity
4.3.1. Step 2a: Identifying population groups vulnerable to climate hazards
The local government should (when such information is available) provide information onvulnerable population groups (to be specified for each hazard) that are affected by hazards in thepast and future (see Box 6). This information can help the local government to gain better
understanding of the vulnerability dimension of risks and in prioritizing climate adaptation actions.
Box 6. Description of future expected impacts: the example of Bologna
Population composition and its density are important vulnerability factors in the urban area for a diverse range of hazards,
such as extreme heat, extreme precipitation and landslides. 29% of inhabitants consist of vulnerable groups (children andthe elderly), even if not all of them can be considered vulnerable. Other vulnerability factors to consider are the lack ofgreen areas and the density, state of health and census of the population.
Vulnerabilities related to water scarcity and drought can impact the entire population, as well as agricultural and industrial
activities, and they can severely affect the economic welfare of the metropolitan area.

45

Extreme rainfall events and flooding affect only a small part of the population living near the rivers and on the hills but canseverely increase the costs related to the land/infrastructure reinstatement in case of landslides or floods.
Source: Covenant of Mayors initiative.

Such vulnerable groups are local-context-bound and could include: women and girls, children andyouth, the elderly, indigenous population, marginalized groups (due to race, ethnicity, social/politicalconditions, etc.), persons with disabilities, persons with chronic diseases (e.g., HIV/AIDS, malaria,etc.), low-income households, unemployed persons, persons living in sub-standard housing, etc.
These vulnerable groups often experience differential impacts from the same hazard. For example,
richer households may have better capacity to cope with flooding, for instance, either throughinsurance schemes or physical protection of their assets. As such, they would be less affected by thesame hazard compared to poor households.
Ultimately, the impacts of a hazard depend on specific socioeconomic, political, personal,
institutional and environmental conditions that determine the coping and adaptive capacity of theaffected population. Vulnerable communities affected by flooding, for example, have different
socioeconomic specificities and adaptation deficits compared to the people impacted by extreme
hot temperatures.
It is important to correctly identify the factors that drive urban vulnerability to climate threats
through literature review and through engaging community members, vulnerable groups andclimate experts in the adaptation plan.36,37
There exist different methodologies for assessing vulnerabilities at the level of local governments
and they differ in terms of technical capacities and resources required. Indicator-Based Vulnerability
Assessment has been widely used to assess climate change vulnerability in urban contexts.38 Thisapproach is particularly suitable for smaller and mid-size cities since it does not demand particularly
technical skills or modelling tools and can be fed by using publicly available datasets.
4.3.2 Step 2b: Assessing adaptive capacity
Adaptive capacity refers to the degree in which people and other organisms, assets, institutions andsectors are able to adapt to climate change (see Annex 2 for the definition). It includes factors,
conditions and local realities that enable a city to adjust its systems in view of current and futurerisks, adequately respond to their impacts and even leverage the new climate conditions to yield
opportunities for the city and the community.
The CRF pre-identifies five broad categories containing non-exhaustive factors that will affect thecity’s adaptive capacity and influence climate resilience efforts by either hindering or enabling
climate change adaptation actions within the city jurisdiction.
Local governments shall therefore identify the categories and factors that are more relevant in theircontext, and briefly describe how each of the most relevant factors are enhancing their jurisdictions’
36 Hernandez, Y., Barbosa, P., Corral., S., Rivas, S., 2018. An institutional analysis to address climate change adaptationin Tenerife (Canary Islands). Environ. Sci. Policy 89, 184-191.
37 Hernandez, Y., Guimarães Pereira, Â., Barbosa, P., 2018. Resilient futures of a small island: a participatory approachin Tenerife (Canary Islands) to address climate change. Environ. Sci. Policy 80, 28–37.
38Weber, S., Sadoff, N., Zell, E., Sherbinin, A., 2015. Policy relevant indicators for mapping the vulnerability of urban
populations to extreme heat events: a case study of Philadelphia. Applied geography 63, pp. 231-243.

46

adaptive capacity. Next, local governments are asked to report the degree in which the selectedfactors challenge (as opposed to support) the adaptive capacity and obstruct the city’s climate
resilience efforts. Reporting entities have a choice between “high,” “moderate,” “low,” “do notknow” and “no concern.” The latter could mean that the specific factor(s) has/have a neutral or
positive influence on adaptive capacity. To reduce reporting burden, cities are asked to focus onfactors that challenge adaptive capacity. Provided that cities have this information, they are also
welcome to describe factors that have a positive influence on their adaptive capacity.
For example, a city having recently experienced an unexpected influx of migrants could report thefollowing:

FactorMigration

Description

Degree to which this factor
presents a challenge toyour jurisdiction’s adaptive
capacityIn the past 3 years, City B has received an No concern
unprecedented number of refugees, InternallyDisplaced People and asylum seekers. This has tested
the preparedness and resilience capacity of the local
government and local community in terms of housing
and provision of basic services to the newcomers.
However, the migrant population has also boosted
economic development, human capital and urban
diversity supporting City B to better respond toclimate shocks and stresses in the future.

Whereas City C, having in the past decade experienced high turnover of political leadership could
report the following:

FactorDescription

Degree to which this factor
presents a challenge toyour jurisdiction’s adaptive
capacity

Political stability

City C has observed that short political terms Highand high turnover of committed political leadersand skilled technical city staff undermines longterm adaptation plans. In 20xx City C
experienced extreme water scarcity, which
added to the political instability by boosting
informal groups and organized crime’s
prominence in informal water delivery (in theblack market). This led to citizen demonstrations
and social unrest, which led to further politicalinstability.

Safety andThanks to its robust law and order system, Low
rooted in tradition and community engagement,47

security

City C is able to avoid massive violenceoutbreaks and is able to preserve a certain levelof public safety. In the case of water scarcity, theCity considers that its consorted efforts might bechallenged in future years by the increase in theintensity and frequency of this hazard.

48

Chapter 5 – Energy Access Assessment
This chapter will be added to the Guidance Note as soon as the energy access pillar of the CRF has
been fully defined and formally adopted (expected in Q4 2019).

49

Chapter 6 – Target and Goal Setting
Local governments shall submit their city-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction target(s) to
GCoM within two years upon joining GCoM. New targets should be reported when previously
reported targets have expired or been revised.
The following guidance elaborates on the key components of the targets that shall be determined
and reported by the local governments, as well as provides advice and recommendations for goodpractice.
6.1 Prepare for target setting
Setting city-wide mitigation targets should start with understanding the needs and opportunities toreduce emissions, including but not limited to:•

Global mitigation needs:

Recent findings from climate science, such as latest IPCC reports, can help cities understand themagnitude of emission reductions needed to avoid the most dangerous climate change impacts.
•

Relevant policy objectives:

A city’s mitigation targets should adequately reflect its contribution to the climate goals
committed by the international community and national/regional governments (e.g., the Paris
Agreement’s goals39, the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC)40, any other mitigation
targets committed by national or regional government, etc.), and demonstrate its leadership.
Local governments should also identify other relevant environmental and development agendas
that could potentially be facilitated by its climate mitigation goals and actions, e.g., any target to
reduce air pollution, to increase energy access, etc.
•

Local emissions level, profile and mitigation opportunities:

In order to set a target that is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound(SMART), local governments need to understand its current level and profile of emissions,especially the big emitting sectors and opportunity areas, through developing a comprehensive
and robust city-wide GHG emissions inventory (often referred to as the base year inventory).
This also helps the local government assess its fair share of contribution to national orinternational climate goals. Further insights can be obtained by examining through historic
inventories how the emission profile has evolved over time.

39 C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group have conducted studies on how to interpret Paris Agreement’s goals at citylevel. More details can be found in the Deadline 2020 report available at:https://resourcecentre.c40.org/resources/deadline-2020
40 See e.g., UNFCCC NDC List, Climate Tracker, CLIMATEWATCH

50

6.2 Define the target boundary
The target boundary refers to the geographic area41, emission sources and GHGs covered by thetarget. How the boundary is defined has a significant impact on the emission reductions that can begenerated under the target, as well as the mitigation opportunities available for achieving the target.
Local governments shall set a target boundary that is consistent with the boundary of the GHG
emissions inventory that they will have submitted to GCoM. This means alignment in terms of thegeographic boundary, emission sources and GHG gases covered.
If the target is set jointly with another signatory, the city should report their share of the target
where possible. Otherwise, the joint target can be reported as long as the boundary is clearly
described.
It is possible for local governments to exclude sources that are not controlled by them from thetarget boundary or include additional emission sources. In this case, any additions or exclusions shallbe specified and justified. All exclusions shall be indicated by the notation key “Included Elsewhere”(IE), along with clear justification. For example, emissions sources that are already included in the EU
Emissions Trading System are required to be included in the inventory as described in Chapter 3, butcities may choose to not include these emissions in their target (boundary); in some other cases, acity may choose to include emissions related to waste imported from outside the city boundary but
treated in facilities located within and controlled by the city, which are not part of the mandatory
inventory reporting level defined in Chapter 3.
Local governments are also recommended to develop and report any sector-level targets alongside
their city-wide target(s).
6.3 Choose the target type
After defining the goal boundary, the next step is to choose the target type. Cities shall use one of
the following four target types when designing targets42:•

Base year emissions target: Reduce emissions by a specified quantity relative to a base year.
For example, a 25% reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2030.

•

Base year intensity target: Reduce emissions intensity (emissions per unit of anothervariable, typically GDP or capital Gross Domestic Product – GDP or per capita) by a specified
quantity relative to a base year. For example, a 40% reduction in emissions intensity percapita from 1990 levels by 2030.

•

Baseline scenario target: Reduce emissions by a specified quantity relative to a projected
emissions baseline scenario. A Business as Usual (BAU) baseline scenario is a reference casethat represents future emissions most likely to occur if the current trends in population,
economy and technology continue and in the absence of changes in current energy andclimate policies. For example, a 30% reduction from baseline scenario emissions in 2030.

41 Please note that the local government’s administrative boundary may go beyond to the city’s geographic boundary.

According to the GCoM all the emission within the “city boundary,” even beyond the geographic boundary, shall bereported to the GCoM.
42 Please refer to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Mitigation Goal Standard for more details on these target types.

51

•Fixed-level target: Reduce, or control the increase of, emissions to an absolute emissions
level in a target year. One type of fixed-level target is a carbon neutrality target, which isdesigned to reach zero net emissions by a certain date (e.g., 2050).

(1) Key considerations
Cities may refer to the targets adopted in the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC43) or targets
set by Regional/National Covenants to determine which type of target to set. In addition, cities
should also consider the ease and transparency of accounting and demonstrating impacts.
Base year emissions targets and fixed-level targets are the simplest to account for, they more clearly
articulate the target outcomes in terms of emissions and provide more transparency. This is because
the emission levels in the target year can be easily calculated when the target is being set, andprogress can be tracked using the GHG inventories alone.
To understand future emission levels associated with base year intensity goals, projections andassumptions are needed regarding the population (or GDP) in the target year, which may introduce
uncertainty. It may be difficult to determine whether a reduction in emissions intensity translates toan increase or decrease in absolute GHG emissions, and by how much, given that the level of output
is not fixed and will vary.
Baseline scenario goals are the most challenging to assess. The development of baseline scenarios
typically requires a large amount of data, advanced modelling techniques, specialised technicalcapacity and assumptions about the likely development of various emissions drivers. In addition,
projections of the future are inherently uncertain and can vary widely based on underlying methods,
43 See e.g., UNFCCC NDC List, Climate Tracker, CLIMATEWATCH

52

models and assumptions. From a transparency perspective, it may be difficult to determine whether
a reduction relative to a baseline scenario translates to an increase or a decrease in absoluteemissions. If the baseline scenario emissions are overestimated, it would compromise theenvironmental integrity of the target.
Local governments may choose multiple target types and may also frame short-term goals
differently than long-term goals. For example, Barcelona has now set a short-term base year
emissions target (i.e. 45% reduction by 2030 from 2005 level) to reach a longer-term, fixed-leveltarget (i.e. carbon neutrality by 2050).
Some target types can be translated and framed as another type of goal. Given the disadvantages ofbaseline scenario goals as described above, cities may reframe baseline scenario goals as a base year
emissions goal or fixed-level goal, by calculating and specifying the emissions level that the city aims
to achieve in the target year.
(2) Reporting requirements:
For local governments that adopt base year (or base year intensity) emissions targets, the level ofemissions (or emissions intensity) in the base year should also be reported and ideally supported byan inventory. The emissions should be accounted in line with the GCoM requirements forinventories as set out in Chapter 3. Where there are major discrepancies, they should be identified
and explained.
For local governments that adopt baseline scenario targets, the projected level of emissions at thetarget year under the baseline scenario should also be reported. The modelling methodologies andparameters44 shall be transparently described.
6.4 Set the target timeframe(1) Target year
The target year represents the year by which the local government commits to achieving thespecified target.
Local governments shall set a target year that is the same, or later than, the target year adopted in
the NDC or as set by Regional/National Covenants. This is important for demonstrating the city’scontribution to achieving the NDC (or the vision or commitment of the Covenant), and its leadership
if its target year goes further beyond the NDC (providing that it also has higher level of ambitions).
Setting a single target year that is too near in the future does not demonstrate the local
government’s long-term vision, whilst setting a target that is too far in future could make itchallenging for short to mid-term action planning. Therefore, local governments that set a target
year beyond 2030 (such as 2050) shall also include an interim target between now and 2030 that is
consistent with an emissions trajectory that can achieve the longer-term target. If the NDC target isbefore 2030, local governments should additionally set a target for 2030.
44 If using baseline scenario targets, local governments are highly recommended to develop BAU scenarios using

local-specific parameters (i.e. growth rates of local population, economy, sector-specific factors that drive emissions
to change, etc.) where possible. Simplified parameters, such as national coefficients derived from national BAU
scenarios and growth rates of parameters at national level, may be used in the absence of local specific parameters.

53

(2) Base year (only for base year emissions target and base year intensity target)
A base year is a specific year of historical emissions (or emissions intensity) data against whichcurrent and target year emissions (or emissions intensity) are compared.
Where possible, local governments should choose the same base year set in the NDC or set by
Regional/National Covenants, to allow for demonstrating their contribution to the NDC (or the visionor commitment of the Covenant).
Where there is a difference (e.g., where a city has previously adopted another base year or due to alack of data availability), this shall be explained. Where possible, cities should also describe thetarget in relation to the base year of the NDC.
6.5 Set the level of ambition
This is the final stage of target setting. The level of ambition represents the quantity of emission
reductions within the target boundary in the target year that the local government commits toachieve. For base year/base year intensity/baseline scenario targets, the level of ambition shall bereported as a percentage (%) reduction from the base year or scenario year. The absolute emissions
in the target year(s) in metric tonnes CO2e shall also be reported for all target types.
As outlined in section 4.1, when setting the ambition level, local governments should consider the
global mitigation needs, international/national/local climate and relevant policy objectives, local
emissions profile and mitigation opportunities.
(1) Minimum requirements
At a minimum, targets adopted by local governments shall be as ambitious as the unconditional
components45 of the NDC (if available), in order to demonstrate their fair share of contribution tonational targets. To demonstrate leadership, local governments should set targets that are more
ambitious than the NDC. When a national government increases their NDC, local governments shallhave a maximum of five years to ensure their target remains as ambitious as the unconditional
components of the NDC.
Where target (and base/scenario) years are different between the local government and NDC, GCoM
will apply linear interpolation (i.e. by comparing the rate of reduction per annum46) to both targets
to determine whether the above requirement is met.
When reporting the level of ambition, cities should also provide an explanation to justify that theirtargets are more ambitious than (or as ambitious as) the NDC, especially if their target (and45 Many countries have submitted two sets of NDC targets: unconditional targets, to be implemented without any

explicit external support; and conditional targets. The latter are more ambitious than unconditional targets andrequire external support for their fulfilment. This includes financial support, and policies or action in other countries
which support or facilitate a given country’s mitigation policy (e.g., adoption of carbon taxes in a particular country
may be conditional on the widespread use of carbon taxes in other countries, to ensure that domestic industry is not
unduly impacted).
46 For example, the national government has set a base year emissions target of 60% reduction by 2030 from 1990
level. The local government’s target is set as 60% reduction by 2030 from 2000 level. Assuming straight line of
reduction, the national government’s target is equivalent to 1.5% reduction per annum, the city’s target is equivalent
to 2% per annum and thus can be considered more ambitious than the NDC.

54

base/scenario) years are different from the NDC, or if transferrable emissions units are used below
or the target contains conditional components (see sections below).
(1) Examine local mitigation opportunities
In order to determine a level of ambition that is achievable and realistic, local governments need tounderstand their current level and profile of emissions, especially the big emitting sectors andopportunity areas, informed by a recent or the base year GHG emissions inventory. Where data isavailable, local governments can internally also examine how the emission profile has evolved overtime and carry out benchmarking exercise against other cities that have a similar socio-economicgeographic profile.
In addition, local governments should look at future emission scenarios, including a business-asusual scenario in the absence of future local mitigation actions, and alternative scenarios under
different mitigation strategies and options, as well as the potential delivery costs and benefits. Moreguidance on developing emission scenarios, including tools, are available from GCoM partners.47(2) Decide on the use of transferable emissions
Unless specified otherwise, the targets reported by local governments are related to absoluteemissions. Local governments may choose to set a target on net emissions using transferable
emissions units.48
However, the use of transferrable units is only permissible when the local government’s target
ambition without transferrable units exceeds the unconditional components of the NDC.
For example, the NDC’s unconditional component is 50% reduction in (absolute) emissions by 2030
from 2000 level. The city may set a target of 60% reduction in (net) emissions by 2030 from 2000
level with transferable emissions units, as long as the target without transferrable units is no lessthan 50%.
Where a city cannot match the NDC’s unconditional component without transferrable emissions
units, justification needs to be provided to the relevant Regional/National covenant who will decideon whether the above requirement is met.
Where this is the case, the local government shall report the target, with and without thetransferable emissions units, as well as identify the source of the transferable emissions units.
(3) Specify the conditionality
Unless specified otherwise, the targets reported by local governments are unconditional, i.e. notconditional on explicit external support, or in other words, the targets can be fulfilled under
existing/planned national/local policy and actions and future mitigation actions that the local
government has the power and resources to deliver. Some local governments may choose to a

47 Examples of relevant tools: Climate Action for Urban Sustainability (CURB) Tool, Pathways Model (available fromC40 upon request), WRI’s mitigation goal standard. Examples of relevant guidance: EU Covenant of Mayors
guidebooks on developing 2020 and 2030 BAU scenarios.
48 These are emissions allowances and offset credits from market mechanisms outside the target boundary that areused toward meeting a target. Please refer to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Mitigation Goal Standard for more details.

55stretch target, where actions are identified for other key stakeholders beyond that which they havecommitted to themselves.
Any conditional components included in the target shall be identified and, where possible, theconditional components should also be quantified.
For example, a local government has set a target of 50% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 from2000 level. One of the key assumptions is that the carbon-intensity of the national electricity grid willneed to be reduced by 50% by 2030 from 2000 level, which is higher than what has been committed
in the NDC or official government policy (e.g., 30%). The city’s modelling demonstrates that if the
carbon intensity has only been reduced by 30%, the local government’s GHG emissions would only
drop by 35% by 2050. Therefore, the conditional component of the local government’s target is 15%.
However, the use of conditional components is only permissible when a local government’s target
ambition exceeds the unconditional components of the NDC.
Where a city cannot match the NDC’s unconditional component, justification needs to be provided
to the relevant Regional/National covenant who will decide on whether the target is acceptable.
6.6 Summary of reporting output
Local governments may use existing reporting platforms/tools/templates available from GCoM
partners or other bespoke tools to develop targets, as long as all information set out in Table 8 areprovided (format may vary).
Table 8. Mitigation target reporting output summary
Colour coding: green cells – required for mandatory reporting, blue cells – optional

A. Target setup
Is the geographic boundary of the city-wide target aligned with the latest GHG inventory submitted?

Yes / No

If not, briefly describe the difference
Are the emission sources covered by the city-wide target consistent with the latest GHG inventory submitted?
If not, briefly describe any exclusion or addition for the target

Yes / NoYes / No

Briefly describe relevant mitigation targets at regional and/or national level, incl. reference
B. Target information

Target valid from

Explanatory notes
City-wide or specify the sector (report city-wide and sectoral
targets in separate columns)
Enter the year or exact month/date the target was adopted

Target type

Select from dropdown

Base year

Optional for fixed-level target

Target year

Report interim targets in separate columns

Base year emissions (or intensity)

Only required for base year emissions (or intensity) targets

Baseline scenario emissions

Only needed for baseline scenario targets

Units

Units of the base year/baseline scenario data reported

Level of ambition (%)% reduction from base year (or baseline scenario)

Are transferrable emissions units used?

Yes or no

Sector

If yes, briefly describe transferrable units

Particularly the source of the transferable units

Level of ambition (%) - without transferrable units

Only required if transferrable emissions units are used56

Are the targets conditional?
If yes, briefly describe the conditionality
Level of ambition (%) - unconditional
Explain why your city-wide targets are more ambitious
than the NDC (if available)
Specify the name of policy or legal document where
the target is adopted
Provide the URL address where the target is publishedYes or no
What the conditional components are and why
Optional, only applicable if targets are conditional
Optional
Optional
Optional

C. Supplementary information
If a city-wide baseline scenario target is reported, describe the modelling methodologies and parameters:
Provide the baseline scenario development report

6.7 Setting adaptation goals
Adaptation goals shall be formulated based on the results of the risk and vulnerability assessment(see Chapter 4 – Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment). The goal statement shall include thebaseline year as well as the delivery date.
Cities should also report how they are planning to track progress toward the achievement of thegoal – ideally by formulating concrete indicators or key performance indices – and the monitoringplans put in place.
The following considerations are optional but suggested to help signatories to assess the robustnessof the adaptation/resilience goals set49:
1.

2.

3.

Criteria of completeness: Is the direction of goals clearly indicated?
E.g., if heatwaves have been considered a hazard that may negatively impact elderly
inhabitants, then the goal could be “minimise the number of elderly exposure to heatwaves” or“reduce the number of hospital admissions.” Therefore, a goal would be required for every
hazard implying a risk (hazard x exposure x vulnerability = risk).
Criteria of internal coherence: Is the adaptation goal coherent, i.e. aligned with the identified
risks?
Once the risks have been identified in the RVA (either “not known,” “moderate,” “high,” etc.),
the goals set under the initiative should be coherent with the identified risks and hazards.
Criteria of quantification: Have the goals been quantified to the extent possible andcomplemented with measurable metric/indicators?
For example, if a goal is “minimise the number of heat-related mortality,” then the metric could
be “reduce the number of heat-related mortality by 25% by the year 2030 from the year xx.”

49 Adapted from Barbosa, P., Hernandez, Y., Rivas, S., Silina, D., Sgobbi, A. and Blondel, L. Covenant of Mayors for

Climate & Energy: adaptation to climate change – Evaluation procedure and assessment criteria, EUR 29128,
doi:10.2760/43991.

57

Chapter 7 – Developing a Climate Action Plan(s) (short summary)
7.1 Key principles and requirements for climate action plan(s)Local governments that joined the GCoM are committed to taking concrete measures with long-term
impact to tackle the interconnected challenges of climate change mitigation, adaptation and accessto secure, affordable and sustainable energy. At the core of this commitment stands an officiallyadopted plan that captures the intentions and concrete policies and measures foreseen to (i)reduce/limit greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) prepare for the impacts of climate change and (iii)increase access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy50 in the community and within theboundaries of the local government. It is also important that the climate action plan(s) put in placeby the local government include clear provisions for tracking progress and regular progress
reporting.
A key requirement of the initiative is that climate action plan(s) adopted by the signatory adequately
cover all 3 pillars of the initiative – i.e. the local government has to develop plans for climate change
mitigation, adaptation/resilience and energy access. The local government is free to decide whether
to adopt a standalone document that integrates all or several of the three pillars or whether toadopt separate plans for each of the three pillars. It is also an option to mainstream51, i.e. integrate
targets/goals and actions related to the three pillars into other plans developed and officiallyadopted by the local government, such as in the energy sector or local development plans. What is
important is that the following requirements are met, irrespective of which approach for climate
action planning is being chosen:•••

The plan(s) shall be formally adopted52 by the local government.
The plan(s) should be in an official language used by the local government.
When mainstreamed in sectoral or local development plans, the climate and energy
objectives and actions should be clear and able to be monitored.

Further, the climate action plan(s) adopted by the local government have to include the following
information for both climate change adaptation and mitigation50:••••

The mitigation target(s) and adaptation/climate resilience goal(s)53, including (if available)
sectoral targets, shall be clearly stated, including the baseline and delivery year(s).
The plan(s) shall name the local government(s) which formally adopted the plan and thedate of adoption.
The plan(s) shall state who was the lead author team/Action Plan responsible/coordinationteam in the local governments.
The plan(s) shall describe how different stakeholders were involved in the development of
the plan(s).

50Please note that the concrete requirements for energy access plans will be specified at a later stage.
51 The term mainstreaming refers to the integration of climate change mitigation and/or adaptation into related local

government policies in relevant sectors.
52
According to local government’s procedures.
53 The mitigation target(s) and adaptation/resilience goals have to be in line with requirements outlined in Error!
Reference source not found.

58

•
•
•
•

The plan(s) shall assess potential synergies, trade-offs and co-benefits of mitigation andadaptation actions.
The plan(s) should include metrics (or key performance indicators) for tracking the progressand monitoring plans.
The plan(s) should mention the internal and/or external bodies or mechanisms that will
coordinate the implementation of the climate action plan as a whole.
Where a stand-alone action plan is made, an indication of how the actions have been
incorporated into statutory and sectoral development plans of the local government should
be added.

The core element of the climate action plan(s) certainly form(s) the actions envisaged by the local
government. Plans shall include the following information for each reported action:
•

•

•

•

All actions of priority sectors have to be included in the plan(s). The actions should respondto the priority sectors and areas of intervention identified from the GHG emissions
inventories and climate risk/vulnerability assessment(s).
A brief description of each action, action area or sector shall be provided. This means thatthe measures included in the action plan can be targeting an entire sector, a sub-sector or
the plan can name all individual actions foreseen in a specific area.
Besides a brief description, each action, action area or sector should be accompanied by:o a financial strategy for implementation, i.e. an indication from which sources and bywhich instruments the action is planned to be financed;
o information on the implementation status, cost and timeframe;o the identification of policy instrument(s) foreseen to implement the actions;o a description of who will be involved in the implementation of the action, including
those directly responsible for the execution of the measure and other stakeholders.
In addition, the plan should contain information on how the actions contained in the plan
have been prioritized.

Specifically, for mitigation actions, the action plan shall provide an assessment of the expectedenergy saving, renewable energy production and GHG emissions reduction resulting from theimplementation of each action, action area or sector.
7.2 Key considerations on developing and implementing climate action plan(s) at themunicipal level54
The previous section outlined the mandatory and recommended elements of a climate action
plan(s). This section provides a short summary of key considerations that should be considered whendeveloping, monitoring and implementing these plans. References to available extensive guidancematerials and resources are given at the end of this chapter.
Scoping/setting the boundary

54This section builds on the guidance provided in the series of JRC guidebooks on how to develop a Sustainable

Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP). Please see Annex 3 for further references.

59

The climate action plans are the key documents outlining how a signatory city intends to reach thetargets and goals set under the initiative. It should build on a thorough assessment of the current
situation, including the existing policy and regulatory framework and the results of the GHG emission
inventories and climate risk and vulnerability assessment(s). The plans should ideally cover thewhole jurisdiction/geographical area of the signatory and focus both on the public and private sector
within its territory. Ideally, it should also provide a description of how the plan fits in thenational/regional plans and strategies, in terms of synergies and alignment, but also contribution toreaching the national objectives and goals. The municipality is of course expected to pay attention
and lead by example in sectors over which it has the largest degree of influence, for example themunicipal building stock or public transport.
The development of a climate action plan should not be considered as an objective, but rather as atool that allows a local government to:
•

•

•
•
•

Outline a longer-term vision of how the city will look in the future, in terms of, for instance,energy production and consumption, mobility, infrastructure and land use, resilience,
population, consumption patterns and climate projections;
Analyse current action in the field of energy, transport, waste and climate resilience andbuild a systematic plan, starting from the existing experience with a view of reaching an
ambitious longer-term target/goal;
Translate this vision into concrete actions, with clearly assigned responsibilities, deadlines
and budgets;
Communicate and share this vision and the roadmap for achieving it with the stakeholders;Serve as a reference during the implementation and monitoring process.

Action planning
The core part of any climate action plan55 relates to the policies and measures that will allow the city
to reach the targets and goals previously set. While each climate action plan should concentrate on
actions aimed at reducing CO2 emissions and the final energy consumption by end users, increasing
the city’s resilience and ensure access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy by the wholecommunity, the adequate policies and measures are dependent on the specific context of each local
government. Following these few steps is therefore recommended when elaborating the actionplan:
1. Make use of good practices and lessons learned by peers
Consult good practice examples to identify which actions have delivered effective results in similar
contexts, following similar objectives. The GCoM community offers a vast pool of case studies, bestpractice examples and lessons learned accessible to signatories around the world.
2. Set priorities and select key measures/actions
In view of limited available resources, capacities and existing trade-offs, an adequate selection ofactions in a given time period is required. A preliminary analysis of possible actions could focus onassessing each possible action along a set of criteria which can be weighted according their
55 When referring to Action Plan, note that this could include more than one document/plan.

60

importance to the municipality, including cost, required investment, energy savings, co-benefits,
political and social acceptability, timeframe, payback period, etc. The assessment can consider
different scenarios and should follow a participatory process.
3. Carry out a risk analysis
The selection of actions and measures should also be based on an estimation of risks associated with
their implementation, including risk of failing or not delivering the expected results, etc. (seeChapter 4 for further details).
4. Specify actions in detail
Once the actions have been selected, clearly specify their timing, responsibilities for
implementation, stakeholders to be involved, costs and financing sources. This allows easierplanning of the implementation and tracking of the results, ensuring the success of the action. It isalso important to assess the anticipated impact of actions (e.g., their expected GHG emissions
reduction potential and potential synergies, trade-offs and co-benefits of adaptation and mitigation
actions).
Implementation
Once the climate action plan has been drafted and formally adopted by the municipal council,
actions have to be put into practice and the plan’s implementation has to be well-managed andclosely monitored. A clear and well-structured plan with carefully designed actions largely facilitates
this process. Regular monitoring, using relevant indicators (ideally already included in the plan),followed by revisions of the plan allows the municipality to understand whether it is on track inachieving its targets/goals and to set corrective actions in a timely manner if required. GCoM
signatories are therefore committed to submitting a progress report every two years after
submitting the climate action plan(s) (see chapter 8 for further details).
The climate action plans should not be regarded as fixed and rigid documents: as circumstanceschange, new opportunities arise and ongoing actions provide results and experience, it may be
useful and necessary to revise and update the plan, involving all relevant stakeholders. Regularmonitoring followed by adequate adaptations of the plan(s) allows initiating a continuous
improvement cycle.
ReportingLocal governments are encouraged to report actions in as much detail as possible. On the one hand,planning and reporting actions in detail helps to assess and receive feedback on whether the actions
envisaged by the local government are sufficient and adequate to meet the targets and goals set
under the initiative. It allows tracking and showcasing progress, provides valuable information topeers and is an important prerequisite for accessing climate finance. Both at the level of individual
cities and at the aggregate level, the disclosure of projects contained in climate action plan(s) withthe related financial information is critical to better evaluate what new levels of access to technicalassistance, investments and financing are needed and increases investors’ confidence in the city’s
ability to deliver with accountability and good governance.

617.3 Joint action planning with neighbouring local governments
Local governments have the option of developing a climate action plan(s) together with one or agroup of neighbouring communities, covering one or more of the three pillars of the initiative. These
plans can but don’t have to be built on joint GHG emissions inventories (see chapter 3 for further
details) and/or Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessments inventories (see chapter 4 for further
details). This can also but does not have to involve shared target setting (see chapter 6 for further
details). In any case, it remains a requirement that each individual GCoM signatory individually
officially adopts the joint action plan document(s) according to local government procedures.
Local governments may decide to develop a joint climate action plan(s) aiming, for example, at
fostering institutional cooperation and joint approaches among neighbouring communities. Somelocal governments might conclude that joint approaches may allow for achieving more effective
results in some areas than individual actions. In some circumstances, opportunities for high-impact
actions can be more easily identified within the administrative boundaries of an aggregation ofneighbouring local governments. This can be the case for measures targeting public transport, local
energy production, water management or the provision of advisory services to citizens.
Furthermore, municipalities involved in joint implementation of measures can also sometimes
benefit from economies of scale, such as in public procurement. In addition, municipalities mightwish to bundle scarce human and/or financial resources to jointly engage in action plan preparation,
implementation and monitoring.56
The joint climate action plan(s) can contain both individual and shared measures, while sharedmeasures are being encouraged.
While there are no restrictions on who and how many local governments can engage in developing
joint action plan(s), this option is particularly suited for the case of small-sized neighbouring local
governments. An urban agglomeration, like a metropolis and its suburbs can also consider joint
action planning.
Example: The eight municipalities of Elba Island, Italy, with a total population of 31,000 inhabitants
decided to develop a joint Sustainable Energy Action Plan for the whole island territory. The Provinceof Livorno provided support in this process. The choice was based on the desire to combine humanand economic resources in plan development and implementation as well as the opportunity toachieve better results than they would by having each municipality act alone. The joint plan of Elba
Island was the first step toward a more ambitious long-term goal of making Elba Island carbon
neutral. A working group including representatives from all municipalities, the province andconsultants was established to support data collection and define the target and measures. The plan
provides a detailed characterisation of the measures incl. costs, support from private actors ornecessary means of financing (e.g., through ESCOs). Some of the joint actions include themodification of buildings’ regulations in order to foster energy efficiency and renewable energies
and the collaboration between the municipalities and the tourist operators in order to reduceenergy consumption from tourist accommodations.

56 Adapted from Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy Office (2017), Quick Reference Guide - Joint Sustainable

Energy & Climate Action Plan.

62

Source: Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy Office (2017), Quick Reference Guide - Joint
Sustainable Energy & Climate Action Plan

Chapter 8 – GCoM monitoring and reporting
8.1 Reporting platforms and overall reporting timelines
Monitoring and reporting progress is an important cornerstone of the GCoM initiative. Once a local
government has joined the GCoM and completed the steps related to assessment, target/goal
setting and planning, the city should regularly monitor progress in implementing the action plan andtoward achieving the targets and goals set. A robust monitoring system and timeline should be put
in place from the beginning and be an integral part of the climate action plan(s) adopted by the city(see chapter 7 for further details). This also involves a clear mechanism for reviewing and updating
the plans as required.
Next to closely monitoring the progress in implementing the climate action plan(s), signatories arealso required to regularly update their GHG emissions inventories (see chapter 3 for further details)
and Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (see chapter 4 for further details). The climate action
plan can be updated according to needs, new opportunities and implementation barriers appearing
during the monitoring phase: it should be a living document, which serves the local governments
and reflects the monitoring of the progress (see chapter 7 for further details).
Monitoring of climate action plan implementation is conducted by each individual city and local
government in accordance with locally applicable rules and provisions as identified in the plan(s).
Submission of subsequent progress reports are done through one of the two officially recognizedreporting platforms:• CDP and ICLEI’s unified reporting system57• the SECAP reporting platform, available in “MyCovenant” (the European Covenant Extranet).
Each of the platforms has aligned with the GCoM framework and allows cities and local governments
to report on the GCoM requirements and their progress.58 Data reported to any of the reporting
platforms may be converted by GCoM to allow for comparability and aggregation in line with the
CRF. City and local governments will be asked to upload all relevant documents (most importantly
climate action plan(s), GHG emission inventories and climate risk and vulnerability assessments) ineither platform. They will also be required to update any relevant information related to:• Basic information about the signatory (population, location, mayor, etc.)• The target(s) and goal(s) set under the initiative

57 By streamlining ICLEI’s carbonn Climate Registry (cCR) and CDP’s platform, the new unified reporting system willradically simplify the reporting process. CDP will manage the data intake process and publicly reported data(including GCoM data) will be automatically shared with ICLEI.
58 The "MyCovenant” platform is expected to be updated in the course of 2019 in alignment with the GCoM CRF.

63

• GHG emissions in the sectors covered by the GCoM and a summary of the main
methodological information related to the inventory (see chapter 3 for a detailed descriptionof the requirements)• The main results of the climate risk and vulnerability assessment• A summary of the action plan, incl. a description of key actions
Each GCoM signatory must provide this information in accordance with the following the timeline,with year 0 being the year of joining GCoM, as indicated below:
Reporting Elements

Year 1

Year 2

1. Measuring GHG emissions – GHG emissions
inventory

within 2 years

2. Assessing risks and vulnerability

within 2 years

3. Setting targets for reducing emissions andgoals for increased resilience
4. Climate action planning, including mitigation
and adaptation

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5within 2 years

5. Energy access planningwithin 3 years
to be defined
every 2 years after
submitting the climate
action plan

6. Reporting progress(incl. GHG emissions inventory)

EXAMPLE: A city that commits to GCoM in 2019 is asked to present the results of its GHG emissions
inventory and Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment in the calendar year 2021, to set its goals
and targets and submit its Climate Action Plan(s) by the end of 2022 the latest.59
Once the first five steps described in the above graph have been accomplished, the information oneach of these steps must be confirmed or updated at a minimum of every two years. It is, however,recommended to report progress on an annual basis where possible.
Local governments may apply for an extension of reporting deadlines along with a clear justification.
For previously committed cities, the year 2019 is considered a transition year, i.e. cities are granted
more flexibility to familiarize themselves and start reporting against the new framework.
8.2 City-level monitoring and reporting to GCoM
The table below provides an overview of the most important elements a city-level monitoring
framework related to the climate action plan(s) put in place under the GCoM should contain andexplains the frequency and elements of reporting to the GCoM.
The monitoring information can be reported through the recognized online reporting platforms.
Table 9. Overview on city-level monitoring and reporting to GCoM
Monitoring element
GHG Emissions Inventory
Regular update of the GHG emissions inventory
The city is required to keep track of the city-wide

Reporting to GCoM
Every two years
A more recent inventory must be reported to

59 Please note that in the future the timelines for reporting may be directly linked to the exact date of joining GCoM. In

this case, e.g., the inventory would be due on 5 May 2021 in case the city joined the GCoM on 5 May 2019. This change
would only affect newly committed cities.

64

emissions.
When updating inventories, cities must take into
consideration all possible changes outlined inTable 6 in chapter 3, even if those changes are
not significant.
Inventory update due to significant changes
Signatories are required to update theirinventories in case significant changes take placethat trigger a recalculation of the inventory (asoutlined in Table 6 in chapter 3, incl. changes ininventory boundary, calculation methodology,
improvements in data accuracy, discovery oferrors, etc.). This may also trigger the need for arecalculation of historic inventories (see chapter
3 for further details).
Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment
Regular update of the Climate Risk andVulnerability Assessment
The city should monitor the climate hazards it is
exposed to, vulnerable population groups, aswell as its adaptive capacity.
Climate Action Plan(s)Progress toward commitments in the climate
action plan(s)Each signatory has to keep track on the progress
toward achieving the mitigation target(s) andadaptation goal(s) set within the plans. This isperformed by the city and must be publicly
disclosed.
Status of the implementation of eachaction/action area/sector in the climate action
plan(s)Each signatory should keep track of theimplementation progress of all mitigation andadaptation measures using the key performanceindicators set in the adopted plan(s)Cost of each action/action area/sector
It is recommended to also keep track of theimplementation cost related to individual actions

Required revisions of the climate action plan(s)Cities are required to make provisions forregularly updating their action plan(s) whenneededGCoM.

As soon as possible; at the latest when the next
inventory update is due

Every two years
The assessment results and information
reported previously must be confirmed or
updated according to more recent assessments
performed.
Every two years
After the formal adoption of the climate action
plan(s), a progress toward target/goalachievement must be reported every two years(i.e. if the plan was adopted in year 3 after
joining the initiative, the first progress report isdue in year 5)
Every two years
The status of implementation of eachaction/action area/sector contained in theplan(s) has to be reported every second year
after submission of the action plan(s) (with thepossibility to update or add actions).
Every two years
The implementation costs of actions/action
areas/sectors contained in the action plan(s)should be reported every second year after
submission of the action plan(s)At the next reporting cycle
It is mandatory to resubmit the climate action
plan(s) to GCoM when there are significant
changes

At each step, cities need to report their information only once through any of the recognizedreporting platforms. Key city data under the GCoM, reported through any of the recognized65

reporting platforms, will be shared with, consolidated and made publicly available through the
GCoM website, used for analysis and aggregation and shared with the UN’s NAZCA platform.60

8.3 Minimum requirements and GCoM badges
The progress of signatories as they advance under the initiative will be visually recognized by asystem of badges which are being displayed on the signatory’s profile (city dashboard) on the GCoM
website. Each city’s progress in accomplishing and reporting on each of the steps for each of the 3pillars under the initiative will be visually recognized with a specific badge/progress bar, as sketchedin the example city profile in the upper right corner.

Upon committing to the initiative (commitment letter signed by an appropriately mandated official
according to local government procedures), a commitment badge is awarded to each city (in theexample city profile above this is displayed in the upper left corner, below the city name).
The badges and progress bars will be awarded, as soon as the city has accomplished and reported ona specific step and the compliance with the GCoM requirements has been confirmed:

BadgesInventory/assessment bars
(within 2 years)

Target/goal bars
(within 2 years)

Plan bars(within 3 years)

The commitment badge is awarded upon committing to the initiative by submitting a commitment
letter signed by an appropriately mandated official according to local government procedures, incl.
the pledge to implement policies and undertake measures to (i) reduce/avoid greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions, (ii) prepare for the impacts of climate change, (iii) increase access to sustainableenergy and (iv) track progress toward these objectives.

Mitigation badge

60Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA, http://climateaction.unfccc.int/) was launched at the UN Climate

Change Conference in Lima and registers commitments to action by local governments, businesses, etc.

66

Badge lights up as
soon as the first step is
accomplished

GHG baseline emissions
inventory submitted andvalidated (Including all
mandatory criteria) for
meeting the GCoM
requirements

GHG emissions reduction/low
emission development target
set and validated for meeting
the GCoM requirements

Separate or integrated climate
action plan covering climatechange mitigation (following
GCoM framework) submitted
and validated for meeting the
GCoM requirements

Adaptation badge

Badge lights up as
soon as the first step is
accomplished

Access to Energy
badge

Climate Risk & Vulnerability
Assessment submitted andvalidated for meeting the
GCoM requirements

Criteria will be communicatedin 2019

Climate change adaptation
goal(s) set and validated formeeting the GCoM
requirements
Criteria will be communicatedin 2019

Separate or integrated climate
action plan covering climatechange adaptation (following
GCoM framework) submitted
and validated for meeting the
GCoM requirements
Criteria will be communicatedin 2019

The final badge is awarded to cities that have accomplished all steps under all three pillars. They
will keep the badge as long as they keep submitting progress monitoring reports within therequired timeframe, validated for meeting GCoM requirements.

Each badge is displayed/progress bar is ticked on the signatory’s profile once the respective step has
been reported and positively evaluated. The city keeps the badge/progress bar as long as it keeps
meeting all monitoring requirements and related timeframes. The badge/progress bar is suspended
in case the city does not meet subsequent reporting requirements.

67

Annexes
Annex 1 – Chapter 3: Mapping of emission source categories with other commonly usedguidance
Sectors and sub-sectors in GCoM
reporting framework

IPCC (ref no.)GPC (ref no.)

1A4b
1A4a
1A4a
1A1, 1A2
1A4c
1B1, 1B2

I.1.1, I.1.2

I.3.1, I.3.2, I.4.1, I.4.2
I.5.1, I.5.2
I.7.1, I.8.1

1A3b
1A3c
1A3d
1A3a
1A3e

II.1.1, II.1.2
II.2.1, II.2.2
II.3.1, II.3.2
II.4.1, II.4.2
II.5.1, II.5.2

4A
4B
4C
4D

III.1.1, III.1.2
III.2.1, III.2.2
III.3.1, III.3.2
III.4.1, III.4.2

2A, 2B, 2C, 2E
2D, 2F, 2G, 2H

IV.1.1IV.2.1

Stationary Energy
Residential buildings
Commercial building and facilities
Institutional buildings and facilities
Industrial buildings and facilities
Agriculture
Fugitive emissions

I.2.1, I.2.2

Transportation
On-roadRail
Waterborne navigation
Aviation
Off-road
Waste
Solid waste disposal
Biological treatment
Incineration and open burning
WastewaterIndustrial Process and Product Use(IPPU)
Industrial Process
Product Use
Agriculture, Forestry and Other
Land Use (AFOLU)
Livestock
Land use
Other AFOLU
Energy Generation

3A
3B
3C, 3D

V.1.1
V.2.1
V.3.1

Electricity-only generation
CHP generation
Heat/cold generation
Local renewable generation

1A1

I.4.4

European CoM reporting framework(subject to revision)
Final energy consumption in the ‘buildings,
equipment/facilities, industries’ sector
Residential
Tertiary/commercial
Municipal (incl. public lighting)Industry
Agriculture/Forestry/Fisheries
Other emissions (incl. fugitive emissions)Final energy consumption in the‘transport’ sector (several sub-sectors
proposed, incl. municipal, public, private
and commercial)
Road*
Rail*
Local and domestic waterways*
Local aviation*
Other/Off-road*
Other emission sources (not related toenergy consumption)
Waste management
Sub-sectors: solid waste, biological waste,incinerated and burned waste *Wastewater management
Final energy consumption in the ‘industry’sectorIndustry
Other emission sources (not related toenergy consumption)
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Energy Supply
Electricity production (incl. certified green
electricity, local electricity production)
Local heat/cold production
Renewable energy generation* Note - Transport modes and waste subsectors will be integrated in the new, revised version of the European CoM
reporting template to be released in 2019 (they are not integrated in previous versions).

68Annex 2 – Chapter 4: Core definitions for the climate risk and vulnerability assessment
Adaptation (climate change): The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems,
adaptation seeks to moderate or avoid harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In some natural systems, humanintervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects.
Adaptive capacity: The ability of systems, institutions, humans and other organisms to adjust to potential damage, to takeadvantage of opportunities or to respond to consequences.
Exposure: The presence of people, livelihoods, species or ecosystems, environmental functions, services, resources,
infrastructure or economic, social or cultural assets in places and settings that could be adversely affected.
Hazard: The potential occurrence of a natural or human-induced physical event or trend or physical impact that may cause
loss of life, injury or other health impacts, as well as damage and loss to property, infrastructure, livelihoods, service
provision, ecosystems and environmental resources. The term hazard usually refers to climate-related physical events ortrends or their physical impacts.
Impact (climate change): Climate change impacts are effects of extreme weather and climate events and of climate change
on humans and natural systems. Impacts generally refer to effects on lives, livelihoods, health, ecosystems, economies,
societies, cultures, services and infrastructure due to the interaction of climate changes or hazardous climate eventsoccurring within a specific time period and the vulnerability of an exposed society or system. 61
Risk: The potential for consequences where something of value is at stake and where the outcome is uncertain,
recognizing the diversity of values. Risk is often represented as probability or likelihood of occurrence of hazardous eventsor trends multiplied by the impacts if these events or trends occur. The term risk is often used to refer to the potential,
when the outcome is uncertain, for adverse consequences on lives, livelihoods, health, ecosystems and species, economic,
social and cultural assets, services (including environmental services) and infrastructure.
Resilience: The capacity of social, economic and environmental systems to cope with a hazardous event or trend or
disturbance, responding or reorganizing in ways that maintain their essential function, identity and structure, while also
maintaining the capacity for adaptation, learning and transformation.
Vulnerability: The propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected. Vulnerability encompasses a variety of concepts
and elements including sensitivity or susceptibility to harm and lack of capacity to cope and adapt.

HAZARD-RELATED DEFINITIONS62,63,64
Climate extreme (Extreme weather or climate event): See Extreme weather event.
BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS
Biological hazards: are of organic origin or conveyed by biological vectors, including pathogenic microorganisms, toxins
and bioactive substances. Examples are bacteria, viruses or parasites, as well as venomous wildlife and insects, poisonous
plants and mosquitoes carrying disease-causing agents.
Water-borne disease: Condition related to contamination of water. The great majority of evident water-related healthproblems are the result of microbial (bacterial, viral, protozoan or other biological) contamination (e.g., diarrhoea).
Nevertheless, an appreciable number of serious health concerns may occur as a result of the chemical contamination ofdrinking-water (e.g., arsenic contamination). Climate change affects availability, access and quality of existing drinking
water, as well as the presence of harmful pathogens in water bodies in urban and peri-urban areas.65

61 IPCC (2014), Annex II: Glossary, in: “Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report”
62IPCC, 2013: Annex III: Glossary [Planton, S. (ed.)]. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contributionof Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F.,
D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.
63IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution ofWorking Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Barros, V.R., C.B.
Field, D.J. Dokken, M.D. Mastrandrea, K.J. Mach, T.E. Bilir, M. Chatterjee, K.L. Ebi, Y.O. Estrada, R.C. Genova, B. Girma,
E.S. Kissel, A.N. Levy, S. MacCracken, P.R. Mastrandrea, and L.L. White (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 688.
64 UN, 2016: Report of the open-ended intergovernmental expert working group on indicators and terminology
relating to disaster risk reduction. United Nations.
65 Definition adapted to the urban context from: World Health Organization (WHO), (2011), Guidelines for Drinkingwater Quality, 4th Ed.

69

Vector-borne disease: Vector-borne diseases are human illnesses caused by parasites, viruses and bacteria that aretransmitted by mosquitoes, sandflies, triatomine bugs, blackflies, ticks, tsetse flies, mites, snails and lice.66
Airborne disease: Condition caused by airborne pathogens, which are transmitted through inhalation of droplet nuclei thatremain infectious over a long distance (e.g., > 1 m), and require special air handling (4, 5). The transmission of thesepathogens can be exclusively through droplet nuclei deposited in the distal part of the lung (e.g., tuberculosis) or also
through other routes (e.g., measles).67
Insect infestation: The pervasive influx, swarming and/or hatching of insects affecting humans, animals, crops andperishable goods. Examples are locusts and African bees. 68
CHEMICAL CHANGE
Salt water intrusion: Displacement of fresh surface water or groundwater by the advance of salt water due to its greater
density. This usually occurs in coastal and estuarine areas due to reducing land-based influence (e.g., either from reduced
runoff and associated groundwater recharge, or from excessive water withdrawals from aquifers) or increasing marine
influence (e.g., relative sea-level rise). 69
Ocean acidification: Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period, typicallydecades or longer, which is caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO 2) from the atmosphere but can also be
caused by other chemical additions or subtractions from the ocean. Anthropogenic ocean acidification refers to thecomponent of pH reduction that is caused by human activity.
Atmospheric CO2 concentrations: The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) that would cause the same radiative forcing
as a given mixture of CO2 and other forcing components. Those values may consider only greenhouse gases (GHGs), or a
combination of GHGs, aerosols and surface albedo change. CO 2-equivalent concentration is a metric for comparing
radiative forcing of a mix of different forcing components at a particular time but does not imply equivalence of thecorresponding climate change responses nor future forcing. There is generally no connection between CO2-equivalentemissions and resulting CO2-equivalent concentrations.
EXTREME COLD TEMPERATURE
Extreme winter conditions: Damage caused by snow and ice. Winter damage refers to damage to buildings, infrastructure,traffic (esp. navigation) inflicted by snow and ice in form of snow pressure, freezing rain, frozen waterways, etc.70
Cold wave: A period of abnormally cold weather. Typically, a cold wave lasts two or more days and may be aggravated byhigh winds. The exact temperature criteria for what constitutes a cold wave varies by location.71
Extreme cold days: Days where maximum temperature, or nights where minimum temperature, falls below the 10th
percentile, where the respective temperature distributions are generally defined with respect to the 1961–1990 reference
period.
EXTREME HOT TEMPERATURE
Heat wave: A period of abnormally and uncomfortably hot weather.
Extreme hot days: Days where maximum temperature, or nights where minimum temperature, exceeds the 90th
percentile, where the respective temperature distributions are generally defined with respect to the 1961–1990 reference
period.
EXTREME PRECIPITATION
Rain storm: (heavy rain) rain with a rate of accumulation exceeding a specific value (e.g., 7.6 mm). 72
Monsoon: A monsoon is a tropical and subtropical seasonal reversal in both the surface winds and associatedprecipitation, caused by differential heating between a continental-scale land mass and the adjacent ocean. Monsoon rains
occur mainly over land in summer.

66 World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/vector-borne-diseases
67 Definition adapted to the urban context from: World Health Organization (WHO), (2014), Infection prevention andcontrol of epidemic- and pandemic-prone acute respiratory infections in health care - WHO Guidelines
68 Integrated Research on Disaster Risk. (2014). Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary (IRDR DATA Publication No.
1). Beijing: Integrated Research on Disaster Risk.
69 IPCC 2014, Annex XX: Glossary
70 CRED - CENTRE FOR RESEARCH ON THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DISASTERS, (2009), Classification. EM-DAT: The
International Disaster Database. CRED. [Online] Available from: https://www.emdat.be/Glossary
71 Ibid
72 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2015), Event types of hazards and extreme events, meeting at theSeventeenth Session of the World Climate Congress (Cg-17): https://public.wmo.int/en/events/meetings/task-teamcataloguing-extreme-weather-water-and-climate-events-iptt-cwwce

70

Heavy snow: (snowstorm) meteorological disturbance giving rise to a heavy fall of snow, often accompanied by strong
winds.73
Fog: Suspension of very small, usually microscopic water droplets in the air, generally reducing the horizontal visibility at
the Earth's surface to less than 1 km.74
Hail: Precipitation of either transparent, or partly or completely opaque particles of ice (hailstones), usually spheroidal,
conical or irregular in form and of diameter very generally between 5 and 50 millimetres, which falls from a cloud either
separately or agglomerated into irregular lumps.75
FLOOD AND SEA LEVEL RISE
The overflowing of the normal confines of a stream or other body of water, or the accumulation of water over areas notnormally submerged. Floods include river (fluvial) floods, flash floods, urban floods, pluvial floods, sewer floods, coastal
floods and glacial lake outburst floods. Sea level can change, both globally and locally due to (1) changes in the shape of theocean basins, (2) a change in ocean volume as a result of a change in the mass of water in the ocean and (3) changes inocean volume as a result of changes in ocean water density. Global mean sea level change resulting from change in themass of the ocean is called barystatic. The amount of barystatic sea level change due to the addition or removal of a massof water is called its sea level equivalent (SLE). Sea level changes, both globally and locally, resulting from changes in water
density are called steric. Density changes induced by temperature changes only are called thermosteric, while densitychanges induced by salinity changes are called halosteric. Barystatic and steric sea level changes do not include the effectof changes in the shape of ocean basins induced by the change in the ocean mass and its distribution.
Flash/surface flood: Heavy or excessive rainfall in a short period of time that produce immediate runoff, creating flooding
conditions within minutes or a few hours during or after the rainfall.76
River flood: River floods (also referred to as ‘riverine’ or ‘fluvial’ flood) occur over a wide range of river and catchment
systems. Floods in river valleys occur mostly on flood plains or wash lands because of flow exceeding the capacity of thestream channels and spilling over the natural banks or artificial embankments.77
Coastal flood: Higher-than-normal water levels along the coast caused by tidal changes or thunderstorms that result inflooding, which can last from days to weeks.78
Groundwater flood: The emergence of groundwater at the ground surface away from perennial river channels or the risingof groundwater into man-made ground, under conditions where the 'normal' ranges of groundwater level andgroundwater flow are exceeded.79
Permanent inundation: Landmass completely covered with water.
MASS MOVEMENT
Landslide: (or mudslide) is a rapid movement of a mass of soil, rock or debris downhill by gravity, often assisted by water
when the material is saturated.80
Avalanche: Mass of snow and ice falling suddenly down a mountain slope and often taking with it earth, rocks and rubbleof every description.81
Rock fall: The sudden and very rapid downslope movement of unsorted mass of rock and soil. 82
Subsidence: Subsidence refers to the sinking of the ground due to groundwater removal, mining, dissolution of limestone(e.g., karst, sinkholes), extraction of natural gas and earthquakes.83

73 Ibid
74 Ibid
75 Ibid
76 Integrated Research on Disaster Risk. (2014). Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary (IRDR DATA Publication No.

1). Beijing: Integrated Research on Disaster Risk.
77 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2015), Event types of hazards and extreme events, meeting at theSeventeenth Session of the World Climate Congress (Cg-17)
78 Integrated Research on Disaster Risk. (2014). Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary (IRDR DATA Publication No.
1). Beijing: Integrated Research on Disaster Risk.
79 ] BGS - BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. (2015) Groundwater flooding research overview. Natural Environment
Research Council. [Online] Available from:http://www.bgs.ac.uk/research/groundwater/flooding/groundwater_flooding.html
80 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2015), Event types of hazards and extreme events, meeting at theSeventeenth Session of the World Climate Congress (Cg-17)
81 Ibid
82 CRED - CENTRE FOR RESEARCH ON THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DISASTERS, (2009), Classification. EM-DAT: The
International Disaster Database. CRED. [Online] Available from: https://www.emdat.be/Glossary71

STORM AND WIND
Severe wind: (Definition for wind) Differences in air pressure resulting in the horizontal motion of air. The greater thedifference in pressure, the stronger the wind. Wind moves from high pressure toward low pressure. 84 The severity of wind
events is location-dependent.
Tornado: A violently rotating storm of small diameter; the most violent weather phenomenon. It is
produced in a very severe thunderstorm and appears as a funnel cloud extending from thebase of a cumulonimbus to the ground.85
Cyclone (Hurricane/Typhoon): Generic term for a non-frontal synoptic scale cyclone originating over tropical or subtropical waters with organized convection and definite cyclonic surface wind circulation. Tropical disturbance: light surface
winds with indications of cyclonic circulation. Tropical depression: wind speed up to 33 knots. Tropical storm: maximum
wind speed of 34 to 47 knots. Severe tropical storm: maximum wind speed of 48 to 63 knots. Hurricane: maximum windspeed of 64 knots or more. Typhoon: maximum wind speed of 64 knots or more. Tropical cyclone (South-West Indian
Ocean): maximum wind speed of 64 to 90 knots. Tropical cyclone (Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, South-East Indian Ocean,South Pacific): maximum wind speed of 34 knots or more. 86
Extra tropical storm: A type of low-pressure cyclonic system in the middle and high latitudes (also called mid-latitude
cyclone) that primarily gets its energy from the horizontal temperature contrasts (fronts) in the atmosphere. Whenassociated with cold fronts, extratropical cyclones may be particularly damaging.87
Tropical storm: (see definition of cyclone/hurricane/typhoon above).
Storm surge: The temporary increase, at a particular locality, in the height of the sea due to extreme meteorologicalconditions (low atmospheric pressure and/or strong winds). The storm surge is defined as being the excess above the level
expected from the tidal variation alone at that time and place.
Lightning/thunderstorm: Sudden electrical discharges manifested by a flash of light (lightning) and a sharp or rumblingsound (thunder). Thunderstorms are associated with convective clouds (cumulonimbus) and are, more often, accompanied
by precipitation in the form of rain showers or hail, or occasionally snow, snow pellets or ice pellets. 88
WATER SCARCITY
Drought: A period of abnormally dry weather long enough to cause a serious hydrological imbalance. Drought is a relative
term; therefore, any discussion in terms of precipitation deficit must refer to the particular precipitation-related activity
that is under discussion. For example, shortage of precipitation during the growing season impinges on crop production or
ecosystem function in general (due to soil moisture drought, also termed agricultural drought), and during the runoff andpercolation season primarily affects water supplies (hydrological drought). Storage changes in soil moisture andgroundwater are also affected by increases in actual evapotranspiration in addition to reductions in precipitation. A periodwith an abnormal precipitation deficit is defined as a meteorological drought. A mega-drought is a very lengthy andpervasive drought, lasting much longer than normal, usually a decade or more.
WILD FIRE
Weather conditions conducive to triggering and sustaining wild fires, usually based on a set of indicators and combinationsof indicators including temperature, soil moisture, humidity and wind. Fire weather does not include the presence orabsence of fuel load.
Forest fire: Type of wild fire in forested/wooded area
Land fire: (brush, bush, pasture) type of wild fire in a non-wooded area such as bush, grassland, scrub or pasture.

Box 7. European example of climate modelling
Downscaling global climate models is necessary to capture the spatial and temporal variability of projected temperature,
precipitation, wind, air humidity and climate extremes at urban scale. The EURO-CORDEX89 provides regional climate
83 Integrated Research on Disaster Risk. (2014). Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary (IRDR DATA Publication No.

1). Beijing: Integrated Research on Disaster Risk.
84 Ibid
85 World Meteorological Organization (WMO) (2015), Event types of hazards and extreme events, meeting at theSeventeenth Session of the World Climate Congress (Cg-17)
86 Ibid
87 Integrated Research on Disaster Risk. (2014). Peril Classification and Hazard Glossary (IRDR DATA Publication No.
1). Beijing: Integrated Research on Disaster Risk.
88 Ibid72

change projections for the EU domain from the CMIP590 experiments until 2100 with a grid resolution of about 12 km (0.11
degree).
Additionally, local data from city weather stations can be used to refine the calibration of the regional climate models,
improving the accuracy of short-term scenario projections. Urban climate maps can help to identify heat island effectthrough the analysis of surface temperature and wind patterns according to building distribution and density. 91
There are many examples of climate-impact models. The selection of the most suitable ones for the studied context
depends on several factors, including data availability. Proxies can be used when desired data is unavailable; 92 proxies
introduce an additional uncertainty to the analysis but represent a valid tool to overcome the lack of reliable or accessible
information at local level. When data scarcity disables the use of detailed climate-impact models, GIS based tools can beused to link climate extremes to biophysical and socioeconomic data.
The model OUTPUT comes in the form of maps representing – for a specific time window and climate scenario 93 – thespatial variability within the urban perimeter of the potential impacts. The map is usually a raster file, whose resolution
depends on the quality of INPUT data.
Other possible resources for reporting this information include national climate change projections or reports by the IPCC.
Similar to past hazards, local governments report the probability and impact of the most relevant/significant hazards
expected to occur within their jurisdiction. By reporting the probability and consequence of the hazards, local governments
effectively report on the risk level of the identified climate hazards. Local governments are also required to indicate
whether the frequency and intensity of climate hazards are expected to increase, decrease or remain the same (alsopossible to report no information/knowledge of change) and at which timescale the change is expected to occur. Reporting
entities are expected to indicate the timescale based on the following list of values: Immediately = change infrequency/intensity already being felt (relevant for climate hazards which occur now or have occurred in the past); shortterm = change in frequency/intensity anticipated by 2025; medium-term = change in frequency/intensity anticipatedbetween 2026-2050; long-term = change in frequency/intensity anticipated after 2050. It is also possible to report “notknown” when information/knowledge of projected change does not exist.

Annex 3 – Further guidance materials, tools and resources
Resource title and link

Description

General Guidance (Chapter 2)
IPCC (2014), “Climate
The Synthesis Report (SYR) of the
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5)Change 2014: Synthesis
provides an overview of the state ofReport”knowledge concerning the science ofclimate change
Covenant of Mayors
Europe online Library

C40 Climate Action
Planning Resource
CentreOffers a wide range of useful
resources, technical materials,
thematic leaflets, case studies andbest practice examples, webinar
recordings, etc.
C40's Climate Action Planning
Resource Centre brings together awide range of resources and tools to
support city climate planners in theprocess of delivering action
consistent with the objectives of theParis Agreement.

Languages

Organisations

English,Arabic,Chinese,French,Russian,
SpanishEnglish andother EU
official
languages

IPCC

EnglishC40

Covenant ofMayors Europe

89 http://www.euro-cordex.net/.
90 Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 5. https://pcmdi.llnl.gov/mips/cmip5/index.html.
91 Katzschener, L., 2011. Urban Climate Maps. Available at: http://www-docs.b-tu.de/megacity-

hcmc/public/02_Urban_Expansion/2_DPA_Roundtable_Katzschner_EN_lores.pdf.
92 OECD and JRC, 2008. Handbook on constructing composite indicators. OECD press, pp.158.
93 Global Climate Models provide information of temperature and precipitation, among others, according to RCPs
scenarios.

73Sustainable Energy andClimate Action Plan
GuidebookPart 1: The SECAP process, step-bystep toward low-carbon and climateresilient cities by 2030

GHG Emissions Inventories (Chapter 3)
City Inventory Reporting Excel-based tool to compile a GHG
and Information System city-wide inventory in the format of(CIRIS)the GPC

EnglishEuropeanCommission’s
Joint ResearchCentre, 2018

English

C40

ClearPath GHG
Inventory tool

ClearPath Global is an online GHG
inventory tool for local governments
worldwide

EnglishICLEI

Sustainable Energy andClimate Action Plan
Template

Excel-based tool to compile a GHG
city-wide inventory following theEuropean Covenant of Mayors
methodology (currently underrevision)
Part 2: Baseline Emission Inventory(BEI) and Risk and Vulnerability
Assessment (RVA)

EnglishCovenant ofMayors Europe

English2006 IPCC Guidelines for
National Greenhouse
Gas Inventories

2006 IPCC Guidelines to compile
National Greenhouse Gas Inventories

EnglishEuropeanCommission’s
Joint ResearchCentre, 2018
IPCC

IPCC Emission Factor
Database (EFDB)International library of emission
factors to estimate greenhouse gas
emissions
National GHG emissions data source

EnglishIPCC

CAIT Climate Data
Explorer
Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (Chapter 4)
The (UAST) assists local authorities in
Urban Adaptation
developing, implementing andSupport Tool
monitoring climate change adaptationplans. It outlines all the steps needed
to develop and implement anadaptation strategy and makes
references to valuable guidancematerials and tools. Step 2 provides
specific guidance on assessing climatechange risks and vulnerabilities
C40’s classification of city-specific
City Climate Hazard
climate hazards
Taxonomy

EnglishWRI

EnglishEuropeanEnvironmental
Agency,EuropeanCovenant ofMayorsEnglishC40, Arup(2015)

European Covenant ofMayors E-learning tool

1 dedicated module on adaptation,
available in MyCovenant

How to prepare forfloods, heatwaves andEuropean Covenant of Mayors Leaflet

English,Covenant of
Spanish,Mayors Europe
Italian, French,
GermanEnglishCovenant ofMayorsSustainable Energy andClimate Action Plan
Guidebook74

other climate change
impacts
European Covenant ofMayors webinar
recordings (select“webinars” under the“type” filter)

European Covenant ofMayors Reporting
Guidelines
European Covenant Case
Studies (select “casestudies” under “type”)
Sustainable Energy andClimate Action Plan
Guidebook
Urban Risk Assessments:
Understanding Disasterand Climate Risk in Cities

Shaping climate-resilient
development: aframework for decisionmaking
UK Climate Impacts
Programme, UKCIP

Planning for climatechange: Guide

Planning for climatechange: Toolkit

Europe, 2018
European Covenant of Mayors
webinar recordings, incl.:- Co-creation of climate action andadaptation support tools by local
governments and researchers(2019, English)- Implementing a pathway
approach for climate change
adaptation at the local level(2018, English)
Adaptation chapters provide
guidance on RVA

EnglishCovenant ofMayors Europe

Available in all
EU languages

Covenant ofMayors Europe

Urban adaptation case studies from
European Covenant cities

EnglishCovenant ofMayors Europe

Part 2: Baseline Emission Inventory(BEI) and Risk and Vulnerability
Assessment (RVA)

EnglishTool to help cities manage disaster
risk, placing priority on proactive,
adaptive planning to reduce andmanage the potential for disasters
and climate-related weather events.
The assessments are guided by threeprincipals that collectively contributeto the understanding of urban risk: 1)
hazard impact assessments, 2)
institutional assessments and 3)
socioeconomic assessments.
This document identifies significant
potential for cost-effective
adaptation measures based on local
climate conditions, and for building
more resilient economies.
UKCIP’s Adaptation Wizard is a 5-stepprocess to help your organisation
adapt to climate change. It’s also a
guide to useful information, tools andresources.
Framework for city planners to better
understand, assess and take action
on climate change at the local level it includes specific sections onvulnerability assessments
Framework for city planners to better
understand, assess and take action

EnglishEuropeanCommission’s
Joint ResearchCentre, 2018
World Bank

EnglishEnglishEconomics of
Climate
Adaptation(ECA) Working
Group
UK Climate
Impacts
Programme(UKCIP)

EnglishUN-Habitat

EnglishUN-Habitat75

C40 Cities Climate
Change Risk Assessment
Guidance
The Vulnerability
Sourcebook: Concept
and guidelines forstandardisedvulnerability
assessments
Guideline - Impact andVulnerability Analysis of
Vital Infrastructures andbuilt-up Areason climate change at the local level it includes specific sections onvulnerability assessments
A guidance document to help cities
conduct a climate change risk
assessment
Tool for conducting vulnerability
assessments at the national level

Practical guidelines for assessing
impacts and vulnerabilities of urban
areas and their infrastructure related
to consequences of climate change

Target setting (Chapter 6)
Mitigation Goal
Guidance to design national andStandard
subnational mitigation goals
Climate Action Planning (Chapter 7)
EC JRC SEACAP
Methodological guidebooks with aguidebooks (How tofocus on specific regions, including
develop a Sustainable
Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, EU
Energy (Access) andEastern Partnership Countries, North
Climate Action Plan
Africa and Middle East.
(SE(A)CAP))
Climate action for
URBan sustainability(CURB)
Climate Action Planning
Framework

Urban Adaptation
Support Tool

UN-Habitat’s ‘Guiding
Principles for City
Climate Action Planning’
Planning for climatechange: Guide

EnglishC40

English,Spanish,FrenchGIZ, EURAC

EnglishRESIN

English,Spanish,FrenchWRIEnglish,RussianEuropeanCommission
Joint ResearchCentreExcel-based interactive scenario
Englishplanning tool to help cities takeaction on climate change
The Climate Action Planning
EnglishFramework was developed to support
cities in developing climate actionplans that are aligned with theobjectives of the Paris Agreement.
The tool provides step-by-step
Englishguidance to adaptation in the urban
context, including identification,assessment and selection ofadaptation actions.
The principles establish benchmarks
for action planning in cities, based oninternational evidence and bestpractices.
Framework for city planners to better
understand, assess and take action
on climate change at the local levelC40, AECOM

C40

EnglishEuropeanEnvironmental
Agency,EuropeanCovenant ofMayors
UN-Habitat

EnglishUN-Habitat

76

Planning for climatechange: Toolkit
CDP’s Open Data portal

GHG Contribution
Analysis
Adaptation and
Mitigation Interaction
Assessment Tool (AMIA)

Framework for city planners to better
understand, assess and take action
on climate change at the local level
The data portal contains cities’
publicly reported data through CDP
and is freely available
Toolkit designed to assist
communities in the application of
GHG Contribution Analysis
The AMIA tool enables cities tomethodically identify potential
interactions between climate
adaptation and mitigation measures

EnglishUN-Habitat

EnglishCDP

EnglishICLEI USA

EnglishC40

77