Climate Map of Cities: How Are Scope and Limits Determined in Emission Calculations?

Climate Map: Framework for Emissions in Cities

Managing a city is like managing a complex organism. Energy flows, vehicles move, waste is produced... The first and most important question we face when we want to draw up a city's "carbon report card" (City Scale Greenhouse Gas Inventory) in the fight against climate change is this: "What do we measure and where do we draw the line?"

To eliminate this confusion, the GPC Standard defines the calculation scope in three basic steps: Geographic Boundaries, Sectoral Analysis and Scope Distinction. Let us take a closer look at how this determination process works.

Step 1: Drawing the Geographical Boundary

While in corporate carbon footprint calculations the focus is on "operational boundaries" (company-owned buildings, vehicles), in city calculations the rule changes. The GPC inventory focuses on geographically identifiable areas.

The first step is to clearly define the administrative boundary of the city. This boundary represents the jurisdiction of the municipality. The inventory has to cover all activities (community-wide) within this geographical boundary. In other words, not only the municipality building but also all the houses, factories and roads within those boundaries are included in the calculation.

Step 2: Analyzing the Five Key Sectors

Once the boundaries are drawn, the metabolism of the city is analyzed. The GPC analyzes emission sources under five main sectors. The scope of these sectors expands according to BASIC and BASIC+ reporting levels:

Stationary Energy: Electricity, natural gas and other fuels used in buildings (residential, commercial, industrial).
Transportation: Emissions from travel within city boundaries and from transboundary travel.
Waste: Emissions from the disposal of solid waste and wastewater generated in the city.
Industrial Processes and Product Utilization (IPPU): Emissions from production processes (chemical reactions, etc.) in factories (for BASIC+ level).
Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU): Emissions from agricultural activities and land conversion within city boundaries (for BASIC+ level).

Step 3: Elaboration by Scope

Identifying sectors is not enough; to understand "where" emissions occur and "who" is responsible, the GPC divides sources into three main scopes. This distinction is vital to avoid double counting:

Scope 1 (Direct/Regional): Emissions that physically occur within the geographical boundary of the city. For example, natural gas burned in the boilers of houses in the city or exhaust fumes from buses on the streets.
Scope 2 (Energy Indirect): Covers energy consumed within the city boundaries but often produced outside. Emissions from electricity drawn from the grid, heat or steam used are in this group.
Scope 3 (Other Indirect): Emissions that are triggered by activities in the city but occur outside the city. The most common example is methane gas produced when garbage collected in the city is buried in a facility outside the city.

Conclusion: Right Scope, Right Strategy

Scoping the calculation in this way allows cities to "manage" their emissions, not "estimate" them. Thanks to the distinction between Scope 1, 2 and 3, the city management clearly sees the areas where it can directly intervene (e.g. urban traffic) and the areas where it can indirectly influence (e.g. electricity consumption or waste management). This paves the way for the formulation of Climate Action Plans (CAPs) with pinpoint targets.