Download CDP Cities 2016 Guidance for responding city governments Version

CDP Cities 2016
Guidance for responding city
governments
Version 1.2
Current as of February 16th, 2016
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Table of Contents
CDP Cities Overview .......................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction to CDP ......................................................................................................................... 4
Introduction to CDP’s cities program ............................................................................................... 4
The CDP Cities 2016 Information Request ...................................................................................... 4
Compact of Mayors ......................................................................................................................... 5
Timeline for Responses and Analysis .............................................................................................. 5
Feedback ........................................................................................................................................ 6
How to Respond .............................................................................................................................. 6
Response Check ............................................................................................................................. 7
Terms and Conditions ..................................................................................................................... 7
Response Changes ......................................................................................................................... 7
Further Information Fields ............................................................................................................... 8
Copy From Last Year ...................................................................................................................... 8
Save Function ................................................................................................................................. 8
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 9
Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 10
General Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 10
Specific Question Guidance .......................................................................................................... 10
Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 10
Governance ...................................................................................................................................... 12
General Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 12
Specific Question Guidance .......................................................................................................... 12
City Details .................................................................................................................................... 12
Governance................................................................................................................................... 14
Risks & Adaptation............................................................................................................................ 15
General Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 15
Specific Question Guidance .......................................................................................................... 16
Adaptation ..................................................................................................................................... 27
Social Risks................................................................................................................................... 31
Opportunities .................................................................................................................................... 33
General Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 33
Specific Question Guidance .......................................................................................................... 33
Opportunities ................................................................................................................................. 33
Emissions – Local Government Operations ...................................................................................... 35
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General Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 35
Specific Question Guidance .......................................................................................................... 37
Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 37
Energy data ................................................................................................................................... 39
GHG Emissions Data .................................................................................................................... 40
External Verification ...................................................................................................................... 43
Emissions - Community .................................................................................................................... 45
General Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 45
Specific Question Guidance .......................................................................................................... 46
Date and Boundary ....................................................................................................................... 46
Emissions and Energy data ........................................................................................................... 46
External verification ....................................................................................................................... 52
Strategy ............................................................................................................................................ 53
General Guidance ......................................................................................................................... 53
Specific Question Guidance .......................................................................................................... 53
GHG Emission Reduction – Local Government Operations ........................................................... 53
GHG Emission Reduction – Community ........................................................................................ 56
Renewable Energy ........................................................................................................................ 60
Water Supply Risks ....................................................................................................................... 64
Water Supply Management ........................................................................................................... 65
Compact of Mayors ........................................................................................................................... 67
Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................................ 68
Glossary ........................................................................................................................................ 68
Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................................ 75
Fuel Definitions.............................................................................................................................. 75
Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................................ 80
Conversion of Electricity, Heat, Steam and Cooling data to MWh .................................................. 80
Conversion of fuel data to MWh .................................................................................................... 80
Appendix 4 ........................................................................................................................................ 86
Resources and Reports ................................................................................................................. 86
Appendix 5 ........................................................................................................................................ 87
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CDP Cities Overview
Introduction to CDP
CDP is a not-for-profit organization working to create lasting relationships between various
stakeholders regarding the commercial and non-commercial implications of climate change. CDP’s
mission is to transform the global economic system to prevent dangerous climate change and value
our natural resources by putting relevant information at the heart of business, investment and policy
decisions.
This document provides guidance to assist all cities completing the CDP Cities 2016 Information
Request.
If you have not completed a CDP Information Request before or you would like to know more about
how others respond, please refer to the CDP website, where you can view responses to the CDP Cities
2015 Information Request as well as to other CDP programs (CDP Climate Change, CDP Water
Disclosure, CDP Forests, and CDP Supply Chain), and learn more about CDP’s operations.
Introduction to CDP’s cities program
CDP offers a voluntary climate change reporting platform for city governments. The program provides
the world’s first global platform for municipal governments to disclose greenhouse gas emissions,
climate change risks, and mitigation and adaptation strategies. CDP collects and delivers materially
relevant data for cities, the private sector, and other stakeholders.
The Can Cities Quit Fossil Fuels? report on 308 global cities shows the role cities play in driving the
transition to clean energy and is based on data reported to CDP by cities in 2015.
CDP has developed the cities program to extend to cities some of the same benefits that companies
have experienced over the last ten years of participating in CDP. Like companies, cities play a key role
in the global economy and can play an important role as drivers of solutions to climate change. In fact,
many city governments are already leading the way on greenhouse gas reduction and adaptation to
warmer temperatures. While city governments and public companies are vastly different in size, scope
and structure, the annual disclosure cycle CDP can offer is an important impetus for cities to measure
and report their climate change related information. CDP’s experience shows that the public disclosure
of climate change data can have significant benefits for disclosing organizations.
The CDP Cities 2016 Information Request
The CDP Cities 2016 Information Request is composed of a series of sections. Each section asks
questions about an aspect of your city including; GHG emissions, risks and opportunities from climate
change, and strategies for mitigating emissions, and strategies for adapting to changes in the climate.
The CDP Cities Information Request allows your city to report two separate but parallel greenhouse
gas inventories: one for your local government’s operations, and one for your community as a whole.
The differentiation between government (sometimes called “corporate” or “municipality”) emissions and
community (sometimes called “geographic” or “city-wide”) emissions recognizes that while
governments can influence emissions and develop resilience in their broader community through
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demonstrated leadership, policies and regulations, as well as strategies and programs, sometimes they
can only make changes to the facilities and operations under their direct control. As such, separate but
parallel inventories are needed. As a responding city you have the opportunity to report one, both or
neither of these emissions inventories depending on the data they have available.
The information generated from this request will assist in improving the understanding of urban GHG
emissions. It provides a framework for the development/enhancement of GHG inventories ensuring
that emissions are reported in a meaningful way. It can highlight potential risks and opportunities arising
from climate change, promote consideration of adaptation and resilience building activities and facilitate
target setting. Overall it will enhance the understanding of how local governments and other
stakeholders are dealing with the challenge of climate change.
Compact of Mayors
The Compact of Mayors (CoM) is the largest cooperative international effort among mayors and city
officials to demonstrate their commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for the
impacts of climate change. To be compliant with the Compact of Mayors, cities shall report annually on
progress towards achieving GHG emissions reduction targets, using the Global Protocol for
Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and assessing climate hazards, using standards
established through City Networks.
The questions issued by the Compact of Mayors are integrated into the CDP questionnaire.
Within this questionnaire they appear in blue text so that they are easy to find.
To participate in the Compact of Mayors simply complete the CDP questionnaire and give close
attention to the questions in blue text. To save you time, the responses to the questions that appear in
blue will be available for automatic import to the Compact of Mayors module by clicking “Copy from last
year’ at the bottom of the pages in the Compact of Mayors module. This will automatically import the
responses you have given to this year’s questionnaire into the Compact of Mayors module. More
information on this functionally is explained below in the Copy from last year section.
In addition, your city must complete this letter and attach it to your response in question M0.1 in the
Compact of Mayors module. Additional guidance on the Compact of Mayors module is available.
Timeline for Responses and Analysis
The timeline for CDP Cities 2015/16 is as follows:
December 2015
CDP will send a letter of invitation to the leaders (e.g. the mayor)
of each of city. CDP will also publish an electronic copy of the
Information Request on its website.
January 2016
CDP Cities Online Response System (ORS) becomes
operational for responding cities.
18 March 2016
‘Response check’ eligibility deadline
29 April 2016
Submission deadline
July-August 2016
CDP consultation period for amendments to the information
request.
September 2016
CDP's cities program findings launched around the globe
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Feedback
Each participating city receives feedback on their response reflecting their performance on the different
sections of the questionnaire. The aim of this tool is to help your city identify areas of improvement and
to drive climate change actions in cities. This personalized report is delivered privately and the feedback
methodology used can be consulted on the CDP website.
How to Respond
Cities are asked to respond to the Information Request using the Online Response System (ORS). If
you are unable to respond via the ORS, please email [email protected] to open a discussion about the
best means for you to submit your questionnaire.
Please provide all relevant information in your answer in the format requested by the ORS. A short,
direct answer is better than a long response with additional information not relevant to the question.
Answers should be as specific as possible to your city.
To access the ORS, your city first has to register for the year’s disclosing cycle through the CDP Portal.
The registration process is as follows:
 The first member of your city to register for the disclosing cycle of a given year will be the
CDP “registered user” for that year. Other users will be able to introduce and save data into
the ORS, but only the registered user will be able to submit the data to CDP once the request
is complete. As the registered user you can send an invitation to have one of your colleagues
help you with the response simply by clicking Add users on the respond page. Please note
that only one user at a time can enter data in the system. If you have any questions about
this setup, or if you want to change the “registered user” for your city, please email
[email protected];
 Your portal contains a Questionnaire block with a “Start” button which allows you to access
the CDP Cities 2016 questionnaire. Click on this tab to access and begin filling in your
Information Request. Please note this step may take some time while the questionnaire is
being built by the system;
 The ORS will load in a new window. Please ensure that you are using Microsoft Internet
Explorer as your browser and that you have turned off the pop-up blocker; and
 The first page of the ORS is an introduction page. This page holds necessary fields including
choice of reporting boundary (government operations, community, both, or neither). Once
you save your choices on this Introduction page, the rest of the questionnaire will
automatically render itself.
Note that for certain questions, there will be text limits in the ORS. Answers requiring text answers will
be limited to 5,000 characters, or roughly one page of text. Text fields in tables will limit responses to
2,400 characters. Numeric field entries are to be numbers only, without commas or periods, and
numbers should be between 0 and 99999999999.
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Public or Private Response
Prior to submitting your response, you will be provided with the option to make your answers available
to the public or keep them private, meaning they are only viewable by CDP staff and other selected
partners. To make your answers public, ensure that a check is present in the box next to the word
“Public”. To keep your answer private, ensure that a check is NOT present in the box next to where the
word “Public” appears.
A public response:
A private response:
Response Check
Response check is a free service offered to improve data quality. The completed response will be
checked for completeness and continuity. We will work with you to complete the entire questionnaire
and highlight areas where responses may have been put in the wrong question box. This service is
only available to cities who complete their response by the early deadline 18 March 2016. For more
information please contact us at [email protected].
Terms and Conditions
In order to submit your questionnaire, you must read and agree to the Terms and Conditions. Read
the terms and conditions by clicking on the link named “T&C” on the ORS Home page; the terms will
appear in a new window. When you are finished reading, place a check in the tick box next to the “T&C”
link to denote that you have read and agree to the terms and conditions. You cannot submit a response
before having accepted the Terms and Conditions.
Response Changes
When responses are submitted via the ORS, they will become “read-only” after submission and can
only be amended by CDP staff. CDP can accept revisions to responses in writing at any time and will
aim to make these available on the CDP website within acceptable timeframes. All revisions must be
submitted before the 29 April 2016 to be included in the report. To submit revisions to your response,
please email [email protected].
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Further Information Fields
Your city will have the ability to provide additional information beyond the question requests in the
“Further Information” fields. Please do not use these fields for providing your actual answer. Any
information included in the “Further Information” box will not be used for analysis purposes nor will it
be taken into consideration for the feedback. However, it will be available for other cities through the
CDP website.
Copy From Last Year
If your city participated in the CDP Cities 2015 Information Request, you will benefit from a Copy from
last year function. If you click on the Copy from last year button at the bottom of the page, your previous
year’s response to some questions will be copied into this year’s response. Please note that the
functionality only works on questions which have not had major changes since last year.
This function will only work if it is clicked on each page before the save function
and will copy all of the responses provided to CDP Cities in the year prior.
Copy from last year operates differently in the Compact of Mayors module. Rather than copying the
answers from the 2014 Information request, Copy from last year copies your answers from the Compact
of Mayors questions of the CDP questionnaire (questions in blue font) and pastes them into the
Compact of Mayors module questions. Copy from last year will save you from filling in the same
question twice.
Save Function
Within the ORS, there is a save function. As you navigate between pages, your information will be
saved regardless of whether you press the “Save” button. That said, if you happen to lose your internet
connection any information on the current page that has not been saved will be lost. Users are
encouraged to save regularly to avoid the loss of information.
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Acknowledgements
CDP would like to thank the following people and organizations for their assistance in developing the
CDP Cities 2016 Information Request and guidance documents.
Michael Doust, C40
Kerem Yilmaz, C40
Katie Vines, C40
Seth Schultz, C40
Hanya Gartner, C40
Jonathan Wachtel, Lakewood
Chris Menges, Aspen
Joao Dinis, Cascais
Javier Castaño, Madrid
Guri Tajet, Oslo
Monica Abril, Quito
Yann Françoise, Paris
Koldo Verheij, Rotterdam
João Resch Leal, Salvador
Lisa Lin, Houston
Dr. Jairo Garcia, Atlanta
João Pedro Coelho Marques, Barreiro
Toh Xiang Hui Jansen, Singapore
Israel Jorge Huarca Mejía, Lima
Giovanni Fini, Bologna
Elyse A. Hottel, Boulder
MBOCKSI Jacqueline Elisabeth, Douala
João Correia Vargues, Faro
Jeffrey Meek, Indianapolis
Marco Velotta, Las Vegas
Gerardo Garcia Castillo, Monclova
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Kerina Singh, Pietermaritzburg
Luana Gasparini, Ravenna
Larry Burkett, Richmond
Sindy Nova Perez, Santiago de Cali
Wei Zhang, Shenzhen
Sergio Lopes, Vila Nova de Famillico
Valentina Caroli, Ferrara
Fabio Pontes Ferreira, Sao Pedro
Cezar Augusto Machado Capacle, Campinas
Alfredo Vicente de Castro Trindade, Curitiba
Patricia Otero, ITU
Gustavo Soares de Araujo, Natal
Raquel Goncalves Franca, Palmas
Glabuer Zettler Pinheiro, Porto Alegre
Flavia Carloni, Rio de Janeiro
Vanessa Valente, Sao Bernardo do Campo
Gabriel da Cunha Lessa, Sao Goncalo
José Vicente Alamino de Moura, Tatui
Luiz Roberto de Oliveira, Recife
Rosângela Aparecida Martins Nogueira
Grigolleto, Vinhedo
Patricia Camacho Rodríguez, Mexico City
Henry Shiling, Moody's Investors Service
Megan Day, NREL
Wee Kean Fong, WRI
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Introduction
General Guidance
Please answer the questions in the Introduction section for the current year. You will be given a chance
later to report specific years for each emissions inventory that you select.
Specific Question Guidance
Introduction
Q 0.1 Please give a general description and introduction to your city including your city’s
boundary in the text below.
Identify the administrative boundary of your city by selecting the most appropriate response from the
following list of values:
 City / Municipality – a city, town, village or borough, etc. with some degree of general purpose
self-governance.
 Local government area within a city / metropolitan area – a sub-tier of local government
responsible for local services not overseen by the executive governing body (e.g., the City of
London local authority within the Greater London Authority).
 Independent city – a city or town that does not form part of another local government entity (e.g.,
cities within U.S. States that are independent from county-level government such as Baltimore,
Maryland or Carson City, Nevada; the German Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis such as Leipzig
and München).
 Special city – cities or districts with special administrative status as compared to other similar
urban areas (e.g., Seoul, South Korea; Kiev, Ukraine; Hong Kong Special administrative region).
 Federal district – a type of administrative division of a federation under the direct control of a
federal government (e.g., Brasilia, Brazil; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; México,
Distrito Federal, Mexico).
 Sovereign city-state – a state consisting of a sovereign city and its dependencies (e.g.,
Singapore; Vatican City).
 Metropolitan area – a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated
surrounding areas (e.g., an urban area closely linked economically and socially, such as a
commuting catchment area).
 County – a geographical region that forms a subnational or substate division of governance that
may include a number of cities, town, villages, etc. (e.g., Northumberland, UK).
 Other area
You are also asked to give an introduction to your city. The information provided here will assist CDP
in drawing upon distinctions, similarities, and comparative features between cities in terms of their
community emissions as well as tools and successes in mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Information that could be provided includes:
 Location, boundaries, geographic characteristics, and natural features
 Climatic characteristics
 Demographic characteristics (size of residential and commuter population)
 Features of the local and regional economy
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



Unique and attractive characteristics
Areas of global and/or economic competitiveness
Changes in urban form and urban growth over the short to medium term, and projected changes
in the coming medium to long term
Institutional governance frameworks of the city, and relationship or jurisdictional matters to
regional and national governments
Emissions Accounting Choice
Q 0.2 Please indicate which greenhouse gas measurement inventories you are disclosing.
CDP allows cities to report emissions figures for two separate but parallel inventories:
 Local government operations (sometimes referred to as “corporate” or “municipal”): relating to
those emissions arising from the operations of the local government;
 Community (sometimes referred to as “geographic” or “city-wide”): encompassing emissions
which are within a particular geopolitical region, over which local governments can exercise a
degree of influence through the policies and regulations they implement.
The Government inventory is a subset within the Community inventory. Community emissions are
designed to represent the total quantity of GHG emissions produced by your community (as defined by
geographic boundaries) and will therefore include Government emissions. You will have the opportunity
to describe the methodology or protocol utilized to measure your city’s emissions later in the
questionnaire. For more information on the difference between Government and Community emissions
inventories, please see the following documents:
Local Government Operations Protocol (LGOP) for the Quantification and Reporting of Greenhouse
Gas Emissions Inventories (Version 1.1) (a collaboration between The California Air Resources Board,
The California Climate Action Registry, The Climate Registry, and ICLEI) International Local
Government GHG Emissions Analysis Protocol (IEAP) developed by ICLEI Appendix B in the Global
Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (WRI, C40 and ICLEI).
Select the inventory (or inventories) that you wish to disclose by ticking the adjacent box. Reporting
emissions is optional for all cities. The ORS will then create a questionnaire that includes the
appropriate emissions module. Please note that if you deselect an Inventory after having entered data
in the module for that inventory, the data will be deleted. For each emissions inventory, the module will
offer a chance to note the reporting year.
IF YOU HAVE NO FUEL AND/OR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS TO REPORT DO NOT
CHECK EITHER BOX.
After completing questions 0.1 and 0.2, please click “Save” at the bottom of the page.
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Governance
General Guidance
This section provides an opportunity for you to report on the management structure and processes for
handling climate change in your city.
Specific Question Guidance
City Details
Q 0.3 Please provide information about your city’s Mayor in the table below:
This is a table question which asks for details about your mayor and their time in office. The table
provided has the following column headers:
Leader title
State the official title of your mayor.
Leader name
State the full name of your mayor.
Current term start
Choose a year from the list of values to indicate which year your Mayor began their current term.
Current term end
Choose a year from the list of values to indicate in which year your Mayor’s current term ends. The
Mayor’s end of term is defined by the year when elections to select (or continue the current Mayor’s
term) a new mayor are scheduled to occur. If there is no scheduled end of term for your Mayor, please
select “Other” and indicate: “No scheduled end of term”.
Total time in office (years)
Provide the total number of years that your city’s leader has been in office.
Q 0.4 Please provide details of your city’s annual operating budget.
This table question is to identify the amount of funding for your city’s annual operating budget and the
time period allocated. The annual operating budget for a city sets out proposed appropriations for a
fiscal year to enable the city to function, provide services, and meet financial requirements. The annual
budget for a city is typically comprised of several parts including: the expense budget, which sets out
proposed appropriations for operating expenditures for municipal services; the capital budget and
program, which sets out proposed appropriations for capital projects; and the revenue budget, which
sets out the estimated revenues and receipts of the local government.
Annual operating budget
State your annual operation budget figure as a number.
Currency
From the list of currencies provided, select the currency of the reported annual operating budget.
Budget year start
Select the starting date of your budget year.
Budget year end
Select the closing date of your budget year.
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Q 0.5 Please provide details of your city’s current and projected population.
This question asks about your city’s current population size and how it is forecast to change in the
future.
Current population
Give the current population, the number of residents within your city boundaries [as reported in question
0.1] as a whole number.
Current population year
From the list of values select the year in which the population figure was determined.
Projected population
State the projected population of your city as a number.
Projected population year
Select a year from the list of values in which the projected population figure is estimated to be reached.
Q 0.6 Please provide details of your city’s GDP.
A city’s gross domestic product (GDP) is defined by the OECD as a measure for “final goods and
services produced by a … [city] during a period minus the value of imports”.
GDP
Provide the most current value available of your city’s gross domestic product in your native currency,
or the currency used for calculation.
Currency
From the list of currencies provided, select the currency of the GDP value reported.
Year of GDP
From the list of values, select the year when the GDP value you are reporting was calculated.
Source
State by whom the GDP was calculated. E.g. was it calculated by your city government or did you
employ a reference source? Please elaborate on which reference was used, if any.
Q 0.7 Please provide further details about the geography of your city.
Average annual temperature (in Celsius)
State the current average annual temperature as a one decimal figure in °C.
Land area
State the land area within your city boundaries as a one decimal figure in km2. Please provide the land
area that is reflective of your emissions inventory boundary and the year of your reported emissions
inventory.
Average altitude
State the average altitude (elevation above mean average sea level) of your city area as a one decimal
figure in meters.
Longitude (e.g. -120.9762)
State your city’s longitude (of the city’s point of reference or most central point) in degrees 0 to 180 (for
all cities east of the prime meridian) or 0 to -180 (for all cities west of the prime meridian).
Latitude (e.g. 41.25)
State your city’s latitude (of the city’s point of reference or most central point) in degrees 0 to 90 (for all
cities north of the equator) or 0 to -90 (for all cities south of the equator).
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Governance
Q 1.0 Please describe the impact of national and/or regional climate change activities on your
city’s own climate change activities.
Current and/or expected state, regional, national or global governmental policy on climate change may
influence your city’s climate change policies. Regulations for instance may inhibit the ability of a city to
meet financial targets or to enact locally appropriate programs for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.
Or regulations could dictate the emissions reduction targets for your city.
The intent of this question is to understand the dynamic between the local government and the regional
and/or national government. How are your city’s actions and targets influenced by the national and/ or
regional government?
Q 1.1 Does your city incorporate desired sustainability goals and targets (e.g. GHG reductions)
into the master planning for the city?
A master plan describes and maps an overall development concept, including present and future land
use, urban design and landscaping, built form, infrastructure, circulation and service provision. It is
based upon an understanding of place and it is intended to provide a structured approach to creating
a clear and consistent framework for development (definition taken from the Scottish government).
Response
Please answer by selecting “Yes” or “No” from the drop down menu provided.
Description
Please describe how your city uses a master plan to reduce GHG emissions. For instance, cities may
encourage the use of public transportation by designing transportation hubs so that citizens live within
walking distance of a train or bus stop.
Q1.2 Please describe how your city collaborates with businesses in your city on sustainability
issues or projects.
This question aims to understand how cities collaborate with businesses on sustainability issues. Some
examples of collaboration can be found in this report.
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Risks & Adaptation
General Guidance
This section asks how climate change is affecting your city now and may affect it in the future. Further
information regarding climate change adaptation analysis is available from the following sources:



UKCIP Adaptation Wizard by UKCIP
Handbook on Methods for Climate Change Impact Assessment and Adaptation Strategies by
UNEP
City Climate Hazard Taxonomy by C40 and ARUP
Questions 2.0-2.3 ask about your city’s risk or vulnerability assessment processes. A climate change
risk and vulnerability assessment is used to determine the nature and extent of risks posed by climate
change. This is done by analyzing potential future climate hazards and evaluating existing
vulnerabilities to understand the seriousness of the potential impacts on people, assets, services,
livelihoods and the environment.
When identifying impacts from climate change, cities should think objectively of the ways in which
changes in the climate conditions will affect their city’s ability to conduct business as usual. Information
about impacts associated with climate change can be found on the website of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, in the report by Working Group II, “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability”
Climate risk assessment considers the likely frequency of a climate hazard and magnitude of their
impacts in a given place or population, based on the exposure of assets to the effects of a hazard, and
the vulnerability of the population to loss or damage (IPCC, AR5 WGII SPM, 2014; UNISDR, 2012).
Information about the Climate Hazards faced by cities and driving their exposure to climate risks is
sought in questions 2.1a-2.1d. Climate hazards are defined as dangerous climate-related physical
events 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.
Global climate change is expected to result in changes to local average and extreme conditions, which
may affect the frequency, severity or extent of climate hazards.
Adaptation is covered in Questions 3.0 to 3.4b. These questions examines the actions your city takes
to adapt to the risks of climate change.
Social risk should be considered in Question 4.0. Climate change can have profound social effects.
The latest IPCC report links physical and social risks of climate change very clearly in chapters 11-13.
E.g. droughts may reduce water availability to urban households which reduces hygiene levels and
may increase disease burden.
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Specific Question Guidance
Climate Hazards
Q 2.0 Has a climate change risk or vulnerability assessment been undertaken for your local
government area?
Please respond to indicate whether your city has undertaken a climate change risk or vulnerability
assessment by selecting the most relevant option from the drop down menu. If you select “Yes” you
will be directed to Q 2.0a and Q 2.0b.
The effects of climate change my pose a significant risk to your city’s future development. A climate
change risk or vulnerability assessment is a qualitative or quantitative scientific estimation the risks
from or vulnerability to climate change. These assessments are most usually done within the context
of a decision-making or planning process to address climate change impacts.
Before developing an adaptation plan, it is important to understand how climate change is likely to
affect your city - this is usually done by conducting a climate change risk or vulnerability assessment.
A vulnerability assessment is the analysis of the expected impacts, risks and the adaptive capacity of
your city to the effects of climate change. Assessing the vulnerability of your city encompasses more
than simple measurement of the potential harm caused by events resulting from climate change: it also
includes an assessment of the region or sector's ability to adapt, sometimes referred to as ‘adaptive
capacity’.
In order to complete a vulnerability assessment, a city is likely to need to undertake the following steps:
 Decide the purpose and scope of your risk of vulnerability assessment
 Collect relevant data such as
o Geographic and political information
o Land-use and population demographics
o Critical asset location, condition, connections and management
o Current and historical climate information
Understanding the current and future climate hazards faced by your city requires several steps:
 Identifying the hazards to which your city is (or has historically been) exposed
 Assessing the consequence and likelihood of the impact of these hazards on your city based
on recent, expert-reviewed estimates where possible
 Selecting climate change scenarios outlining possible future climate in the city
 Understanding how the frequency and intensity of climate hazards will change under these
scenarios
Understanding your city’s exposure and sensitivity to climate hazards, and your capacity to adapt,
requires several steps:
 Assessing previously identified current and future hazard exposure usually under two (or more)
climate change scenarios
 Identifying the city’s critical assets and the relationships between them
 Identifying likely impacts from current and future hazards on the city’s critical assets
 Identifying strengths and weaknesses of the city’s adaptive capacity
 Assessing the vulnerability of the city, based on the combination of the possible impacts of
climate change and the city’s adaptive capacity
A high quality vulnerability assessment involves engagement with a broad range of stakeholders. It is
important to recognize the diverse expertise that different stakeholders provide. It is particularly critical
to acknowledge local community and traditional indigenous knowledge and to be aware of different
perspectives and values. Broad engagement can result in identification of previously overlooked areas
of vulnerability or in a more nuanced understanding of the root cause of vulnerabilities and hence bettertargeted adaptation responses.
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Q 2.0a If yes: Please attach and provide details on your climate change risk or vulnerability
assessment.
Publication title
Please state the name of your climate change risk or vulnerability assessment.
Year of publication
Please state the year that your climate change risk or vulnerability assessment was published.
Attach the document
If a formal assessment of your city’s vulnerabilities to climate change has been done, please attach this
document here. Click on ‘Choose file’, navigate to the file you want to upload and click ‘Open’. Once
you can see the file name in the text field click ‘Attach’ to attach the document.
Boundary of assessment
Indicate the boundary of your jurisdiction’s risk or vulnerability assessment by selecting the most
applicable response from the following list of values:
 City / Municipality – a city, town, village or borough, etc. with some degree of general purpose
self-governance.
 Local government area within a city / metropolitan area – a sub-tier of local government
responsible for local services not overseen by the executive governing body (e.g., the City of
London local authority within the Greater London Authority).
 Independent city – a city or town that does not form part of another local government entity (e.g.,
cities within U.S. States that are independent from county-level government such as Baltimore,
Maryland or Carson City, Nevada; the German Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis such as Leipzig
and München).
 Special city – cities or districts with special administrative status as compared to other similar
urban areas (e.g., Seoul, South Korea; Kiev, Ukraine; Hong Kong Special administrative region).
 Federal district – a type of administrative division of a federation under the direct control of a
federal government (e.g., Brasilia, Brazil; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; México,
Distrito Federal, Mexico).
 Sovereign city-state – a state consisting of a sovereign city and its dependencies (e.g.,
Singapore; Vatican City).
 Metropolitan area – a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated
surrounding areas (e.g., an urban area closely linked economically and socially, such as a
commuting catchment area).
 County – a geographical region that forms a subnational or substate division of governance that
may include a number of cities, town, villages, etc. (e.g., Northumberland, UK).
 Other area
Primary author of assessment
Indicate who was predominately responsible for carrying out the risk or vulnerability assessment for
your jurisdiction by selecting the most applicable response from the following list of values:
 Dedicated city team
 Relevant city department
 Consultant
 International organization
 Community group
 Regional / state / provincial government
 National / central government
 Other
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Q 2.0b If yes: Please select the primary process or methodology used to undertake the risk or
vulnerability assessment of your city.
This is a table question with two columns. Answering this question will provide important information
for other cities which are assessing their risks from or vulnerability to climate change for the first time
and may be interested in the methodology you used.
In the first column, please select the methodology you used to assess the risk in your city. If you have
used a different assessment methodology than the ones proposed in the list of values, please select
‘Other’ and indicate the name of the methodology you have used. Select ‘Unknown’ if you do not know
on which methodology the assessment was based.
Primary methodology
 IPCC climate change impact assessment guidance
 OECD Strategic Environmental Assessment and Adaptation to Climate Change
 UNDP climate risk management methodologies
 ICLEI climate adaptation methodology (ADAPT)
 UK Climate Impacts Partnership Framework (UKCIP)
 World Bank Urban Risk Assessment (URA)
 Shaping climate resilient development: A framework for decision making (ECA)
 State or region vulnerability and risk assessment methodology
 Agency specific vulnerability and risk assessment methodology
 Proprietary Methodology
 Unknown
 Other
Description
Use the second column to provide more details on how the assessment was carried out. You can
include details about whether the assessment covered city operations, private stakeholders, a full range
of sectors etc.
In particular, if you choose ‘Proprietary Methodology’ or ‘Other’ to describe your methodology in the
first column, please provide details so that others may understand your approach.
The following resources provide further information about physical risks and the methodology of risk
assessment:
 The IPCC Fourth Assessment Report (Working Group II: Impacts, Adaption and Vulnerability)
 ICLEI climate adaptation methodology (ADAPT) e.g. http://www.icleiusa.org/tools/adapt and
http://archive.iclei.org/index.php?id=adaptation-toolkit0 .
 A report of the Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) Working Group: Shaping climate
resilient development: A framework for decision making
 An example of a regional (country-level) vulnerability assessment is the Swedish Commission
on Climate and Vulnerability report titled Sweden facing climate change – threats and
opportunities
 An example of an agency specific vulnerability and risk assessment methodology is the US
Department of Transportation’s Federal Highways Administration Methodology.
Q 2.1 Do the current and/or anticipated effects of climate change present a significant risk
to your city?
The IPCC defines risk as the probability of a hazardous event or trend, multiplied by the consequences
of this event. The consequences of a hazardous event are usually referred to as impacts. This question
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asks to estimate the current magnitude of the impacts you have identified as arising from climate
change.
Select your response from the following options:
 Yes or Don’t Know – will direct you to Question 2.1a
 No – will direct you to Question 2.1b
Q 2.1a If yes or don’t know: Please list the most significant climate hazards currently faced by
your city and indicate the probability and consequence of these hazards. This table question is
to identify climate hazards that your city currently experiences, and the probability and anticipated
consequence of their impact. An example response has been provided in Box 1 below. Responses
should be reported in the table provided using the drop down menus where appropriate, as detailed
below:
Current hazards
Indicate the climate hazards that your city CURRENTLY experiences (i.e., without the effect of climate
change). It is only necessary to select the most significant hazards that your city experiences; table
rows can be added or deleted as needed. Please select the ‘most significant’ hazards as relevant to
your city’s understanding of significance.
Climate hazards can be selected from the following list of values:
 Rain storm
 Land fire
 Monsoon
 Flash/surface flood
 Heavy snow
 River flood
 Hail
 Coastal flood;
 Severe wind
 Groundwater flood
 Tornado
 Storm surge
 Cyclone (Hurricane/Typhoon)
 Permanent inundation
 Extratropical storm
 Salt water intrusion
 Tropical storm
 Ocean acidification
 Lightning / thunderstorm
 Atmospheric CO2 concentrations
 Fog
 Landslide
 Extreme winter conditions
 Avalanche
 Cold wave
 Rockfall
 Extreme cold days
 Subsidence
 Heat wave
 Water-borne disease
 Extreme hot days
 Vector-borne disease
 Drought
 Air-borne disease
 Forest fire
 Insect infestation
More information about the climate hazards can be found in the Glossary.
Probability of hazard
Indicate the likelihood of each climate hazard identified in the first column occurring within the next
five years. If possible, this response should be based on the outcome of a risk or vulnerability
assessment process. If your assessment process has not provided quantitative estimates of likelihood,
please estimate using the qualitative descriptors provided below. Select the most appropriate response
from the following list of values:
 High – Extremely likely that the hazard will occur (e.g. greater than 1 in 2 change of occurrence
over the next five years)
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




Medium high – Highly likely that the hazard will occur (e.g. between 1 in 2 and 1 in 20 chance
of occurrence over the next five years)
Medium – Likely that the hazard will occur (e.g. between 1 in 20 and 1 in 200 chance of
occurrence over the next five years)
Medium low – Somewhat likely that the hazard will occur (e.g. between 1 in 200 and 1 in 2,000
chance of occurrence over the next five years)
Low – Not likely that the hazard will occur (e.g. between 1 in 2,000 and 1 in 20,000 chance of
occurrence over the next five years)
Do not know
Consequence of hazard
Indicate the consequence of possible impacts of each climate hazard identified in the first column on
your jurisdiction within the next five years. If possible, this response should be based on the outcome
of a risk or vulnerability assessment process. If your assessment process has not provided quantitative
estimates of level of impact, please estimate using the qualitative descriptors provided below. Select
the most appropriate response from the following list of values:
 High – The hazard represents the highest level of potential concern for your jurisdiction. You
anticipate that should it occur, the hazard would result in extremely serious impacts to your city
and catastrophic interruption to day-to-day life.
 Medium high – The hazard represents a high level of potential concern for your jurisdiction. You
anticipate that should it occur, the hazard would result in serious impacts to your jurisdiction
and interruption to day-to-day life.
 Medium - The hazard represents a medium level of potential concern for your jurisdiction. You
anticipate that should it occur, the hazard would result in impacts to your jurisdiction, but that
these would be moderately significant to day-to-day life.
 Medium low – The hazard represents a lower level of potential concern for your jurisdiction. You
anticipate that should it occur, the hazard would result in impacts to your jurisdiction, but that
these would be less significant to day-to-day life.
 Low - The hazard represents the lowest level of potential concern for your jurisdiction. You
anticipate that should it occur, the hazard would result in impacts to your jurisdiction, but that
these would be insignificant in day-to-day life.
 Do not know
Please see next page for an example.
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Box 1: Example reporting of current climate hazards
Example: Imagined climate hazards faced by a tropical coastal city
The theoretical city used for this example experiences frequent surface and river flooding during heavy rain
storms due to large areas of impervious surface cover and an outdated storm sewer system. These storms
occur primarily in winter months and while frequent, they do not significantly alter day-to-day life across the
city but tend to affect localized areas with frequent low-level losses from economic, environmental and social
impacts that create cumulative challenges for the local area.
While infrequent, coastal flooding can also occur when heavy rain combines with high tides. These events
cause widespread damage to waterfront areas and the cost of recovery is high.
Conversely, the city typically experiences periods of drought during summer months when temperatures are
high and rainfall is low. Although also a part of city life, particularly long periods of drought can severely affect
local businesses and residents through water use restrictions and public health impacts.
The table below provides an example of how this theoretical city would report its current climate change
hazards.
Current hazards
Probability of hazard
Consequence of hazard
Rain storm
High
Low
Coastal flood
Medium high
High
Drought
Medium low
High
Q 2.1b If no: Please explain why the anticipated effects of climate change present no significant
risk to your city.
If climate change does not present risks to your city, please detail why not.
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Q 2.1c Please identify how you expect climate change to affect the frequency and intensity of
the hazards faced by your city and when you expect to experience those changes.
This table question is to assess how climate hazards are expected to change in the future due to the
effects of climate change. Responses should be reported in the table provided using the drop down
menus where appropriate. Please refer to the example in Box 2 for more detail.
Your climate change risk or vulnerability assessment should provide guidance as to how climate
change is likely to affect climate hazards. Other possible resources for reporting this information include
national climate change projections or reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)1.
Future hazards
Indicate the climate hazards that your jurisdiction expects to face IN THE FUTURE. It is only necessary
to select the most significant hazards that your jurisdiction expects to experience in the future; table
rows can be added or deleted as needed. [NB: please select the ‘most significant’ hazards as relevant
to your jurisdiction’s understanding of significance.]
Change in frequency
Indicate the expected change in frequency of climate change hazards in your jurisdiction based on the
following list of values:
 Increasing – climate change will cause the hazard to occur more frequently in the future
 Decreasing – climate change will cause the hazard to occur less frequently in the future
 None – climate change will have no effect on the frequency of hazards
 Do not know
Change in intensity
Indicate the expected change in intensity of climate change hazards in your jurisdiction based on the
following list of values:
 Increasing – future hazards will be more intense as a result of climate change
 Decreasing – future hazards will be less intense as a result of climate change
 None – climate change will have no effect on the intensity of hazards
 Do not know
Timescale
Indicate the timescale at which changes to the frequency and intensity of climate change hazards are
expected to occur based on the following list of values:
 Current – if your jurisdiction is already experiencing the identified impact from climate change.
 Short-term – if you anticipate your jurisdiction will experience the identified impact from climate
change by 2025.
 Medium-term – if you anticipate your jurisdiction will experience the identified impact from climate
change between 2026 and 2050
 Long-term – if you anticipate your jurisdiction will experience the identified impact from climate
change after 2051.
1
IPCC. (2015) Fifth Assessment Report. [Online] Available from: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/. [Accessed: 16th
November 2015].
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Box 2: Example of future climate hazards
Example: Imagined future climate hazards in a tropical coastal city
The theoretical city used for this example currently experiences frequent flooding during heavy rainstorms. City
climate change projections show that while total annual precipitation is likely to increase over time, the annual
number of storm events is likely to decline. However, the intensity and frequency of extreme rain events has is
projected to rise.
Sea level rise is expected to increase the both the frequency and intensity of coastal flood events over the next
15 to 30 years, particularly during high tides. Higher sea levels will result in flooding father inland, and increase
the duration and impact of coastal flood events. A higher frequency of extreme storms will also contribute to
the intensity of coastal flooding and may increase the likelihood of coastal flood events.
Periods of drought experienced by the city are expected to occur with similar regularity during the dry summer
months. However, global projections for increased temperatures indicate that the intensity of droughts will likely
escalate in the short-term. It is unknown if rising temperatures will result in changes to the frequency of drought
events.
While the city does not currently experience forest fires, the city’s climate risk and vulnerability assessment
show that this could become a concern in the future due to rising temperatures and dry conditions caused by
more intense periods drought. More frequent and intense rainstorms will increase the probability of lightning
strikes, which when combined with drought conditions can increase the frequency and intensity of forest fires.
The city’s climate risk and vulnerability assessment also shows that warmer winter conditions are expected to
reduce the risk of extreme cold days.
The table below provides an example of how this theoretical city would report its future climate change
conditions.
Future hazards
Change in frequency
Change in intensity
Timescale
Rain storm
Increasing
Increasing
Current
Coastal flood
Increasing
Increasing
Medium-term
Drought
Do not know
Increasing
Short-term
Forest fire
Increasing
Increasing
Medium-term
Extreme cold days
Decreasing
Decreasing
Medium-term
Q 2.1d Please describe the magnitude of the impact of these hazards and identify three critical
assets or services that may be most impacted.
Climate hazards
This column will automatically pre-populate with your response from the Climate hazards column in
2.1c.
Magnitude of impact
Indicate the magnitude to which each climate hazard identified in the first column is expected to affect
your city overall by selecting one of the following values:
 Extremely serious – you expect that the hazard may significantly affect the operation of a majority
of critical assets and services across the city, and may result in the death or injury of a significant
number of people and/or extreme economic disruption.
 Serious – you expect that the hazard may significantly affect the operation of some critical assets
and services, or moderately affect a majority of critical assets and services, and may result in the
death or injury of a number of people and/or major economic disruption
 Less serious – you expect that the hazard may moderately affect the operation of some critical
assets and services, is unlikely to result in injury or death, but may cause moderate to insignificant
economic disruption.
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Description of impact
Provide a general description (in 250 words or less) of how each of the future climate hazards identified
in the first column is expected to affect your city overall, including any interdependencies between
various assets and services and any vulnerable populations that may be particularly affected.
Asset or service
In the three columns provided, indicate the three critical assets or services in your jurisdiction that will
be MOST AFFECTED by the corresponding climate hazard in the first column based on the following
list of values: [NB: Stakeholders have varied needs and priorities in relation to the risks of climate
impacts. This question aims to capture an overview of your city’s overall assessment of the most critical
city assets or services impacted by each climate hazard.]
 Energy
 Water Supply & Sanitation
 Transport
 Waste Management
 Information & Communications Technology
 Food & Agriculture
 Environment
 Industrial
 Commercial
 Residential
 Education
 Public health
 Community & Culture
 Law & Order
 Emergency Management
 Other
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Box 4: Example of critical assets or services affected by climate hazards
Example: Imagined impacts of climate hazards to critical assets in a tropical coastal city
The theoretical city used for this example anticipates an increase in the intensity and
frequency of extreme rain events. Flooding caused by intense rainfall can result in
damage to above ground and underground electrical infrastructure, leading to
prolonged electrical power outages and economic loss. Heavy rainfall can also
overwhelm local drainage and storm sewer infrastructure, triggering sewage overflows
into local water bodies. Combined with the flooding of estuaries and connecting rivers,
overflow events can increase the risk of exposure to water-borne pathogens through
the contamination of drinking water or direct contact and significantly impact public
health and ecosystems.
Both the frequency and intensity of coastal flood events are expected to increase
significantly over the next 15 to 30 years. The city’s waterfront is home to a major
commercial port and hosts thousands of miles of transportation infrastructure, all of
which is at risk to severe damage and disruption resulting from coastal flooding and
sea level rise.
These events could severely affect commercial transportation activity and cost
billions of dollars annually in lost revenue and restoration costs. Businesses without
sufficient resources or continuity planning will be forced to close, leading to further
economic losses and increased unemployment.
Periods of drought are expected to increase in intensity, while future changes to
duration are uncertain. Elevated sea levels and excessive groundwater pumping to
meet water supply demands can lead to the intrusion of seawater into the local
aquifer system, which can significantly affect the availability of drinking water
resources and the health of ecosystems. Diminished rainfall already affects
agricultural production and the livelihoods it supports, and further drought
conditions may lead to a decrease in food security for city residents and an increase
in migration to the city from surrounding rural areas.
Climate
hazards
Magnitude
of impact
Description of impact
Asset or
service
Asset
or
service
Asset
or
service
Rain storm
Serious
The increased intensity and frequency of rainfall events poses a major threat to our energy and
water infrastructure. Disruptions to the electricity grid would result in major economic losses.
Increased sewer overflow events have already contaminated local waterways during the wet
season, and with an increasing population, we anticipate greater public health issues, particularly
in our most vulnerable communities.
Energy
Water
Supply
&
Sanitation
Public
health
Coastal flood
Extremely
Serious
Coastal flooding will severely disrupt our economy and result in cascading challenges that include
a shrinking commercial sector and rising unemployment. Major damage to commercial
transportation infrastructure will take significant time to repair and may lead to economic
stagnation.
Transport
Commercial
Community
& Culture
Drought
Serious
Increased instances of drought will strain our city’s water resources, and the effect of drought on
nearby agricultural producers will endanger our food supply. The potential increase in food prices
will affect our vulnerable communities, and combined with an anticipated increase in rural-to-urban
migration, the ability of our city to care for its residents will be compromised.
Water
Supply &
Sanitation
Food
&
Agriculture
Public
Health
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Q 2.1d If no: Please explain why the anticipated effects of climate change present no significant
risk to your city.
If climate change does not present risks to your city, please detail why not.
Q 2.2 Do you consider that the effects of climate change could threaten the ability of
businesses to operate successfully in your city?
Response
Please respond by selecting “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know” from the drop down menu. You might answer
“Yes” to this if, for example, the dominant industry in your city is dependent on certain climatic
conditions, like skiing, or if significant areas of economic development are exposed to climate hazards
such as flood.
Explanation
This question asks for further details about how the physical impacts of climate change will affect
businesses operating in your city. Examples could include facilities / companies operating in a lowlying, increasingly flood-prone area having to cope with more frequent business disruptions. A further
example could be that businesses that are dependent on certain weather conditions such as agriculture
or tourism suffer drops in productivity due to reductions in water supply or poorly timed snow or rain.
Examples of the types of risks that business may consider as affecting its ability to operate, include:
higher costs of doing business, issues of workforce availability, transport disruptions, storm or flood
damage, supply chain interruptions, or the health risks to residents due to frequent severe weather
events.
Where available please provide information about how the city assessed the risks to businesses.
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Adaptation
Q 3.0 Please describe the process by which the city reviews its progress and manages overall
responsibility for climate change.
The intent of Q 3.0 is to understand how climate change action and progress are measured, monitored
and managed. If relevant, details offered could include the following: department, committee, or person
responsible for climate change-related activities; information on frequency of actions or reporting; next
steps for governance and planned future changes; governance challenges encountered; and
stakeholder engagement processes. Describe how your city reviews its efforts to adapt to a changing
climate (that is, reducing the probability of a risk occurring).
Q 3.1 Has the Mayor or local government committed to adapting to climate change across the
geographical area of the city, town or settlement?
Please respond to indicate whether your city’s Mayor or leadership has made a public commitment to
adapt the city to climate change. The available responses in the drop down menu include:
“Yes” – if a public commitment has already been made,
“No” – if a commitment has not been made; or
“In progress” – if a commitment is being developed. For example there is currently a resolution before
your local council to make a commitment, but it has not yet been approved.
If you select “yes” you will be directed to Question 3.1a.
Q 3.1a If yes: Please select the type of commitment and attach evidence.
This question allows you to provide more detailed information about the type of adaptation
commitment your mayor or local government has made. Please select from the list of frameworks
to identify the type of commitment, attach any relevant documents and provide more details on the
specific commitments in the comments column.
Type of commitment
Select a commitment from the list of values:
 Compact of Mayors;
 Durban Adaptation Charter;
 Mayors Adapt (EU);
 Mexico City Pact;
 UNISDR, Making Cities Resilient Campaign;
 Individual City Commitment;
 Other
Attach
Click on ‘Choose file’, navigate to the file you want to upload and click ‘Open’. Once you can see the
file name in the text field click ‘Attach’ to attach the document.
Comments
Please add further comments on your commitment
Q 3.2 Does your local government have a plan that addresses climate change adaption?
Please respond to indicate whether your city has produced an adaptation plan, or incorporated
adaptation within the context of another long-term plan or strategy by selecting “Yes”, “No” or “In
progress” from the drop down menu. If you select “Yes” you will be directed to Question 3.2a. If you
select “No” or “In progress” you will be directed to Question 3.2b.
A climate adaptation plan outlines the planned alterations to the city’s systems in response to actual or
anticipated climate change. It should cover the services and departments directly managed by the city
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government and may also consider the actions required by other stakeholders2. The aim of such a plan
is to ensure that climate change risks are addressed in a preventive manner by putting in place a set
of concrete measures to tackle those risks. If you wish to see an example of a climate adaptation
plan please refer to Copenhagen’s which can be found here.
Q 3.2a If yes: Please provide more information on your plan that addresses climate change
adaptation and attach the document.
If you have a climate adaptation plan please provide additional details about it in this question. Some
cities are still working on their climate adaptation plan, attaching it here will enable them to understand
your approach better. Please fill in the table with the following information:
Publication title
State the official name of your plan that addresses climate change adaptation.
Year of publication
Enter the year the plan was published as a numeric value.
Attach the document
Click on ‘Choose file’, navigate to the file you want to upload and click ‘Open’. Once you can see the
file name in the text field click ‘Attach & Save’ to attach the document.
Scope of plan
Indicate the administrative boundary of the relevant plan or plans by selecting the most applicable
response from the following list of values:
 City / Municipality – a city, town, village or borough, etc. with some degree of general purpose
self-governance.
 Local government area within a city / metropolitan area – a sub-tier of local government
responsible for local services not overseen by the executive governing body (e.g., the City of
London local authority within the Greater London Authority).
 Independent city – a city or town that does not form part of another local government entity (e.g.,
cities within U.S. States that are independent from county-level government such as Baltimore,
Maryland or Carson City, Nevada; the German Kreisfreie Stadt or Stadtkreis such as Leipzig
and München).
 Special city – cities or districts with special administrative status as compared to other similar
urban areas (e.g., Seoul, South Korea; Kiev, Ukraine; Hong Kong Special administrative region).
 Federal district – a type of administrative division of a federation under the direct control of a
federal government (e.g., Brasilia, Brazil; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; México,
Distrito Federal, Mexico).
 Sovereign city-state – a state consisting of a sovereign city and its dependencies (e.g.,
Singapore; Vatican City).
 Metropolitan area – a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated
surrounding areas (e.g., an urban area closely linked economically and socially, such as a
commuting catchment area).
 County – a geographical region that forms a subnational or sub-state division of governance
that may include a number of cities, town, villages, etc. (e.g., Northumberland, UK).
 Other area
2
Based on the glossary document of the IPCC
IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of
Working 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.
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Area under your city's control
Indicate the boundary of control in respect to adaptation planning by selecting the most applicable
response from the following list of values:
 Financial boundary of city governance
 Operational boundary of city governance
 Administrative boundary of city governance
Primary author of plan
Indicate the primary author responsible for the primary planning document to address climate
adaptation in your jurisdiction by selecting the most applicable response from the following list of values:
 Dedicated city team
 Relevant city department
 Consultant
 International organization
 Community group
 Regional / state / provincial government
 National / central government
 Other
Q 3.2b If no or In progress: Please explain why not and any future arrangements you have to
create a plan.
This question only applies if you have selected “No” or “In progress” to Question 3.2.
This question gives you the opportunity to provide more information or context on why you have not
yet published an adaptation plan.
Q 3.3 The Compact of Mayors requires cities to complete these additional questions on the
climate hazards affecting your city and your city’s plans to adapt to these hazards. Other cities
wishing to disclose further detail about their adaptation efforts are also encouraged to fill out
the download.
Please follow the instructions to download the Compact of Mayor's reporting framework administered
by CDP. Completing these questions will satisfy the reporting requirements for compliance with the
Compact of Mayor's commitments. Please save a copy of this file on your local network. If you see popup messages, please enable macros and ignore links.
You can complete the questions off-line; we recommend that you save your entries frequently to ensure
your data is captured. When you have completed your responses, please up-load this file to this
question by clicking “Chose file”, navigating to the file you want to upload and clicking ‘Open’. Once
you can see the file name in the text field click ‘Attach’ to attach the document.
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Q 3.4 Please describe the actions you are taking to reduce the risk to, or vulnerability of, your
city’s infrastructure, citizens, and businesses from climate change as identified on the previous
page.
Climate hazards
This list will be automatically filled with the values you reported in the first column of question 2.1b.
Action
This column asks to detail the actions you are taking to adapt to climate change. The list of actions that
you can select from is located in Appendix A in the questionnaire.
Action Description
In this column, please give any further relevant comments about the action.
For explanatory purposes, a sample answer to this question is included in Box 4 below.
Box 4: Example of adaptation action
Climate hazard
Action
Action Description
Rain storm
Flood defenses –
development and
operation & storage
We are testing various sea walls and barriers around the port to
prevent the low-lying areas from flooding. The most successful
version will be rolled out city-wide.
Heat wave
Shading in public
spaces, markets
Restaurants are able to expedite the licensing process for outdoor
seating if they plant trees to provide shade in the public spaces
around the location
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Social Risks
Q 4.0 Does your city face any social risks as a result of climate change?
Please respond by selecting “Yes”, “No” or “Don’t know” from the drop down menu. If you answer “Yes”
or “Don’t know” you will be directed to question 4.0a, if you answer “No” you will be directed to question
4.0b.
Cities and local governments may encounter social risks as a result of climate change. Examples of
social risks might health and wellbeing, (e.g. susceptibility to disease vectors or heat-related morbidity
and mortality), crime, social unrest, migration, or quality of life.
Q 4.0a If yes or don’t know: Please complete the table.
This question is structured as a table. The first column describes a number of possible social risks of
climate change which can be selected from the drop down menu.
Social risks
List of Values:
 Fluctuating socio-economic conditions
 Increased incidence and prevalence of disease
 Increased demand for public services (including health)
 Increased risk to already vulnerable populations
 Increased conflict and/or crime
 Increased resource demand
 Loss of traditional jobs
 Migration from rural areas to cities
 Population displacement
 Other
Anticipated timescale in years
In the second column please choose the timescale by which you expect to experience social risks
arising from climate change.
The table offers four choices for timescale:
 Current - if your city is already experiencing the identified social risk
 Short term - if you anticipate your city will experience the identified social risk by 2025.
 Medium term - if you anticipate your city will experience the identified social risk between 2026
and 2050.
 Long term - if you anticipate your city will experience the identified social risk after 2051.
Impact Description
In the third column describe the impact. You may wish to describe the effect experienced or anticipated,
the magnitude of the impact, anticipated timescale and sectors affected. Please provide in this column
any additional information about any social risk you perceive.
Multiple entries can be made in the table, using the ‘Add Row’ button to the bottom right.
For explanatory purposes, a sample answer to this question is included in Box 5 on the next page.
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Box 5: Example of social risk
Social Risk
Anticipated timescale in years
Impact Description
Increased
risk
to
already
vulnerable
populations
Medium term
With
longer
heat
events,
at-risk
populations that have limited access to
cooling centers or do not have airconditioning units within their place of
residence are more susceptible to facing
heat-related illnesses or death
Increased
and/or crime
Short term
In addition, loss of power after extreme
weather events, such as hurricanes, can
mean higher incidence of crime (e.g.
looting and theft)
conflict
Q4.0b If no: Please explain why your city does not face social risks as a result of climate change.
If climate change does not present social risks to your city, please detail why not.
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Opportunities
General Guidance
Climate change presents opportunities as well as risks. Climate change may offer economic or financial
benefits within defined boundaries and locations.
Specific Question Guidance
Opportunities
Q 5.0 Does climate change provide any economic opportunities for your city?
Select your response from the following options:
 Yes - will direct you to Question 5.0a
 No - will direct you to Question 5.0b
 Don’t know - will direct you to Question 5.0a
Many organizations have identified economic opportunities from mitigating, and adapting to climate
change. For example, the 2007 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change suggests that
markets for low-carbon energy products are likely to be worth at least $500bn per year by 2050 and
concludes that “individual companies and countries should position themselves to take advantage of
these opportunities.” For some cities and regions with a strong foundation in scientific and technology
research and development, advanced / precision manufacturing, export facilities, or those wellendowed with renewable energy resources (wind, solar, geothermal, marine, and biomass), financial
opportunities to develop new goods and services may be realized.
Q 5.0a Please indicate the opportunities and describe how the city is positioning itself to take
advantage of them.
This question invites you to detail the economic opportunities from mitigating, and adapting to, climate
change and asks you to describe how your city is seizing them. Please select as many options as
apply from the list of drop downs in the table.
For example, you may note that your city sees the potential growth of the local solar industry, adding
tax revenue and job growth in your city.
Economic Opportunities
 Development of new business industries (e.g. clean tech)
 Additional funding opportunities
 Improved efficiency of operations
 Increased energy security
 Increased attention to other environmental concerns
 Increased infrastructure investment
 Other
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Describe how the city is maximizing this opportunity
For each of the economic opportunities identified in the previous column, please highlight what your
city is doing to seize this opportunity in this column. For example, if you selected “development of new
business industries” under Economic Opportunity, you might detail your city’s efforts to encourage and
support the development of new business industries within the city limits or provide consulting services
to other municipalities who are trying to attract new business industries.
Box 6: Example of economic opportunity
Economic opportunity
Describe how the city is maximizing this opportunity
Improved efficiency of
operations
Performing a local and regional emissions inventory had the added
benefit of identifying inefficiencies in operations by tracking data
related to energy consumption, waste processes and water
consumption at the government operations and regional levels.
Increased attention to The city created a ‘congestion-zone’ in the downtown area where
other
environmental private cars are only allowed to drive during peak times if they pay a
concerns
substantial fee. This has decreased the number of cars on the street
65% during peak times. This was done to reduce emissions and
reduce traffic but it has also lessened the amount of smog in the city
by 30% and resulted in more income for the city.
Q 5.0b If no: Why not?
It is possible that your city does not see any potential economic opportunities from climate change. If
this is the case, please explain why not. You might consider, for instance, that climate change presents
only economic risks to your city, or that any potential opportunities are small and insignificant in
comparison to the risks.
Q 5.1 List any climate change-related projects for which you hope to attract private sector
involvement.
The private sector is a major source of greenhouse gases and therefore takes a large share of a city’s
GHG inventory. Sustainability projects within your city may be a good opportunity to involve the private
sector in reducing GHG emissions. The goal of this question is to assess the cooperation of publicprivate sectors on climate change issues. Use the table in this question to list the different projects your
city is looking to attract private sector involvement for – you can add multiple projects by clicking ‘Add
row’.
Project area
Use the drop down options to select the project area that is closest to the project that your city is seeking
to collaborate with the private sector on.
Project description
Use this text box to describe the project.
Cost of project (USD$)
Give a rough estimate of the cost of the project, or how much private sector funding you hope to raise
for the project.
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Emissions – Local Government
Operations
General Guidance
If you identify in the Introduction to the ORS that you would like to report an emissions inventory for
your local government’s operations, the Local Government module will appear in your questionnaire.
The module gives you the opportunity to disclose your local government’s emissions inventory as well
as some other metrics that will provide a holistic picture of your operations. If you have chosen to
provide a Community emissions inventory on the Introduction page of the ORS, more information is
provided in the next chapter of the guidance.
This section of the questionnaire is divided into 4 pages:
 Methodology (Questions LGO1.0-1.4): This page collects information on the approach taken
for preparing your emissions inventory. Importantly this page also allows users to define the 12
month period for which data is reported – this period should be consistent throughout the
inventory. Where data is not available for an entire 12 month period, please extrapolate your
data to a 12 month period.
 Energy Data (Questions LGO1.5-1.6): This page collects information on the energy purchased
and consumed over the reporting year.
 GHG Emissions Data (Questions LGO1.7-1.12): This page collects information on the
emissions released during the inventory year.
 External Verification (Questions LGO1.13): The final page of the local government
operations inventory collects information on verification of emissions data.
CDP recognizes that cities use different methodologies to measure their greenhouse gas emissions.
As such, at this time CDP does not require cities to use a specific methodology to report to CDP - you
may disclose an emissions inventory that has been calculated by any methodology. Please identify the
methodology used at the appropriate place in the questionnaire.
The methods and approaches for the measurement of emissions from local government operations are
broadly similar to that of companies. A number of well-accepted methodologies for quantifying
organizational GHG emissions exist, which have applicability to governments seeking to compile this
information. Some of these have been adapted to include guidance specifically for government
reporting. Interested cities can consult the following links to learn more about existing methodologies:
 The Greenhouse Gas Protocol from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World
Business council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
 The GHG Protocol for the U.S. Public Sector: Interpreting the Corporate Standard for U.S.
Public Sector Organizations from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and LMI.
 Local Government Operations Protocol (LGOP) for the Quantification and Reporting of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories (Version 1.1), created in partnership with the California
Air Resources Board, California Climate Action Registry, ICLEI-USA, and the Climate Registry.
 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories;
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

ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gases series of standards; and
GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Public Sector Agency Supplement.
In its work with the corporate sector, CDP encourages and supports the use of the Greenhouse Gas
Protocol (GHG Protocol) developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business
Council for Sustainable Development. Cities may find it useful to consult this document.
Note that ICLEI additionally have an international protocol that captures both local government
(organizational) and community emissions, the International Local Government GHG Emissions
Analysis Protocol (IEAP). This can be used by local governments globally to produce local government
and community inventories. (Refer to the Community section of this guidance document for more
information on community inventories.)
Some of these measurement methodologies share general principles. Many of these principles are
included in the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol (and other similar methods) and the following is quoted
directly from the ICLEI International Emissions Analysis Protocol (IEAP):
 Relevance: the greenhouse gas inventory shall appropriately reflect the greenhouse gas
emissions of the local government or the community within the local government area and
should be organized to reflect the areas over which local governments exert control and hold
responsibility in order to serve the decision-making needs of users.
 Completeness: all greenhouse gas emission sources and activities within the chosen inventory
boundary shall be accounted for. Any specific exclusion should be disclosed.
 Consistency: consistent methodologies to allow for meaningful comparisons of emissions over
time shall be used. Any changes to the data, inventory boundary, methods, or any relevant
factors in the time series shall be disclosed.
 Transparency: all relevant issues shall be addressed in a factual and coherent manner to
provide a clear audit trail, should auditing be required. Any relevant assumptions shall be
disclosed and include appropriate references to the accounting calculation methodologies and
data sources used, which may include this Protocol and any relevant Supplements.
 Accuracy: the quantification of greenhouse gas emissions should not be systematically over
or under the actual emissions. Accuracy should be sufficient to enable users to make decisions
with reasonable assurance as to the integrity of the reported information.”
Many methodologies also suggest similar best practices in measuring greenhouse gas emissions.
Some of these suggestions are detailed here:
 Definition of boundaries (operational and organizational) to restrict emissions to only those that
are relevant (or material) to the organization. In general, this relates to those emissions under
the direct control or influence of the organization (and excludes community emissions, which
are dealt with in a later section of the questionnaire).
 Attention to the integrity of the data sources and calculation rules to produce consistent results.
 Disaggregating total emissions for sector- or activity-based reporting.
 Many methodologies (though not all) also encourage the use of “Scopes” to differentiate the
level of control over the source of the emissions.
 Use of emissions factors to normalize emissions data (carbon intensity or carbon equivalents)
across gases, activities or geographies.
 Reporting against, as a minimum, the main greenhouse gases defined by the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4),
nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6) as well as nitrogen triflouride (NF3)
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CDP also recognizes that many cities have created their own proprietary methodologies for calculating
greenhouse gas emissions. If your city fits into this category, please provide as much information as
possible about the methods you have used to measure your emissions.
Please note that a metric tonne is equivalent to 2,204.6lbs. The “long ton”, a term generally used in
Britain, is equivalent to 2,240lbs and the “short ton”, generally used in the USA, is equivalent to
2,000lbs. The CDP Cities information request asks for CO2e measurements in metric tonnes.
For more information on any of the above considerations, please refer directly to the protocols listed in
this section of the guidance document.
Additional guidance on accounting methodologies and differences in approach can be found in
numerous IPCC reports and research studies on urban emissions. In particular, the study Greenhouse
Gas Emission Baselines for Global Cities and Metropolitan Regions by Kennedy, C.A. et al. provides
a comparison of accounting practices of more than 40 global cities.
Specific Question Guidance
Methodology
Q LGO1.0
Please state the dates of the accounting year or 12-month period for which you
are reporting a GHG measurement inventory for your local government operations.
The ORS provides a drop-down calendar for you to enter the dates requested. Entries MUST be for a
12-month period.
Q LGO1.1
Please indicate the category that best describes the boundary of your GHG
emissions inventory.
A drop-down list is provided with the following values:
 Departments, entities or companies over which operational control is exercised;
 Departments, entities or companies over which financial control is exercised;
 Other
The options allow for emissions to be captured from a ranging set of institutions, from government
departments to quasi-governmental authorities, public corporations and special purpose vehicles.
Further guidance on the suitability of these different methods is available in the Local Government
Operations Protocol, the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol, and Appendix B of the Global Protocol for
Community Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories.
If none of the listed options describes your boundary, please select “other” from the drop down list. You
will then be provided with a text box in which to describe your boundary.
Q LGO1.2
Please indicate which of the following major sources of emissions are included
in your GHG emissions inventory.
In the ORS, you will have the option to select as many as apply. The full list of emissions sources is
below:
 Airport (s)
 Municipal vehicle fleet


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Buildings
Buses


Regional trains
Roads / highways
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




Electricity generation
Electricity transmission and distribution
Employee commuting
Incineration of waste
Landfills





Street lighting and traffic signals
Subway / underground
Thermal energy
Waste collection
Wastewater treatment

Local Trains

Water supply

Maritime port
Select “not included” if this source is part of your city government’s operational control but not included
in your GHG emissions; select “not applicable” if this source is not within your city government’s
operational control.
The values selected may differ significantly from one city to the next, based on size, jurisdictional issues
/ relationship with other levels of government, and resources. For example, some cities will control
utility services that service their population, but this is by no means universal. Others may offer
extensive mass transit services which are under local control or influence, while others may not. By
providing this information, you will help make comparisons between cities that share similarities in size,
functions, and jurisdiction.
Q LGO1.3
Please give the name of the primary protocol, standard, or methodology you have
used to calculate GHG emissions.
This question aims to understand which processes you have used to calculate emissions generated by
your Local Government operations. In the first column you will see a list of methodologies. Please
select the methodology on which you base the majority of your calculations. The system will only let
you select one methodology. If you do not see your chosen methodology reflected in the list please
select “Other” and describe your methodology.
 Greenhouse Gas Protocol: Public Sector Standard;
 International Emissions Analysis Protocol (ICLEI);
 ISO 14064;
 Local Government Operations Protocol (ICLEI / The Climate Registry / California Climate Action
Registry / California Air Resources Board);
 Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (Measurement) Determination;
 Other
You might have calculated your emissions using multiple methodologies or by slightly modifying an
existing methodology. In the second column, please detail how you have used multiple methodologies
or how your city collects and manages data for your local government operations.
Q LGO1.4
Which gases are included in your emissions inventory? Tick all that apply.
The list consists of the main greenhouse gases defined by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC): carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O),
perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), as well as nitrogen
triflouride (NF3).
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Energy data
Q LGO1.5
Please give the total amount of fuel (refers to Scope 1 emissions) that your local
government has consumed this year.
The intent of the question is to capture data on fuel that is consumed (converted to end-use energy)
directly by your city – referring to Scope 1. This fuel could be used in combustion in owned or controlled
boilers, furnaces, vehicles, etc.
The ORS provides a table for your answer with the following columns:
Source
Please select a source of your fuel consumption, the list of emissions sources is the same as in LGO1.2.
Fuel
The second column is a list of fuel types in a drop-down menu. The list of fuels is drawn from
WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol Stationary Combustion Guidance document. The fuels are listed in
alphabetical order. The most commonly used fuels are provided in the box below.
Box 7: Most commonly used fuels, based on 2014 responses.
Diesel/Gas oil
Natural gas
Motor gasoline (petrol)
Biodiesels
Under the additional headings of the table – ‘Amount’ and ‘Units’ – please provide the corresponding
data for the fuel type used. The energy units should be selected from the following: GWh; MWh; kWh;
TJ; GJ; MJ; Therms; Btu; m3; L; Metric tonnes; Short tons (see the Glossary for definitions of these
units). Multiple entries can be made, using the ‘Add Row’ facility at the bottom right of the table.
Q LGO1.6
How much electricity, heat, steam, and cooling (refers to Scope 2 emissions) has
your local government purchased for its own consumption during the reporting year?
This question covers the energy purchased from an energy provider where the fuel has already been
converted to electric or thermal energy referring to Scope 2 emissions. As above, please select a
consumption source from the ‘Source’ column. In the ‘Type’ column you will find a list of values in a
drop-down menu, with the options: electricity; heat; steam; cooling or other. There is also a column for
‘Amount’ - to be expressed as numeric values and ‘Units’ – selected from GWh; MWh; kWh; TJ; GJ;
MJ; Therms; Btu; m3; L; Metric tonnes; Short tons. Multiple entries can be made using the ‘Add Row’
facility to the bottom right of the table.
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GHG Emissions Data
Q LGO1.7
Please provide total (Scope 1 + Scope 2) GHG emissions for your local
government’s operations, in metric tonnes CO2e.
This question is your opportunity to enter a numeric value for the total figure of your local government’s
GHG emissions in the selected year. Please note that these are local government operation emissions
only and should be provided in metric tonnes CO2e.
To prevent you from accidently entering total emissions in the wrong units we have added a validation
rule to this question. If the number provided has less than 3 digits or more than 7 digits a warning
message will pop up when the questionnaire is submitted. Verify the numbers are correct and presented
in metric tonnes CO2e before confirming and pressing submit.
Q LGO1.8
If applicable, please provide the following GHG emissions.
If your city disaggregates emissions into Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, please enter the totals for
your reporting year here. Refer to your city’s reporting methodology or protocol to determine if this
categorization is relevant for your city. Scopes are a common categorization and more details are
available in the following methodologies:
 International Emissions Analysis Protocol
 Local Government Operations Protocol
 WRI / WBCSD Greenhouse Gas Protocol
For example, the following description of scopes is taken directly from the Local Government
Operations Protocol:
 Scope 1: All direct GHG emissions (with the exception of direct CO2 emissions from biogenic
sources).
 Scope 2: Indirect GHG emissions associated with the consumption of purchased or acquired
electricity, steam, heating, or cooling.
A two-column table is provided with the following column headers:
Total Scope 1 activity in metric tonnes CO2e emitted
Enter your total scope one emissions in metric tonnes CO2e as a numeric value.
Total Scope 2 activity in metric tonnes CO2e emitted
Enter your total scope one emissions in metric tonnes CO2e as a numeric value.
If you do not break down your emissions in this way then please skip this question.
To prevent you from accidently entering incorrect emissions figures we have added a validation rule to
this question. If the sum of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions reported in this question is greater or less
than the total emissions reported in Question LGO1.7 a warning message will pop up when the
questionnaire is submitted. Verify the numbers are correct and presented in metric tonnes CO2e before
confirming and pressing submit.
Q LGO1.9
Do you measure Scope 3 emissions?
Please provide a Yes / No answer using the drop down menu provided. If you answer “Yes” you will be
directed to question LGO 1.9a, if you answer “no” you will be directed to question LGO 1.9b.
As an example, the following description of Scope 3 emissions is taken directly from the ICLEI Local
Government Operations Protocol:
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
Scope 3: “All other indirect emissions not covered in Scope 2, such as emissions resulting from
the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in
vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity (e.g., employee commuting and
business travel), outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc.”
Further detail on measuring Scope 3 emissions can be found in the ICLEI Local Government
Operations Protocol.
Q LGO1.9a If yes: Please complete the table.
This is a table question with three columns to allow explanation of the Scope 3 emissions sources
which are included in the local government operations inventory. The columns provided are as follows:
Source of Scope 3 emissions
Provide a breakdown of the different categories of scope 3 emissions by choosing a source from the
list of values:
 Employee Commuting;
 Employee Business Travel;
 Emissions from Contracted Services;
 Upstream Production of Materials and Fuels;
 Upstream and Downstream Transportation of Materials and Fuels;
 Waste Related Scope 3 Emission Sources;
 Other
You can find more information on scope 3 upstream and downstream activities here.
Metric tonnes CO2e emitted
Provide the amount of CO2e emitted for each source.
Comment
Provide more detail about your Scope 3 emissions reported.
Box 8: Example of Scope 3 detail
Source of
Scope
emissions
Employee commuting
3 Emissions (metric tonnes Comment
CO2e)
4000
Estimate based on a survey
conducted
amongst
city
employees regarding their
ways of traveling to work
Q LGO1.9b If No: Please explain why not and detail your plans to do so in the future, if any.
If you do not measure Scope 3 emissions, please explain why not. Additionally, please go into detail
about your plans to do so in the future, if you have any.
Q LGO1.11 Where it will facilitate a greater understanding of your government emissions,
please provide a breakdown of these emissions by department, facility, source or by any other
classification system used in your city.
Many cities categorize their emissions differently. The intent of this question is to learn more about how
your organization disaggregates emissions, which can be valuable information for tracking, monitoring
and evaluation, and reporting purposes. The information will also contribute to a comparative
understanding between city departments / organizations, or among cities themselves. Please note that
this question is flexible to accommodate all of the different kinds of categories used by cities.
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You are provided with a table in the ORS to structure your response under the following headings:
Department / Facility / Source / Other
Please use this field to denote the categories the city uses to classify emissions. This can be by
department, facility, source or any other categorization. If you have data for more than one Type of
emissions as defined in the second column create multiple rows for each categorization.
Scope
For more information about scopes see Questions LGO 1.8-1.9. Select from the following options:
 Scope 1
 Scope 2
 Scope 3
 Total Figure
Emissions (metric tonnes CO2e)
Enter a numeric value for the amount of emissions that correspond with the previous two columns.
Box 9: Example of emissions categorization
For example, a city may categorize its emissions in the following way:
Department / Facility / Source / Other
Scope
Emissions (metric tonnes CO2e)
Parks Department
Scope 1
2300
Parks Department
Scope 2
475000
Office of Financial Affairs
Scope 2
15000
Mayor’s Office
Total figure
10000
Public Works
Total figure
350000
Other
Total figure
5000
Department / Facility / Source / Other
Type
Emissions (metric tonnes CO2e)
Facility A
Scope 2
47500
Facility A
Scope 1
1500
Facility B
Scope 1
10000
Facility C
Scope 2
350000
Q LGO1.12 Please indicate if your emissions have increased, decreased, or stayed the same
since your last emissions inventory, and please describe why.
The purpose of this table is to understand the change in emissions over time and the factors which led
to that change.
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Change in emissions
In the first column, please select how your emissions have changed compared to the emissions you
reported last time. A drop down with the following list of values is provided:
 Increased;
 Decreased;
 Stayed the same;
 This is our first year of calculation;
 Other
In the second column, please indicate some of the reasons you have identified led to this change.
For example if you previously reported emissions from 2012 and you are now reporting emissions from
2014 please explain any material difference in the figures. For instance you may be including or
excluding different sources, the methodology may have changed, boundaries may have changed,
and/or emissions reduction actions may have been realized.
Box 10: Example of change in LGO emissions compared to the year prior
Change in emissions
Reason for change
Decreased
Last year we reported emissions from our
last inventory calculated in 2012. This year
we have updated our inventory and notice a
decrease in our total emissions. We believe
this change can be explained by multiple
factors namely: change in methodology,
better and more precise data and the result
of the policies which we have implemented
aimed at reducing emissions.
External Verification
Q LGO1.13 Has the GHG emissions data you are currently reporting been externally verified or
audited in part or in whole?
City governments (or any large organization) may see value in having external verification or auditing
of their emissions and emission reduction efforts. This can ensure higher levels of quality control /
quality assurance. The ability to call on verified data may provide your government with a powerful tool
in efforts to influence policy or regulation at other levels of government or with other community
stakeholders.
Please respond to this question by selecting “Yes” or “No” from the drop down menu provided. If you
answer “Yes” you will be directed to question LGO 1.13a, if you answer “no” you will be directed to
question LGO 1.13b.
Q LGO1.13a If yes: Please provide the following information about the emissions verification
process.

In the table provided, please state the name of the verifier, select the year of verification from
the list of values and attach your verification certificate in the columns provided. To attach a
document click on ‘Choose file’, navigate to the file you want to upload and click ‘Open’. Once
you can see the file name in the text field click ‘Attach & Save’ to attach the document. In the
“Comments” column, please provide additional details on your verification process, such as:
- Percentage of emission inventory audited
- Sections of emission inventory audited
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Q LGO1.13b If no: Please describe your plans to verify your emissions in the future.
Please give more details on whether and how you plan to verify your emissions related to your local
government operations in the future.
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Emissions - Community
General Guidance
If you identify in the Introduction to the ORS that you would like to report an emissions inventory for
your community, the Community module will appear in your questionnaire. The module gives you the
opportunity to disclose your community (or “city-wide”) emissions inventory as well as some other
metrics that will provide a holistic picture of your emissions and activities.
This section of the questionnaire is divided into 3 pages:



Date and Boundary (Questions C1.0-1.1): This page defines the 12 month period over which
data is reported and the boundary of your community emissions inventory – this period and
boundary should be consistent throughout the inventory. You must provide a 12 month period.
Emissions and Energy Data (Questions C1.2-1.12): This page collects information on the
methodology used to complete your emissions inventory and the energy and greenhouse
emissions relevant to the reporting year.
External Verification (Question C1.13): The final page of the community emissions inventory
collects information on verification of emissions data.
In general, emissions from local government operations represent only a small portion of overall
emissions from the community over which the government has jurisdiction. Capturing community
emissions – often referred to as the “geographic” or “city-wide” emissions inventory – creates a
snapshot of all local activities and their contribution to global climate change. Collating community
emissions can provide a basis from which cities can develop policy and enact regulation with the aim
of reducing these emissions. This distinction and imperative to capture data for both government
operations and the wider community represent the greatest difference between appropriate city-specific
protocols and corporate emissions reporting protocols.
Note that while protocols for community emissions do exist, there is a range of opinion and differences
in application for what emissions are calculated. In many cases, the decision on inclusion will come
down to preferences and capacity of the organization undertaking the calculations. The unbounded
nature of cities, in terms of where they draw their resources from and the goods and services that flow
in and out of them, presents great complexity in efforts to calculate emissions.
Global momentum is growing around the protocol created by C40, WRI, ICLEI, and the World Bank,
called the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories. A number of
large cities have piloted the first version of this methodology in 2013, and the partnership published this
full version in 2014.
Many other methodologies exist. It may be the case that individual cities are using methodologies
designed for national or regional inventories, but ‘downscaling’ them for their jurisdictions. Thus, using
the IPCC national inventory framework as the basic accounting architecture, but tailoring to local
circumstances to manage data availability and reliability issues, is one approach. Other examples
include the use of Greenhouse Gas Regional Inventory Protocol (GRIP), which, as the name implies,
is designed for regional calculations. Some cities have adapted this framework for their boundaries
(e.g. Sacramento, California). Even cities that use common approaches produce variations in what is
included in their community emissions. The World Bank, UNEP and UN Habitat have also created an
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emissions inventory protocol for cities (International Standard for Determining Greenhouse Gas
Emissions for Cities) (Note that this protocol will be replaced by the Global Protocol for Community
Greenhouse Gas Inventories).
Cities can report their emissions on CDP’s platform regardless of which protocol or methodology they
have used to develop their inventory.
Specific Question Guidance
Date and Boundary
Q C1.0 Please state the dates of the accounting year or 12-month period for which you are
reporting a GHG measurement inventory for your community.
The ORS provides a drop-down calendar for you to enter the dates requested. Entries must be for a
12-month period. If you do not have data for the entire 12-month period, please extrapolate to 12
months.
Q C1.1 Please indicate the category that best describes the boundary of your community GHG
emissions inventory.
In your answer, please choose from the list of values provided:
 Administrative boundary of a local government
 Combination of administrative divisions
 A metropolitan area
 Other
Administrative boundary of a local government refers to the area covered by the jurisdiction of a single
local government, usually at the sub-city level (e.g. a borough of ward).
Combination of administrative divisions refers to the area covered by the jurisdiction of multiple local
governments, usually at the sub-city level.
A metropolitan area, also referred to as metropolitan region or metro area, consists of a single large
urban area or an agglomeration of urban areas, and usually comprises multiple local governments.
Examples of approaches that might be used by your city other than its geopolitical boundary include
metro-wide, county or regional GHG accounting. Circumstances where this might be undertaken
include where your city’s geopolitical boundary is small relative to the total population, economic activity
and land area that are symbiotic with a particular urban core or center.
If you select ‘Other’, you will be given the opportunity to enter the relevant boundary in a text box.
Emissions and Energy data
Q C1.2 Please give the name of the primary protocol, standard, or methodology you have used
to calculate GHG emissions.
In the ORS, you will see a list of methodologies developed by third parties. Please select the primary
methodology that you followed in measuring greenhouse gas emissions for your community. If you do
not see your chosen methodology reflected in the list please select “Other” and describe your
methodology.
The values provided are:
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






Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GPC), (WRI, C40 and
ICLEI)
International Emissions Analysis Protocol (ICLEI);
International Standard for Determining Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Cities (UNEP, UN
Habitat, World Bank);
2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories;
U.S. Community Protocol for Accounting and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (ICLEI);
Greenhouse gas Inventory & Research Center of Korea (GIR);
Other
Please select “Other” if you use a proprietary methodology or a third party methodology that you do not
see listed here. Enter the name of the methodology in the text box provided.
If you select the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GPC), (WRI, C40
and ICLEI) you will skip Questions C1.6, C1.7 and C1.8 and be directed to answer questions C1.9a
and C1.9b. If you choose any other protocol listed including ‘Other’ you will be directed to answer
Questions C1.6, C1.7 and C1.8 and will skip Question C1.9a and C1.9b.
In the second column please provide more detail on the methodology used or whether you utilized a
combination of protocols.
Q C1.3 Which gases are included in your emissions inventory? Tick all that apply.
The list consists of the main greenhouse gases defined by the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC): carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O),
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), as well as nitrogen
trifluoride (NF3).
Q C1.4 Please detail total (Scope 1 + Scope 2) emissions for your community, in metric tonnes
CO2e.
This question is your opportunity to enter the total figure for your community’s GHG emissions in the
selected year.
Total emissions
To prevent you from accidently entering total emissions in the wrong units we have added a validation
rule to this question. If the number provided has less than 3 digits or more than 9 digits a warning
message will pop up when the questionnaire is submitted. Verify the numbers are correct and presented
in metric tonnes CO2e before confirming and pressing submit.
Attach your inventory
Use this column to attach your city’s inventory. You can do this by clicking “Chose file”, navigating to
the inventory file and clicking “Attach”.
Level of confidence
Please select the level of confidence associated with your total emissions figure.
 High – select high if your inventory has a high level of accuracy
 Medium – select medium if your inventory has a medium level of accuracy
 Low – select low if your inventory has a low level of accuracy
Comment on level of confidence
Use this text box to comment on your selection in the Level of confidence drop down.
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Q C1.5 If applicable, please provide a breakdown of your GHG emissions by scope.
If you categorize your emissions by scope, please enter the appropriate figures for your Scope 1 and
2 emissions. Scope 3 emissions are covered in questions C1.9a and C1.11.
Scope
This table question breaks down emissions into scope 1 and scope 2 in column one. Scope 1 emissions
are further split into emissions excluding grid-supplied energy generation and emissions exclusively
from grid-supplied energy generation within your city boundaries
Metric tonnes CO2e
Your answers will be numeric entries (metric tonnes of CO2e) in the second column. If you do not break
down your scope 1 emissions in this way then please still fill in your total scope 1 emissions in the third
row.
Level of confidence
Please select the level of confidence associated with your total emissions figure.
 High – select high if your scope breakdown has a high level of accuracy
 Medium – select medium if your scope breakdown has a medium level of accuracy
 Low – select low if your scope breakdown has a low level of accuracy
Q C1.6 If protocol besides Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission
Inventories (GPC), (WRI, C40 and ICLEI): Where it will facilitate a greater understanding of your
community’s emissions, please provide a breakdown of these emissions by end user
(buildings, water, waste, transport), economic sector (residential, commercial, industrial,
institutional), IPCC sector (stationary combustion; mobile combustion, Industrial processes,
waste), or any other classification system used in your city.
The purpose of this question is to learn more about how your city government breaks down emissions,
which can be valuable information for comparative understanding between cities. Please note that this
question is flexible to accommodate many of the different kinds of categories used by cities.
You are provided with a table in the ORS to structure your response. Examples of how your city might
characterize and differentiate emissions are listed below and also shown in Box 12:
 Sector/End User:
 End user: buildings, transport, water utilities, wastewater utilities, etc.
 Economic sector: commercial, residential, industrial, agricultural, freight and
logistics, etc.
 IPCC sector: Energy (stationary combustion, mobile combustion, and fugitive);
Industrial Processes and Product Use; Agricultural, Forestry and Other Land
Use; and Waste.
 Other: please describe if your city uses another classification approach (e.g. by
geography or zone, by zoning or land use classification, etc.)
 Sector: Please indicate which the relevant GHG emissions sector from the drop down options
 Scope: please indicate the scope considered for each sector
 Emissions: emissions associated with that sector
Box 11: Example community inventory breakdowns
End user / Economic sector / IPCC Sector
sector / Other
Scope
Emissions (metric
tonnes CO2e)
Buildings
Buildings
Scope 1
475000
Water
Water
Scope 1
15000
Waste
Waste
Scope 1
10000
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Transport
Transport
Scope 1
30000
Other
Other
Scope 1
5000
End user / Economic sector / IPCC sector / Scope
Other
Emissions
tonnes CO2e)
Stationary
Scope 2
379000
Mobile
Scope 2
18000
Railways
Scope 2
350000
Total
Scope 2
747000
(metric
Q C1.7 Please give the total amount of fuel (referring to Scope 1 emissions) consumed in your
city during the reporting year.
This question asks you to provide the total amount of fuel that has been consumed within your citywide reporting boundary during the reporting year - referring to Scope 1 emissions. Each amount of
fuel reported will depend on the types of fuel used within your boundary and the quantity of each fuel
used. For instance, you might include the fuel consumed by residential, commercial, and industrial
buildings, and road transportation. Do not include emissions from the generation of grid-supplied
energy.
The ORS provides a table for your answer. The ‘Fuel’ column is pre-populated with fuel types listed in
a drop-down menu. The list of fuels is drawn from the WRI/WBCSD GHG Protocol Stationary
Combustion Guidance document and is provided with definitions in Appendix 2 of this document.
‘Units’ should be selected from the following: GWh; MWh; kWh; TJ; GJ; MJ; Therms; Btu; m 3; L; Metric
tonnes; Short tons (see the Glossary for definitions of these units).
Multiple entries can be made, using the ‘Add Row’ facility at the bottom right of the table.
Please give a description on how the fuel was used and what it was used for in the ‘Source’ column.
For example a total fuel consumption figure by the local airport or fuel use by the bus fleet can be
reported. In the Sector column, enter the corresponding sector for the amount entered.
Q C1.8 How much electricity, heat, steam, and cooling (referring to Scope 2) has been
consumed by your city during the reporting year?
This question asks you to detail the amount of electricity, heat, steam, or cooling, referring to Scope 2
emissions that has been supplied to all of the entities within your city-wide boundary during the reporting
year. Your number will depend on which energy users you include in your total. For instance, you might
include residential, commercial, and industrial buildings and rail transportation.
In the ‘Type‘ column, please select a value from the dropdown list (electricity, heat, steam and/or other)
you want to provide an amount for. Enter the amount and select its corresponding unit in the following
columns. Please also give a description on how the fuel was used and what it was used for in the
‘Source‘ column. In the Sector column, enter the corresponding sector for the amount entered.
Q C1.9a Please provide a summary of emissions by sector and scope as defined in the Global
Protocol for Community Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC), (WRI, C40 and ICLEI).
Please complete the corresponding emissions for each row in the table below.
If you have chosen to report using the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission
Inventories (GPC), (WRI, C40 and ICLEI), please use the embedded table to disaggregate and report
your emissions by sector and by scope:
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Sector and Scope (GPC reference number)
Select from the drop-down list provided to report emissions from each of the emissions sources listed:
 Stationary Energy: energy use – Scope 1 (I.X.1);
 Stationary Energy: energy use – Scope 2 (I.X.2);
 Stationary Energy: energy use – Scope 3 (I.X.3);
 Stationary Energy: energy generation supplied to the grid – Scope 1 (I.4.4);
 Transportation – Scope 1 (II.X.1);
 Transportation – Scope 2 (II.X.2);
 Transportation – Scope 3 (II.X.3);
 Waste: waste generated within the city boundary – Scope 1 (III.X.1);
 Waste: waste generated within the city boundary – Scope 3 (III.X.2);
 Waste: waste generated outside the city boundary – Scope 1 (III.X.3);
 Industrial Processes and Product Use – Scope 1 (IV);
 Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use – Scope 1 (V);
 TOTAL Scope 1 (Territorial emissions);
 TOTAL BASIC emissions;
 TOTAL BASIC and BASIC+ emissions
Emissions Metric Tonnes CO2e
Enter the corresponding quantity of emissions in metric tonnes CO2e.
Please fill in every row of the table with the relevant emissions. Remember to only report data for the
12 month time-period selected in Q C1.0. Please refer to the GHG report spreadsheet provided to you
in C1.9b for further help with these emissions.
Q C1.9b Please provide a breakdown of fuel use and emissions by subsector and scope as
defined in the Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories
(GPC), (WRI, C40 and ICLEI) and attach GHG emissions report.
Please click here to download a spreadsheet which you can use to enter your breakdown of fuel use
and emissions by subsector and scope. Save your completed report and attach it by clicking on ‘Choose
file’, navigate to the file and click ‘Open’. Once you can see the file name in the text field click ‘Attach
& Save’ to attach the document. Please refer to the guidance included within the spreadsheet for advice
on how to use it.
Q C1.11 If protocol besides Global Protocol for Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Inventories (GPC), (WRI, C40 and ICLEI): Do you measure Scope 3 emissions?
Please provide a Yes / No answer using the drop down menu provided. If you answered “Yes” you will
be directed to question Q C1.11a, if you answer “No” you will be directed to question C1.11b
Examples of Scope 3 emissions that a city may include in its community emissions inventory include:
 Emissions from landfills outside the community’s boundary
 Emissions from ships, trains and airplanes used to ferry passengers and freight to and from the
boundary of a community.
For more information on Scope 3 emissions, please see, for example, the ICLEI International Emissions
Analysis Protocol and GPC.
Q C1.11a If yes: Please provide more detail about how you measure Scope 3 emissions,
including total Scope 3 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e.
We anticipate that there will be variations between cities in how Scope 3 emissions are calculated. The
information you provide in the question will assist in making comparison between cities and drawing
lessons learned that can assist cities in selecting and implementing appropriate methods for accurately
measuring and managing this type of emissions.
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This is a table question with three columns to allow explanation of the Scope 3 emissions sources
which are included in the city-wide inventory.
Source of Scope 3 emissions
Select from the drop-down list provided to report the source of your scope 3 emissions:
 Goods and services;
 Upstream emissions from energy use;
 Water;
 Wastewater;
 Road;
 Aviation;
 Waste;
 Transmission and distribution losses;
 Railways;
 Water-borne navigation;
 Food;
 Other
Emissions (metric tonnes CO2e)
Enter the amount of CO2e emitted for each source as a numeric value.
Comment
Provide more detail about your Scope 3 emissions reported.
Q C1.11b If no: Please explain why not and detail your plans to do so in the future, if any.
Please give an account of the reasons behind currently not measuring scope 3 emissions and an insight
into plans to do so in the future.
Q C1.12 Please indicate if your emissions have increased, decreased, or stayed the same since
your last emissions inventory, and please describe why.
The purpose of this table question is to understand the change in your emissions over time and the
factors which have led to that change.
In the ‘Change in emissions’ column, please select how your emissions have changed compared to
the emissions you reported last time:
 Increased;
 Decreased;
 Stayed the same;
 This is our first year of calculation;
 Other
Reason for change
Please indicate some of the reasons you have identified led to this change.
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For example, if you previously reported emissions from 2012 and you are now reporting emissions from
2015 please explain any material difference in the figures. You may be including or excluding different
sources, the methodology may have changed, boundaries may have changed, and/or emissions
reductions actions may have been realized.
Box 12: Example of change in community emissions compared to the year prior
Change in emissions
Please describe why
Decreased
City-wide GHG emissions were 5% lower in
2015 compared to 2012, when we last reported
our inventory. This is due to a combination of
factors including: a successful home energy
efficiency program and further decarbonization
of the national electricity grid
In cases where there is no change from data previously reported indicate that there is no change and
why.
External verification
Q C1.13 Has the GHG emissions data you are currently reporting been externally verified or
audited in part or in whole?
City governments (or any large organization) may see value in having external verification or auditing
of their emissions and emission reduction efforts. This can ensure higher levels of quality control /
quality assurance.
Please respond to this question by selecting “Yes” or “No” from the drop down menu provided. If you
answer “Yes” you will be directed to question Q C1.13a, if you answer “No” you will be directed to
question C1.13b.
Q C1.13a If yes: Please provide the following information about the emissions verification
process.
This is a table question with four columns to provide an opportunity to describe relevant information
about this verification process with the following headings:
Name of verifier
List the names of organizations which have verified your greenhouse gas emissions
Year of verification
Choose a year (between 2000 and 2015) when the verification process took place.
Attach a verification certificate
This function allows you to attach your verification certificate document. To attach a document click on
‘Choose file’, navigate to the file you want to upload and click ‘Open’. Once you can see the file name
in the text field click ‘Attach & Save’ to attach the document. In the “Comments” column, please provide
additional details on your verification process, such as:
 Percentage of emission inventory audited
 Sections of emission inventory audited
Q C1.13b If no: Please describe your plans to verify your emissions in the future.
Please indicate whether plans exist to verify greenhouse gas emissions in the future. If your city is
planning to verify emissions, please provide additional information on the process.
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Strategy
General Guidance
In this section, you will find questions about your city’s strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions
(from your local government’s operations and your community) and adapting to a changing climate and
their effects.
If you have not reported one of the two emissions inventories (local government operations or
community), you will still have the opportunity to answer questions about reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions from both local government operations and community. Please take care to enter your
emissions reduction activities in the correct section. We recognize that city governments may have
greenhouse gas reduction strategies even though they have not completed an inventory yet.
The module is organized into four pages:
 GHG Emission Reduction – Local Government Operations: Questions 6.0-6.1 explore the
emission reduction activities being applied to your city government operations;
 GHG Emission Reduction – Community: Questions 7.0-7.1b explore your emissions
reduction and action planning and governance
 Questions 7.2-7.4 explore the emission reduction activities being applied for your community;
 Renewable Energy: Questions 8.0-8.1 ask about your city’s renewable energy or electricity
targets, as well as strategic planning within the city
 Water: Questions 9.0-9.1 examines risks to your city’s water supply and actions to address
those risks.
Specific Question Guidance
Please read the full action list in Appendix D and ensure that all the actions you are taking are captured
in your response.
GHG Emission Reduction – Local Government Operations
Q 6.0 Do you have a GHG emissions reduction target in place for your local government
operations?
To respond to this question, please select “Yes” or “No” from the drop-down menu. Please note this
question applies to government operations only. Community emission reduction targets will be
addressed later in this section (Q7.0). Responding “Yes” directs you to Question 6.0a, where you will
be asked to provide details of your reduction target; responding “no” directs you to Question 6.0b.
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Q 6.0a If yes: Please provide details of your local government operations emissions reduction
target.
Please provide your response in the table provided under the following headings:
Sector
Please select total emissions in order to report the emissions reduction target for your total local
government emissions inventory. If you have a sector breakdowns of your local government emissions
reduction target, please add a row and select the relevant sector.
Define target boundary
Please define the boundary of the emissions source covered by your reduction target. Your target may
apply to your entire emissions inventory, or it may apply to a select group of emissions sources within
your city government’s operations. Please use sector names consistent with those used in your
emissions inventory.
Baseline year
Please select the appropriate year from the drop down menu provided. Your baseline year (also known
as a “base year” or “representative year”) is the reference year from which your greenhouse gas
reductions are measured. Please ensure the baseline year corresponds to the total emissions
inventory if Total is selected in column 1. If you are reporting a target for a specific sector of your local
government inventory, please provide the baseline year for that sector.
Baseline emissions (metric tonnes CO2e)
Please enter the numerical value of your baseline emissions, without commas. Your baseline emissions
are the greenhouse gas emissions from your baseline year on which your target is based. Please
ensure the baseline emissions corresponds to the total emissions inventory if Total is selected in
column 1. If you are reporting a target for a specific sector of your local government inventory, please
provide the baseline emissions for that sector. Please ensure that the baseline emissions
correspond with the baseline year reported in column 2.
Percentage reduction target
Please enter the numerical value of your percentage reduction target, without commas and without the
percentage symbol (%). If your target is not currently expressed as a percentage, please convert it into
this format (for example an absolute emissions reduction in metric tonnes CO2e can be converted into
a percentage reduction relative to the base year). If this is not possible, please note your target
reduction and other relevant detail in the Comment column for this question.
Target date
Please select the year by which you anticipate achieving your goal from the drop down menu. You are
able to select the years 2016, 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045, 2050. If your target year is not in
the list of values please select “other” and indicate it in the space provided.
Comment
Please provide any other contextualizing information about your reduction target in the Comment
column. If your city has an intensity target (i.e. “emissions reductions relative to productivity or economic
output, for instance, tons CO2/million dollars GDP”, as defined by the WRI) please provide details here.
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Box 13: Example GHG emissions target – Local Government Operations
Sector
Define
target
boundary
Baseline
year
Baseline
emissions
(metric
tonnes CO2e)
Percentage
reduction
target
Target
date
Comment
Total
Total
municipal
inventory
1990
60 000
20
2025
Currently we are well on
the way to meeting our
target and are setting a
target
for
municipal
vehicles.
Add row
Q 6.0b If no: Please explain why you do not have a local government operations emissions
reduction target.
This question offers you the opportunity to provide further information about your plans for emissions
reduction.
Q 6.1 What actions are you undertaking to reduce your emissions in your local government
operations?
This question is an opportunity to provide detail of your activities to reduce emissions from your local
government’s operations.
The ORS offers the opportunity to specify detail on each action you are taking, providing a table with
the following headings to structure your response per action:
Emissions reduction activity
Individual actions fall within a broader group of activity. The list of activities is provided in Appendix C
of the questionnaire.
Anticipated emissions reduction – cumulative over the lifetime of the action (metric tonnes
CO2e)
Please enter the numerical value of the total cumulative anticipated emissions reductions as a result of
the action in metric tonnes CO2e without commas and without unit symbols. This can be an estimate.
The anticipated emissions reduction – cumulative over the lifetime of the action estimates the
total quantity of emissions saved over the lifetime of the energy saving measures installed. In the above
example, if the average lifetime of the energy saving measures is assumed to be 10 years, then the
cumulative reductions from this Action will be approximately 1,000,000 mtCO2e. In another example,
City B plans to replace a coal-fired power station with several smaller gas-fired combined heat and
power (CHP) plants in 2016. Once these are installed, and the coal-fired power station has
been decommissioned, the CHP plants are expected to reduce emission by a combined total of
200,000 mtCO2e per year. The CHP plants are expected to operate for twenty years and thus the
anticipated emissions reduction on a cumulative basis would be 4,000,000 mtCO2e.
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Action description
 The ORS provides a free text box for you to enter further information about your greenhouse
gas reduction efforts. Text can be entered freely into this field but please keep this as concise
as possible.
For explanatory purposes, a sample answer to this question is included in Box 15 on the next page.
Box 14 : Example emissions reduction activities
Emissions
reduction
activity
Anticipated
Action description
emissions
reduction
–
cumulative
over
the
lifetime of the
action (metric
tonnes CO2e)
LED / CFL / 6000
other
luminaire
technologies
With money provided by an LED manufacturer we installed
LEDs in the streetlights surrounding the library and the high
school. This is currently a pilot- if we save the amount of
electricity that is projected we will replace all streetlights in the
downtown area.
Improve bus 1000
infrastructure,
services, and
operations
A study by the technical university found that emissions could
be drastically reduced by implementing a bus rapid transit
program from the suburbs into the city center. We have received
financing for this initiative from a local sponsor but are still
waiting on approvals from the regional government as the bus
route crosses outside the city boundary.
GHG Emission Reduction – Community
Please read the full action list in Appendix D and ensure that all the actions you are taking are captured
in your response.
Q 7.0 Please describe the process by which the city reviews its progress and manages overall
responsibility for climate change.
The intent of Q 7.0 is to understand how climate change action and progress are measured, monitored
and managed. If relevant, details offered could include the following: department, committee, or person
responsible for climate change-related activities; information on frequency of actions or reporting; next
steps for governance and planned future changes; governance challenges encountered; and
stakeholder engagement processes. Use this text box to describe how your city reviews its efforts to
mitigate climate change (that is, reduce greenhouse gas emissions).
Q 7.1 Does your city have a climate change action plan for reducing GHG emissions?
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Please respond to indicate whether your city has a climate change action plan by selecting “yes” or
“no” from the drop down menu. If you select “yes” you will be directed to Question 7.1a. If you select
“no” you will be directed to Question 7.1b.
Further to incorporating sustainability goals into the city’s master plan, this question explores whether
your city has created a separate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This could for
example include a plan for the local public transportation to cut GHG emissions by modernizing the bus
fleet to hybrid vehicles.
If you wish to see an example of a climate change action plan please refer to London’s which
can be found here.
Q 7.1a If yes: Please attach your city’s climate change action plan below.
If you have a climate action plan please provide additional details about it in this question. Please
indicate:
Publication title
State the official name of your city’s climate action plan.
Year of publication
Enter the year the plan was published as a numeric value.
Attach
Click on ‘Choose file’, navigate to the file you want to upload and click ‘Open’. Once you can see the
file name in the text field click ‘Attach & Save’ to attach the document.
Q 7.1b If no: Please describe any future plans to create a city climate change action plan.
Since your city does not currently have a climate action plan, are you planning to establish one in the
future? If so, please describe the areas of climate action already identified and likely to be incorporated
into this plan.
Q 7.2 Do you have a GHG emissions reduction target in place for your community?
To respond to this question, please select “yes” or “no” from the drop-down menu. Please note this
question applies to community emission reduction targets only. Local government operations
emission reduction targets are addressed in the previous questions (6.0). Responding “yes” directs
you to Question 7.0a; responding “no” directs you to Question 7.2b.
Q 7.2a If yes: Please provide details of your city-wide emissions reduction target
This question only applies if you have answered “yes” in Question 7.2. Please provide your response
in the table provided under the following headings:
Sector
Please select total emissions in order to report the emissions reduction target for your total city-wide
emissions inventory. If you have a sector breakdowns of your city-wide emissions reduction target,
please add a row and select the relevant sector.
Define target boundary
Please define the boundary of the emissions source covered by your city-wide emissions reduction
target. Your target may apply to your entire emissions inventory, or it may apply to a select group of
emissions sources within your city-wide emissions. Please use sector names consistent with those
used in your emissions inventory.
Baseline year
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Please select the appropriate year from the drop down menu provided. Your baseline year (also known
as a “base year” or “representative year”) is the reference year from which your greenhouse gas
reductions are measured. Please ensure the baseline year corresponds to the total emissions
inventory if Total is selected in column 1. If you are reporting a target for a specific sector of your local
government inventory, please provide the baseline year for that sector.
Baseline emissions (metric tonnes CO2e)
Please enter the numerical value of your baseline emissions, without commas. Your baseline emissions
are the greenhouse gas emissions from your baseline year on which your target is based. Please
ensure the baseline emissions corresponds to the total emissions inventory if Total is selected in
column 1. If you are reporting a target for a specific sector of your city-wide emissions inventory, please
provide the baseline emissions for that sector. Please ensure that the baseline emissions
correspond with the baseline year reported in column 2.
Percentage reduction target
Please enter the numerical value of your percentage reduction target, without commas and without the
percentage symbol (%). If your target is not currently expressed as a percentage, please convert it into
this format (for example an absolute emissions reduction in metric tonnes CO2e can be converted into
a percentage reduction relative to the base year). If this is not possible, please note your target
reduction and other relevant detail in the Comment column for this question.
Target date
Please select the year by which you anticipate achieving your goal from the drop down menu. You are
able to select the years 2015, 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045, 2050. If your target year is not in
the list of values please select “other” and indicate it in the space provided.
Comment
Please provide any other contextualizing information about your reduction target in the Comment
column. If your city has an intensity target (i.e. “emissions reductions relative to productivity or economic
output, for instance, tons CO2/million dollars GDP”, as defined by the WRI) please provide details here.
See next page for an example response.
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Box 15: Example GHG emissions target – Community
Sector
Define target Baseline
boundary
year
Total
All emissions 2002
within
the
municipality
boundary
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Baseline
emissions
(metric
tonnes CO2e)
6 000 000
Percentage
reduction
target
Target
date
Comment
40
2030
In 2002, we set a target to reduce GHG
emissions by 45% in 2030. This target applies
to all the emission sources covered by our
inventory: buildings, in-boundary transport and
waste. 30% of all our emissions come from
commercial buildings; we have therefore set an
additional target to reduce emissions from this
sector by at least 50%.
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Q 7.2b If no: Please explain why you do not have a city-wide emissions reduction target.
This question only applies if you have answered “no” to Question 7.2. Please provide your response in
the text box provided. This question offers you the opportunity to provide further information about your
plans for emissions reduction.
Q 7.3 What actions are you undertaking to reduce emissions city-wide?
This question requests information about the efforts you are undertaking to reduce community-wide
emissions.
Emissions reduction activity
Individual actions fall within a broader group of activity. The list of activities is provided in Appendix C
of the questionnaire.
Anticipated emissions reduction – cumulative over the lifetime of the action (metric tonnes
CO2e)
Please enter the numerical value of the total cumulative anticipated emissions reductions as a result of
the action in metric tonnes CO2e without commas and without unit symbols. This can be an estimate.
The anticipated emissions reduction – cumulative over the lifetime of the action estimates the
total quantity of emissions saved over the lifetime of the energy saving measures installed. In the above
example, if the average lifetime of the energy saving measures is assumed to be 10 years, then the
cumulative reductions from this Action will be approximately 1,000,000 mtCO2e. In another example,
City B plans to replace a coal-fired power station with several smaller gas-fired combined heat and
power (CHP) plants in 2016. Once these are installed, and the coal-fired power station has
been decommissioned, the CHP plants are expected to reduce emission by a combined total of
200,000 mtCO2e per year. The CHP plants are expected to operate for twenty years and thus the
anticipated emissions reduction on a cumulative basis would be 4,000,000 mtCO2e.
Action description
The ORS provides a free text box for you to enter further information about your greenhouse gas
reduction efforts. Text can be entered freely into this field but please keep this as concise as possible.
Multiple entries can be made using the ‘Add Row’ button to the bottom right of the table.
Renewable Energy
Q 8.0 Please indicate the energy mix of your electricity at the city-wide scale.
The goal of this question is to get a better understanding of the current energy mix of your electricity
grid and the contribution made by renewable technologies at the city-wide scale.
In the first column we have listed the most common sources of energy. Please indicate in the second
column the percentage of each energy source constituting your energy mix, where it is applicable.
Please ensure that the total percentage entered adds up to 100. If the energy source is not applicable
to your electric grid please enter 0.
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Box 16: Example of energy mix for electricity
Energy source
Coal
Percent
20
Gas
30
Oil
7
Nuclear
20
Hydro
0
Biomass
0
Wind
12
Geothermal
0
Solar
11
To prevent you from accidently entering incorrect figures we have added a validation rule to this
question. If the sum of the percentages in column 2 is greater than 100, a warning message will pop
up when the questionnaire is submitted.
Q 8.1 Does your city have a renewable energy or electricity target?
To respond to this question please select the dropdown that is most appropriate to your city:
 Yes – my city has a renewable ELECTRICITY target (directs you to Q 8.1a);
 Yes – my city has a renewable ENERGY target (directs you to Q 8.1b);
 Yes – my city has renewable electricity AND energy targets (directs you to Q 8.1a & Q 8.1b);
 No – my city does not have any renewable energy or electricity targets (directs you to Q 8.1c);
In this context we differentiate energy from electricity as cities may have different targets for each.
Q 8.1a Please provide details of your renewable electricity targets and how the city plans to
meet those targets.
This question will only apply if you have answered Yes – my city has a renewable electricity target or
Yes – my city has renewable electricity and energy targets to question 8.1.
The goal of this question is to understand the targets you have in place regarding renewable electricity
in your city. Please provide your response in the table provided under the following headings:
Scale
Please select which scale your target applies to. This can either be for your local government operations
only or for your community (please see Q 0.2 for definitions).
Total installed capacity of renewable electricity (in MW)
Please enter the numerical value of the projected installed capacity of renewable electricity. For
example your target might be 500 MW of renewable electricity by 2020.
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Proportion of total electricity from renewable energy sources
Please enter the percentage of the projected consumption of renewable electricity. For example your
target might be 20% of your total electricity consumption met by renewable electricity by 2020.
Target Date
Please indicate the date by which you have set your renewable energy target. You are able to select
the years 2015, 2020, 2025, 2030, 2035, 2040, 2045, 2050. If your target year is not in the list of values
please select “other” and indicate it in the space provided.
Plans to meet target (include details on types of energy)
Please be as specific as possible when describing how you are planning to reach your renewable
electricity target and do not hesitate to mention or reference any plans or strategies developed to help
deliver the target.
Box 17: Example of renewable electricity target
Scale
Total
Proportion of Target Date
installed
total electricity
capacity
of from
renewable
renewable
electricity (in energy
MW)
sources
Plans to meet target (include
details on types of energy)
City-wide
750
7.5
2025
We are conducting studies to
determine where solar panels
could be installed to optimize
their production. In order to
implement 750MW of solar
power we plan to launch this in
three phases.
City-wide
300
3
2020
We are currently reviewing
plans
to
either
include
hydropower or wind turbines.
They will be installed after the
solar panels.
Add row
Q 8.1b Please provide details of your renewable energy targets and how the city plans to meet
those targets.
This question will only apply if you have answered Yes – my city has a renewable energy target or Yes
– my city has renewable electricity and energy targets.
The goal of this question is to understand the targets you have in place regarding renewable energy in
your city.
Scale
Please select which scale your target applies to. This can either be for your local government operations
only or for your community (please see Q 0.2 for definitions).
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Total installed capacity of renewable energy (in MW)
Please enter the numerical value of the total planed capacity of renewable energy target. For example
your target might be 1000 MW of renewable electricity by 2020.
Proportion of total electricity from renewable energy sources
Please enter the percentage of the projected consumption of renewable electricity: either from locally
produced electricity sources or purchased from the grid. For example your target might be 20% of your
total electricity consumption met by renewable electricity by 2020.
Target Date
Please indicate the date by which you aim to reach your renewable energy target. From 2013-2020
you are able to select individual years, after 2020 you can select every 5 years period.
Plans to meet target (include details on types of energy)
Please be as specific as possible when describing how you are planning to reach your renewable
energy target and mention or reference any plans or strategies developed to help deliver the target.
Box 18: Example of renewable energy target
Scale
Total
Proportion of Target Date
installed
total
energy
capacity of from
renewable
renewable
energy
(in energy
MW)
sources
Plans to meet target (include
details on types of energy)
City-wide
1000
8
2025
As we are in a mountainous
area we are planning to reach
our target using hydro power.
We are currently working with
the private sector to build the
necessary
infrastructure
including building a dam.
Municipal
300
6
2015
We will be installing a
combined heat and power
generation unit in one of our
municipal unit. The heat
generated will be used for the
building’s heating needs.
Add row
Q 8.1c Please explain why you do not have a renewable energy target or a renewable electricity
target and any plans to introduce one in the future. [Text box]
This question will only apply if you have answered No – my city does not have any renewable energy
or electricity target to question 8.1.
Please provide your response in the text box provided. This is your opportunity to provide further
information about why your city does not have any renewable energy or electricity targets.
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Water Supply Risks
Water is an issue of critical importance for city governments. Ensuring there is ample water for industry,
agriculture and citizens can be an important responsibility of the municipal government. The following
questions relate to the city’s water supply.
Q 9.0 Do you foresee substantive risks to your city`s water supply in the short or long term?
This question asks you to consider risks to the city’s water supply. These risks may or may not be
caused or exacerbated by climate change. Consider risks that stem from physical impacts as well as
those that may result from regulatory, economic or social settings. If you select “Yes” you will be
directed to Questions 9.0a and 9.1. If you select “No” you will be directed to Question 9.0b.
Q 9.0a If yes: Please identify the risks to your city’s water supply as well as the timescale and
level of risk.
This question is structured as a table. Multiple rows can be entered into the table using the ‘Add Row’
button to the bottom right of the table.
Risks to water supply
This question asks you to identify the risk to your water supply. The column provides a drop down list
of options from which to select. The values are:
 Increased water stress or scarcity

Declining water quality

Inadequate or aging infrastructure

Flooding

Higher water prices

Regulatory

Other
Timescale
The table offers four choices for timescale:
 Current - if your city is already experiencing the identified risk to water supply.

Short term - if you anticipate your city will experience the identified risk to water supply by 2025.

Medium term - if you anticipate your city will experience the identified risk to water supply
between 2026 and 2050.

Long term - if you anticipate your city will experience the identified risk to water supply after
2051
Level of risk
This question asks cities to assess the seriousness of the risks to their water supply. The categories
of risk are general and the levels of seriousness are broad so cities should make choices based on
their own assumptions or assessments. Three options are available to describe the level of risk:
 Extremely serious: If you anticipate the risk to your water supply poses the highest level of
potential concern to your city. For example, you might choose this option if fresh water
resources around your city are projected to be depleted in a short timeframe.
 Serious: If you anticipate that the expected effect of climate change to the risk to your water
supply poses a significant level of concern to your city. For example, you might choose this
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
option if your city expects high costs or significant disruption of city operations due to water
supply issues.
Less serious: If you anticipate the risk to your water supply is of a lower level of concern. For
example they may cause minor disruptions to city services, or reduce the ability to maintain
sports fields.
Risk description
The final column of the table gives you an opportunity to comment on the risks you have identified.
Q 9.0b Please explain why you do not consider your city to be exposed to any substantive waterrelated risk.
This question is relevant only if you have answered “No” to question 9.0. This question gives you the
opportunity to explain why your city does not face future risks to its water supply and your process for
evaluating current or future risks.
Water Supply Management
Q 9.1 If you foresee risks to your city’s water supply, please select the actions you are taking
to reduce the risks to your city’s water supply.
This question is relevant only if you have answered “Yes” in Q 9.0.
The purpose of this table is to understand the actions you are taking to reduce the risks to your water
supply which you have identified in question 9.0a. Please note that this year the second column of the
table is no longer a free text but has a list of values.
Risks
This column will be populated automatically with the answers you have given in question 9.0a.
Adaptation action
This column provides an opportunity to detail the adaptation action you are taking in relation to the
water supply risk which you identified. If the adaptation action you are taking is not in the list provided
please select “other” and specify your action.
Action Description
In this column, please provide any additional information about your adaptation action.
Please see Box 19 as an example below for reference.
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Box 19: Examples of supply side risk management actions
Risks
Adaptation action
Declining water quality
Greenspace
watershed
preservation
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Action description
and In order to increase the water quality of the river we
are ensuring that no pesticide is used in parks
bordering water streams
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Compact of Mayors
The Compact of Mayors module is 25 questions from the main questionnaire and 6 additional
questions. By clicking the “Copy from last year” button on each page, you can copy your response from
the twenty questions in the main questionnaire into the Compact of Mayors module. Questions M0.1,
M1.4, M1.4a, M1.6b, M2.3b and M3.1b are the 6 additional questions and will not be copied over.
Please note that attachments do not copy over, and will need to be re-attached to each question.
Additional guidance on the Compact of Mayors module, including requirements is available here. The
Compact of Mayors module can be submitted until 15 December, later than the CDP questionnaire.
COM Overview
 M0.1 – Please attach your city’s letter of intent
 M0.2 – Copies from Q0.1
 M0.3 – Copies from Q0.5 columns 1-4
 M0.4 – Copies from Q0.6 columns 1-4
 M0.5 – Copies from Q0.7 column 2
 M0.6 – Copies from Q0.3 columns 1-5
 M0.7 – Copies from Q0.4 columns 1-4
COM Emissions Inventory
 M1.0 – Copies from Q C1.0
 M1.1 – Copies from Q C1.1
 M1.2 – Copies from Q C1.2 column 1
 M1.3 – Copies from Q C1.3
 M1.4 – Please indicate if your city commits to reporting a GPC inventory
 M1.4a – Please indicate when your city will commit to reporting a GPC inventory
 M1.5 – Copies from Q C1.9a
 M1.5a – Please re-attach your city’s GHG emissions report
COM Emissions Reduction
 M1.6 – Copies from Q7.1
 M1.6a – Copies from Q7.1a columns 1, 2 and 4 (please re-attach your plan in column 3)
 M1.6b – Please complete the table to show where your action plan meets the key criteria
 M1.7 – Copies from Q7.2a columns 1-7
COM Climate Hazards
 M2.0 – Copies from Q2.1a
 M2.1 – Copies from Q2.1c
 M2.2 – Copies from Q2.1d
 M2.3 – Copies from Q2.0
 M2.3a – Copies from Q2.0a (please re-attach your risk/vulnerability assessment in column 3)
 M2.3b – Please complete the table to show where you risk assessment meets the key criteria
COM Adaptation
 M3.0 – Copies from Q3.1
 M3.0a– Copies from Q3.1a columns 1 and 3 (please re-attach the commitment in column 2)
 M3.1 – Column 1 copies from Q3.2, in column 2 please select the type of plan
 M3.1a – Copies from Q3.2a column 1-2 and columns 4-6 (please re-attach your plan)
 M3.1b – Please complete the table to show where you plan meets the key criteria
 M3.2 – Please re-attach the completed template of additional questions
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Appendix 1
Glossary
This glossary defines terms that may be unfamiliar to those responding to CDP for the first time.
Definitions have been sourced from the GHG Protocol, CDP staff and the IPCC Assessment Reports.
Accuracy
Relative measure of the exactness of an emission or removal estimate.
Adaptation
The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. In human systems, adaptation
sees to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.
British thermal unit (Btu or BTU)
The British thermal unit is a unit of heat energy equivalent to 1.055 KJoules. 1 Therm is equivalent to
100,000 Btus.
Climate adaptation plan
A climate adaptation plan outlines the planned alterations to the city’s systems in response to actual or
anticipated climate change. It should cover the services and departments directly managed by the city
government and may also consider the actions required by other stakeholders3. The aim of such a plan
is to ensure that climate change risks are addressed in a preventive manner by putting in place a set
of concrete measures to tackle those risks
Climate change action plan
A climate change action lays out a strategy, including specific policy recommendations, that a … [city]
will use to address climate change and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.4
Climate Hazard
The potential occurrence of dangerous climate-related physical events or trends, that may cause loss
of life, injury or other health impacts, as well as damage and loss to property, infrastructure, livelihoods,
service provision, and environmental resources.
Community Inventory
See Emissions Inventory
3
Based on the glossary document of the IPCC
IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part B: Regional Aspects. Contribution of
Working 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.
4
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As seen on http://www.epa.gov/statelocalclimate/state/stateexamples/action-plans.html on 22 January 2014
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Consolidation approach
The identification of departments, facilities, operations etc. for inclusion within the reporting boundary
(see definition of reporting boundary below) of the responding city is known as the “consolidation
approach”. The way in which you report information for the cities that are included within the reporting
boundary is known as the “consolidation approach” because, unless stated otherwise, the information
you provide in response to the questionnaire should be presented as one “consolidated” result covering
all of the departments, facilities, operations etc within your reporting boundary. The GHG Protocol, for
example, states that two distinct approaches may be used to consolidate GHG emissions; the equity
share and the control approaches. Control can be defined in either financial (financial control) or
operational (operational control) terms.
Conversion to US Dollars
Cities are requested to provide financial data in US Dollars to aid comparability. For assistance in
converting from local currency to US dollars, see http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/ . Select
the 31st December 2014 as the DATE and the Interbank rate from the RATE drop down box.
Emission factor
An emission factor is a unique value for scaling emissions to activity data in terms of a standard rate of
emissions per unit of activity (e.g., grams of CO2 emitted per liter of fossil fuel consumed). Emission
factors allow GHG emissions to be estimated from a unit of available activity data. Emissions factors
are sometimes referred to as emission conversion factors.
Emissions inventory
An emissions inventory describes the collation of GHG data for an established reporting boundary. Two
different emissions inventories can be applied to cities:
Local Government Operations Inventory – relates to emissions arising from the operations of the local
government. This can also be referred to as a Government Operations, Corporate or Municipality
Inventory.
Community Inventory – relates to emissions that fall within a specific geopolitical boundary. This can
also be referred to as a Geographic or City-wide Inventory. The Local Government Operations
Inventory is a subset of the Community Inventory.
Emissions reduction activity
Grouping of similar actions, such as the actions of Minimum Density Requirements and Promotion of High
Density Offices which belong to the activity of Compact Cities.
Energy type
Energy includes electricity, heat, steam and cooling. Cooling is included in this list because when
cooling services are purchased using a district system, the compressor system that produces the
cooling may be driven by either electricity or fossil fuel combustion.
Energy units
Fuel can be measured in terms of its:
Energy content e.g. in kilojoules (kJ), British thermal units (Btu), or therms;
Volume e.g. in m3 or liters; and
Mass e.g. in metric tonnes or short tons.
Financial control
An organization has financial control over an operation where it has the ability to direct the financial
and operating policies of that operation with a view to gaining economic benefits from its activities.
Generally an organization has financial control over an operation for GHG accounting purposes if the
operation is treated as a group company or subsidiary for the purposes of financial consolidation.
Fuel type
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Fuel types include: natural gas; types of coal or coal-derived fuels, such as anthracite, coking coal, coal
tar; types of biomass and biofuel; crude oil and crude oil-derived substances, such as residual fuel oil,
motor gasoline (petrol), and diesel. A list of fuel definitions is provided in Appendix A2.
Fugitive emissions
Intentional and unintentional releases such as equipment leaks from joint, seals, packing, gaskets, as
well as fugitive emissions from coal piles, wastewater treatment, pits, cooling towers, gas processing
facilities, etc.
Geographical Information System (GIS)
A geographic information system (GIS), geographical information system, or geospatial information
system is any system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that are linked to
location.
GJ
A Gigajoule (GJ) is equal to one billion (109) joules. A joule is the SI unit of work or energy, equal to the
work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves through a distance of one
meter in the direction of the force.
GHG type
There are various types of greenhouse gases, but the information request focuses on reporting of the
six GHGs covered by the Kyoto Protocol plus one addition:
 Carbon dioxide (CO2);
 Methane (CH4);
 Nitrous oxide (N20);
 Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) family of gases;
 Perfluorocarbons (PFCs) family of gases; and
 Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6)
 Nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).
Global warming potential (GWP)
The GHG Protocol defines a global warming potential (GWP) as “A factor describing the radiative
forcing impact (degree of harm to the atmosphere) of one unit of a given GHG relative to one unit of
CO2.” By using GWPs, GHG emissions can be standardized to a carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).
GWPs allow the effect of different GHGs to be expressed using carbon dioxide as a reference. For
example, the impact on the atmosphere of one unit of methane over a 100-year time span is 21 times
greater than one unit of CO2 (according to the IPCC’s second assessment report). Hence, methane’s
global warming potential (GWP) over a 100-year period is 21.
Estimates of GWPs have changed over time as scientific understanding has developed. However, for
the sake of consistency, the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
are continuing to use the GWPs from the Second Assessment Report (“SAR”) from the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. As the GWPs from the SAR are used as the basis for
international negotiations under the Kyoto Protocol, CDP also recommends that they be used for
disclosing GHG emissions in response to the CDP information request.
For those gases not assigned a GWP in the SAR, please use the latest GWPs given in the Fourth
Assessment Report. Please explain the source of the GWPs you are using.
The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) gives the latest GWP values as well as GWPs from the SAR.
Go to table 2.14, page 212, in Chapter 2 of Working Group 1’s report, available from the IPCC website.
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GWPs are expressed over a number of different time frames. Please use the factors that give the GWP
over a 100-year time span. For gases without a value in the SAR column, please use the 100-year
value in the seventh column of table 2.14.
Grid average emissions factor
The grid average factor represents the relative contributions that different types of electrical generation
make to electricity available from the grid and their associated emission rates.
Gross emissions
Gross means total emissions before any deductions or other adjustments are made to take account of
GHG mitigation activities, offset credits, renewable energy certificates, avoided emissions from the use
of goods and services and/or reductions attributable to the sequestration or transfer of GHGs.
GWh
The gigawatt hour (GWh) is a unit of energy equal to one billion (109) watt hours. The GWh is commonly
used in metering electrical use in large installations such as industrial plants and in power generation.
Inventory
See Emissions Inventory
Local Government Operations Inventory
See Emissions Inventory
kWh
The kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of energy equal to one thousand (103) watt hours. The kWh is
commonly used in metering electrical use in residential properties.
Master Plan
A master plan describes and maps an overall development concept, including present and future land
use, urban design and landscaping, built form, infrastructure, circulation and service provision. It is
based upon an understanding of place and it is intended to provide a structured approach to creating
a clear and consistent framework for development.5
Metric tonne
A metric tonne is equivalent to 2,204.6lbs. The “long ton”, a term generally used in Britain, is equivalent
to 2,240lbs and the “short ton” is generally used in the USA and is equivalent to 2,000 lbs.
Metric tonne of CO2
A metric tonne of carbon dioxide. Please note that a metric tonne is equivalent to 2,204.6lbs. The “long
ton”, a term generally used in Britain, is equivalent to 2,240lbs and the “short ton” is generally used in
the USA and is equivalent to 2,000 lbs.
Metric tonne of CO2e
Emissions under the “scopes” must be reported in metric tonnes of CO2e: CO2e stands for carbon
dioxide equivalent. A metric tonne of CO2e means one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or an amount of
any of the other GHGs with an equivalent global warming potential.
Methodology/method
The set of instructions that enable a GHG calculation to be made and repeated in a consistent manner,
irrespective of the person performing the calculation.
2
The Scottish Government. As seen on http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/11/10114526/2 on 14 November
2012.
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MJ
A Megajoule (MJ) is equal to one million (106) joules. A joule is the SI unit of work or energy, equal to
the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves through a distance of one
meter in the direction of the force.
Mobile combustion
Mobile combustion: mobile units that combust (consume) fuels e.g. transport vehicles or mobile
equipment such as cranes and tractors.
MWh
The Megawatt hour (MWh) is a unit of energy equal to one million (106) watt hours. The MWh is
commonly used in metering electrical use in large installations such as industrial plants and in power
generation.
Operational control
Operational control is one of the control approaches that can be used to consolidate and report GHG
emissions. A city has operational control of another company if it, or one of its subsidiaries, has the full
authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the company.
Opportunities
Opportunities can arise from climate change due to changes in physical and/or social/regulatory
conditions. This can lead to improvements in living, working or economic conditions for the local
government and the city’s inhabitants.
Process
Generally the term “process” implies the means, framework or policy by which a city identifies risks
and/or opportunities. This process is likely to differ from city to city and may consist of one or more of
the following:



An internal system of risk management applied throughout the city to identify operational risks
and opportunities (including those associated with climate change);
A process dedicated solely to the identification of risks and opportunities associated solely with
climate change; and
A process that forms part of the city’s overall approach to governance and/or compliance.
Protocol
A record of an agreement, especially one reached through international negotiations. For the purposes
of the information request, it means an agreed system for accounting for GHG emissions e.g. the GHG
Protocol.
Risk
The potential for consequences when something of human value (including humans themselves) is at
stake and where the outcome is uncertain. Risk is the probability of a hazardous event or trend,
multiplied by the consequence if this event occurs.
Reporting boundary
Your reporting boundary represents the owned and/or controlled group, , departments, companies,
businesses or organizations to which your response relates, determined by reference to your chosen
“consolidation approach”. References in the information request to “your city” are to the group,
company, companies, businesses or organizations within your reporting boundary for each individual
inventory (local government operations or community).
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The way in which you identify the bodies that are included within the reporting boundary is known as
the “consolidation approach” because unless stated otherwise, the information you provide in response
to the information request should be presented as one “consolidated” result covering all of the entities
within your reporting boundary.
Reporting year
The latest 12-month period for which emissions data has been calculated. Any start or end date may
be selected for your reporting year as long as it encompasses a full 12 months. Where insufficient data
is available cities are requested to extrapolate to cover the full 12 month period. However, the end date
for the reporting period should not be in the future.
Renewable energy
CDP follows the definition of renewable energy given in the GHG Protocol: “Energy taken from sources
that are inexhaustible, e.g. wind, water, solar, geothermal energy and biofuels.”
Scope 1 GHG emissions
All direct GHG emissions (with the exception of direct CO2 emissions from biogenic sources).
Scope 2 GHG emissions
These emissions do not physically occur from within the organization’s reporting boundary and are
therefore “indirect” emissions. They are associated with the consumption of purchased or acquired
electricity, steam, heating, or cooling.
Scope 3 GHG emissions
They are from sources that are not owned or controlled by the reporting entity but which occur as a
result of its activities. As such, Scope 3 comprises all other indirect emissions not covered in Scope 2,
such as emissions resulting from the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels,
transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity (e.g., employee
commuting and business travel), outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc.
Short ton
A short ton is a unit of weight generally used in the USA and is equivalent to 2,000lbs. This differs from
a metric tonne which is equivalent to 2,204.6lbs and The “long ton”, a term generally used in Britain, is
equivalent to 2,240lbs.
Significance
Significance can only be determined within the context of a specific city. It will depend on the sectors
and regulatory regimes in which the city operates. For example, a numerically small variation may be
significant if it brings a city operation within the scope of regulatory requirement. Except where
otherwise stated, we therefore ask cities to use their judgment to evaluate significance.
Standard
In the context of the CDP information request, a standard refers to a widely-accepted GHG accounting
methodology such as the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard or ISO 14064-1.
Stationary combustion
Fixed units for on-site combustion of fuels e.g. boilers, turbines, ovens, incinerators, dryers, etc.
Therm (thm)
The therm is a unit of heat energy equivalent to 100,000 British therm units (Btu).
TJ
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A Terajoule (TJ) is equal to one trillion (1012) joules. A joule is the SI unit of work or energy, equal to
the work done by a force of one newton when its point of application moves through a distance of one
meter in the direction of the force.
Uncertainty
Statistical definition: A parameter associated with the result of a measurement that characterizes the
dispersion of the values that could be reasonable attributed to the measured quantity (e.g., the sample
variance or coefficient of variation).
Inventory definition: A general and imprecise term which refers to the lack of certainty in emissionsrelated data resulting from any causal factor, such as the application of non-representative factors or
methods, incomplete data on sources and sinks, lack of transparency etc. Reported uncertainty
information typically specifies a quantitative estimate of the likely or perceived difference between a
reported value and a qualitative description of the likely causes of the difference.
Verification
A verification exercise is a review process, conducted by an independent or third party, of all or part of
the information disclosed to CDP. The verification exercise, or process of review, leads to the
independent or third party being able to provide the intended users of information with an opinion about
whether the information concerned is presented fairly and accurately.
Zero or low carbon electricity
Certain methods of generating electricity do not emit GHGs or emit relatively low amounts of GHGs
compared with other forms of electricity generation (although GHGs are emitted during other phases
of their lifecycle, such as in the manufacture, installation and/or maintenance of the generator).
Examples of zero or low carbon electricity include nuclear generation and electricity generated by wind,
water, solar and geothermal heat. For the purpose of the information request, these methods are
referred to as zero or low carbon methods of generation.
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Appendix 2
Fuel Definitions
All fuels listed in Appendix B of the questionnaire have been defined below. The definitions are taken
from the WRI Greenhouse Gas Protocol Stationary Combustion Tool, Version 4.0.
SOLID FOSSIL FUELS
Bitumen
A dark brown-to-black cement-like material obtained by petroleum processing and containing bitumens
as the predominant component; used primarily for road construction. It includes crude asphalt as well
as the following finished products: cements, fluxes, the asphalt content of emulsions (exclusive of
water), and petroleum distillates blended with asphalt to make cutback asphalts. This category includes
fluidized and cut back bitumen. See tar sand.
Coal (Anthracite )
Anthracite is a high rank coal used for industrial and residential applications. It has generally less than
10% volatile matter and a high carbon content (about 90% fixed carbon). Its gross calorific value is
greater than 23,865 kJ/kg (5,700 kcal/kg) on an ash-free but moist basis.
Coal (Bituminous or Black coal)
A dense coal, usually black, sometimes dark brown, often with well-defined bands of bright and dull
material, used primarily as fuel in steam-electric power generation, with substantial quantities also used
for heat and power applications in manufacturing and to make coke.
Coking coal
Coking coal refers to bituminous coal with a quality that allows the production of a coke suitable to
support a blast furnace charge. Its gross calorific value is greater than 23,865 kJ/kg (5,700 kcal/kg) on
an ash-free but moist basis.
Petroleum coke
A black solid residue, obtained mainly by cracking and carbonizing of residue feedstocks, tar and
pitched in processes such as delayed coking or fluid coking. It consists mainly of carbon (90 to 95%)
and has a low ash content. It is used as a feedstock in coke ovens for the steel industry, for heating
purposes, for electrode manufacture and for production of chemicals. The two most important qualities
are “green coke” and “calcinated coke”. This category also includes “catalyst coke” deposited on the
catalyst during refining processes: this coke is not recoverable and is usually burned as refinery fuel.
Waste Municipal (Non-biomass fraction)
Non-biomass fraction of municipal waste includes waste produced by households, industry, hospitals
and the tertiary sector which are incinerated at specific installation and are used for energy purposes.
Only the fraction of the fuel that is non-biodegradable should be included here.
LIQUID FOSSIL FUELS
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Aviation gasoline
Aviation gasoline is motor spirit prepared especially for aviation piston engines, with an octane number
suited to the engine, a freezing point of -60°C and a distillation range usually within the limits of 30°C
and 180°C.
Crude oil
Crude oil is a mineral oil consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons of natural origin, being yellow to black
in color, of variable density and viscosity. It also includes lease condensate (separator liquids), which
are recovered from gaseous hydrocarbons in lease separating facilities.
Distillate fuel oil
A general classification for one of the petroleum fractions produced in conventional distillation
operations. It includes fuels and fuel oils.
Distillate fuel oil No. 1: A light petroleum distillate that can be used as either a diesel fuel or a fuel oil.
Distillate fuel oil No. 2: A petroleum distillate that can be used as either a diesel fuel or a fuel oil.
Distillate fuel oil No. 4: A fuel oil made by blending distillate fuel oil and residual fuel oil stocks.
Distillate fuel oil No. 5 see Residual fuel oil
Distillate fuel oil No. 6 see Residual fuel oil
Diesel/ Gas oil
Gas/diesel oil includes heavy gas oils. Gas oils are obtained from the lowest fraction from atmospheric
distillation of crude oil, while heavy gas oils are obtained by vacuum redistillation of the residual from
atmospheric distillation. Gas/diesel oil distils between 180°C and 380°C. Several grades are available
depending on uses: diesel oil for diesel compression ignition (cars, trucks, marine, etc.), light heating
oil for industrial and commercial uses and other gas oil including heavy gas oils which distil between
380°C and 540°C and are used as petrochemical feedstocks.
Jet gasoline
This includes all light hydrocarbon oils for use in aviation turbine power units. They distil between 100°C
and 250°C. It is obtained by blending kerosenes and gasoline or naphthas in such a way that the
aromatic content does not exceed 25% in volume, and the vapor pressure is between 13.7 kPa and
20.6 kPa. Additives can be included to improve stability and combustibility.
Jet kerosene
This is medium distillate used for aviation turbine power units. It has the same distillation characteristics
and flash point as kerosene (between 150°C and 300°C but not generally above 250°C). In addition, it
has particular specifications (such as freezing point) which are established by the International Air
Transport Association (IATA).
Motor gasoline (petrol)
This is light hydrocarbon oil for use in internal combustion engines such as motor vehicles, excluding
aircraft. Motor gasoline in distilled between 35°C and 215°C and is used as a fuel for land based spark
ignition engines. Motor gasoline may include additives, oxygenated and octane enhancers, including
lead compounds such as TEL (Tetraethyl lead) and TML (Tetramethyl lead).
Naphtha
Naphtha is a feedstock destined either for the petrochemical industry (e.g. ethylene manufacture or
aromatics production) or for gasoline production by reforming or isomerization within the refinery.
Naphtha comprises material in the 30°C and 210°C distillation range or part of this range.
Pitch
Any various thick, dark, sticky substances obtained from the distillation residue of coal tar, wood tar or
petroleum and used for waterproofing, roofing, caulking, and paving.
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Residual fuel oil
This heading defines oils that make up the distillation residue. It comprises all residual fuel oils,
including those obtained by blending. Its kinematic viscosity is above 0.1cm2 at 80°C. The flash point
is always above 50°C and the density is always more than 0.90kg/l. Includes Distillate fuel oil No. 5
and Distillate fuel oil No. 6.
GASEOUS FOSSIL FUELS
Butane
A normally gaseous straight-chain or branch-chain hydrocarbon extracted from natural gas or refinery
gas streams.
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
CNG is natural gas for use in special CNG vehicles, where it is stored in high-pressure fuel cylinders
(typically 2000 to 3600 psi). CNG's use stems in part from its clean burning properties, as it produces
fewer exhaust and greenhouse gas emissions than motor gasoline or diesel oil. It is used most
frequently in light-duty passenger vehicles and pickup trucks, medium-duty delivery trucks, and in
transit and school buses.
Kerosene
A petroleum distillate that has a maximum distillation temperature of 401 degrees Fahrenheit (205
degrees Celsius) at the 10% recovery point, a final boiling point of 572 degrees Fahrenheit (300
degrees Celsius) and a minimum flash point of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Comprises refined petroleum
distillate intermediate in volatility between gasoline and gas/diesel oil. Used in space heaters,
cookstoves, and water-heaters and suitable for use as an illuminant when burned in wick lamps.
Liquefied petroleum gases (LPG)
These are the light hydrocarbons fraction of the paraffin series, derived from refinery processes, crude
oil stabilization plants and natural gas processing plants comprising propane (C3H8) and butane
(C4H10) or a combination of the two. They are normally liquefied under pressure for transportation and
storage.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG)
Natural gas cooled to approximately -160°C (-256°F) under atmospheric pressure condenses to its
liquid form called LNG. LNG is odorless, colorless, non-corrosive and non-toxic.
Methane
A hydrocarbon that is a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential recently estimated to be 21
times higher than CO2 over a 100 year time frame. Methane is produced through anaerobic (without
oxygen) decomposition of waste landfills, animal digestion, decomposition of animal wastes, production
and distribution of natural gas and petroleum, coal production and incomplete fossil fuel combustion.
Natural gas
Natural gas should include: (1) Blended natural gas (sometimes also referred to as Town Gas or City
Gas), a high calorific value obtained as a blend of natural gas with other gases; (2) City Gas, a high
calorific value gas obtained as a blend of natural gas with other gases derived from other primary
products, and usually distributed through the natural gas grid (e.g. coal seam methane); (3) Substitute
natural gas, a high calorific value gas, manufactured by chemical conversion of a hydrocarbon fossil
fuel, where the main raw materials are: natural gas, coal, oil and oil shale.
Propane
A normally gaseous straight-chain hydrocarbon. It is a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a
temperature of -43.67°F (-42.04°C). It is extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams.
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Town gas or city gas
Natural gas should include blended natural gas (sometimes also referred to as Town Gas or City Gas),
a high calorific value gas obtained as a blend of natural gas with other gases derived from other primary
products, and usually distributed through the natural gas grid (e.g. coal seam methane). Blended
natural gas should include substitute natural gas, a high calorific value gas, manufactured by chemical
conversion of a fossil fuel, where the main raw materials are: natural gas, coal, oil and oil shale.
BIOMASS
Biodiesels
Biodiesels should only contain that part of the fuel that relates to the quantities of biofuel and not to the
total volume of liquids into which the biofuels are blended. This category includes biodiesel (a methylester produced from vegetable or animal oil, of diesel quality), biodimethylether (dimethylether
produced from biomass), fischer tropsh (fischer tropsh produced from biomass), cold pressed bio oil
(oil produced from oil seed through mechanical processing only) and all other liquid biofuels which are
added to, blended with or used straight as transport diesel.
Biogas
A gas composed principally of methane (50-60%) and carbon dioxide produced by anaerobic digestion
of biomass, comprising:
 Landfill gas, formed by the digestion of landfill wastes;
 Sewage sludge gas, produced from the anaerobic fermentation of sewage sludge;
 Other biogas, such as biogas produced from the anaerobic fermentation of animal slurries and
of wastes in abattoirs, breweries and other agro-food industries
Biogasoline
Biogasoline should only contain that part of the fuel that relates to the quantities of biofuel and not to
the total volume of liquids into which biofuels are blended. This category includes bioethanol (ethanol
produced from biomass and/or the biodegradable fraction of waste), biomethanol (methanol produced
from biomass and/or the biodegradable fraction of waste), bioETBE (ethyl-tertio-butyl-ether produced
on the basis of bioethanol: the percentage by volume of bioETBE that is calculate as biofuel is 47%)
and bioMTBE (methyl-tertio-butyl-ether produced on the basis of biomethanol: the percentage by
volume or bioMTBE that is calculated as biofuel is 36%).
Ethanol
Otherwise known as ethyl alcohol, alcohol, or grain spirit. A clear, colorless, flammable oxygenated
hydrocarbon with a boiling point of 78.5 degrees Celsius (173.3 degrees Fahrenheit) in the anhydrous
state. Ethanol is typically produced chemically from ethylene, or biologically from fermentation of
various sugars from carbohydrates found in agricultural crops and cellulosic residues from crops or
wood. In transportation, ethanol is used as a vehicle fuel by itself (E100), blended with gasoline (E85),
or as a gasoline octane enhancer and oxygenate (10 percent concentration).
E85
A blend of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent denatured ethanol by volume.
Landfill gas
Landfill gas is derived from the anaerobic fermentation of biomass and solid wastes in landfills and may
be combusted to produce heat and/or power.
Wood or Wood waste
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Wood and wood waste combusted directly for energy. This category also includes wood for charcoal
production but not the actual production of charcoal (this would be double counting since charcoal is a
secondary product).
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Appendix 3
Conversion of Electricity, Heat, Steam and Cooling data to MWh
Electricity
If you do not have data on purchased electricity in MWh, it can readily be converted from kWh or GWh
into MWh.
 To convert from kWh to MWh, divide the figure by 1000.
 To convert from GWh to MWh, multiply the figure by 1000.
Heat and steam
Heat and steam may be bought in British thermal units (Btu), joules (J), and therms, which can be
converted to MWh using a calculation tool such as www.onlineconversion.com. Heat is also sometimes
bought in kWh, making conversion to MWh straightforward.
Steam may also be bought in units of pounds. Conversion is more difficult as the energy content of the
steam varies with temperature and pressure. We would refer organizations to The Climate Registry’s
General Reporting Protocol. Chapter 15, section 15.2, step 1 explains how to calculate the energy
content of steam.
Cooling
This is frequently bought in refrigeration-ton hours. 1 ton-hour=12,000 Btu=0.003516 MWh.
Conversion of fuel data to MWh
Some questions in the ORS ask for energy and fuel inputs to be reported according to standardized
units commonly used for measuring electricity consumption, i.e.: MWh.
Energy and fuel inputs mean the energy content of:


Fuels before combustion in operations/assets within your reporting boundary; and
The amount of purchased energy inputs which include electricity, heat, steam and cooling for
use by those operations/assets.
This section of the Appendix provides guidance on how to convert fuel data to MWh.
Fuel can be measured in terms of:



Energy content e.g. in kilojoules (kJ), British thermal units (Btu) or therms;
o Volume e.g. in m3 or liters; and
o Mass e.g. in metric tonnes or short tons.
The way in which fuel data may be converted to MWh depends upon whether information about
fuel is expressed in terms of energy content, volume or mass and guidance on conversion for
each measurement is set out below.
For fuel inputs, we ask for the energy content of fuels prior to combustion.
o Please include in your calculations the energy content of any biomass and self-produced
fuels that you use for stationary combustion. Self-produced fuels are fuels produced by
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assets or activities within your reporting boundary that are combusted for energy
generation. This is common in the oil and gas sector, e.g. refinery fuel gas, associated
gas, etc.
If you have your fuel data in an energy unit, you can convert it to MWh using a conversion tool such as:
www.onlineconversion.com
If your fuel data is in units of volume or mass and you know the energy content of your fuel
1. If your fuel consumption is measured by volume or mass you need to obtain the energy content
of the fuel in corresponding units, e.g. kJ/liter, kJ/m3, kJ/metric tonne. This is usually called the
calorific value or heating value. It may be obtained from your fuel supplier or you may have your
own values generated by your own tests.
2. Multiply the fuel volume or mass by the calorific value (or heating value) in the appropriate units
i.e. if the fuel data is in metric tonnes, then the calorific value must be expressed in energy units
per metric tonnes. This gives you the energy content of the fuel used.
3. Take the resulting figure and convert it to MWh using a conversion tool.
If your fuel data is in units of volume or mass and you do not know the energy content of the fuel

If you cannot obtain a calorific value (or heating value) specific to the fuel you purchase, default
heating values may be used. Default heating values are reproduced below from the GHG
Protocol’s stationary combustion Excel spreadsheet 3.1(1). Please note: These default values
are meant only to provide guidance for users who are developing their own values. Users are
encouraged to develop their own values based on the actual characteristics of the fuel being
combusted. The GHG Protocol has produced a new tool version 4.0. Its simpler and clearer
user interface means that some reference data such as the figures below are no longer visible.
Higher
Heating
Values (HHV) /
Gross
Calorific
Values
(GCV)
units TJ/Gg
Lower
Heating
Values (LHV) /
Net
Calorific
Values
(NCV)
units TJ/Gg
44.53
42.3
28.95
27.5
46.53
44.2
Motor Gasoline
46.63
44.3
Aviation Gasoline
46.63
44.3
Jet Gasoline
46.63
44.3
Jet Kerosene
46.42
44.1
Other Kerosene
46.11
43.8
Shale oil
40.11
38.1
Gas/Diesel oil
45.26
43
Residual Fuel oil
42.53
40.4
Fuel Type
Crude oil & Crude oil
derived
substances Orimulsion
Natural Gas Liquids
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Higher
Heating
Values (HHV) /
Gross
Calorific
Values
(GCV)
units TJ/Gg
Lower
Heating
Values (LHV) /
Net
Calorific
Values
(NCV)
units TJ/Gg
Liquefied Petroleum Gases
49.79
47.3
Ethane
48.84
46.4
Naphtha
46.84
44.5
Bitumen
42.32
40.2
Lubricants
42.32
40.2
Petroleum coke
34.21
32.5
Refinery feedstocks
45.26
43
Refinery Gas
55.00
49.5
Paraffin waxes
42.32
40.2
White Spirit & SBP
42.32
40.2
Other petroleum products
42.32
40.2
28.11
26.7
29.68
28.2
27.16
25.8
Sub-bituminous coal
19.89
18.9
Lignite
12.53
11.9
Oil shale and tar sands
9.37
8.9
Brown coal briquettes
21.79
20.7
Patent fuel
21.79
20.7
Coke oven coke & lignite coke
29.68
28.2
Gas coke
29.68
28.2
Coal tar
29.47
28
Gas works gas
43.00
38.7
Coke oven gas
43.00
38.7
Blast furnace gas
2.74
2.47
Oxygen steel furnace gas
7.84
7.06
Natural gas
Natural Gas
53.33
48
Nonbiomass
waste fuels
Municipal wastes (non-biomass fraction) 10.53
10
Industrial wastes
NA
NA
Waste oils
42.32
40.2
Peata
10.27
9.76
Fuel Type
Coal
& Anthracite
derived
substances Coking coal
Other bituminous coal
Peat
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Higher
Heating
Values (HHV) /
Gross
Calorific
Values
(GCV)
units TJ/Gg
Lower
Heating
Values (LHV) /
Net
Calorific
Values
(NCV)
units TJ/Gg
Wood/Wood waste
16.42
15.6
Sulphite lyes (Black liquor)
12.42
11.8
Other primary solid biomass fuels
12.21
11.6
Charcoal
31.05
29.5
Biogasoline
28.42
27
Biodiesels
28.42
27
Other liquid biofuels
28.84
27.4
Landfill gasb
56.00
50.4
Sludge gasb
56.00
50.4
Other biogas
56.00
50.4
Municipal wastes (biomass fraction)
12.21
11.6
Fuel Type
Biomass
fuels
Please note that the heating values in Table 1 are given in units of TJ/Gg, where the prefixes T and G
stand for “tera” and “giga” and correspond respectively to multiplication factors of 10 12 and 109. When
using the tabulated values for heating values, please ensure that your fuel use figures are in the correct
units.
If your fuel measurements are in units of mass
1. If your figures are already in metric units of mass, convert them to Gg or Giga grams. The online
converter has a webpage that can be used to convert between different metric units. The
website can also be used to convert to Gg if your figures are in other units of mass e.g. short
tons and pounds.
2. Select the appropriate default calorific value (or heating value) from Table 1 above and multiply
it by your mass figure in Gg. The resulting figure will be in TJ.
3. Convert to MWh using the online converter.
If your fuel measurements are in units of volume
1. If your fuels are gases or liquids and are in units of volume, convert to units of mass. To do this,
organizations will need to know the density of the fuel. Organizations are encouraged to develop
their own values based on the actual characteristics of the fuel being combusted. However, if
you do not have density data specific to your fuel, you could use default density values from
Table 2 below which was sourced from the GHG Protocol stationary combustion spreadsheet
version 3.1(1).
2. Multiply the units of volume by the appropriate density values from Table 2 below to convert
them to units of mass. Check that you are using the appropriate conversion factors i.e. if your
data is in cubic feet do not use the conversion factor for cubic meters; use the conversion factor
for cubic feet.
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3. Convert the data into Gg or Giga grams. The online converter has a webpage that can be used
to convert between different metric units. The conversion calculator can also be used to convert
to Gg if your figures are in other units of mass e.g. short tons and pounds.
4. Select the appropriate default calorific value (or heating value) from Table 1 above and multiply
it by your mass figure in Gg. The resulting figure will be in TJ.
5. Convert to MWh using the online converter.
Gaseous (kg/m3)a,b
Liquid (kg/L)b
Gaseous (lb/ft3)a,b
Liquid (lb/gal)b
Range
Typical
Range
Range
Typical
Range
Typical
Natural gas
0.6-0.9
0.7
0.037-0.055
0.043
Natural gas (dry)
0.6-0.9
0.7
0.037-0.056
0.043
Methane
-
0.67
-
0.042
Ethane
-
1.3
-
0.079
Propane
-
1.9
-
0.12
Butane
-
2.5
-
0.16
Isobutane
-
2.5
-
0.16
n-Butane
-
2.5
-
0.16
Fuel Type
Typical
Coal-based fuels
Anthracite coal
Bituminous coal
Sub-bituminous coal
Lignite coal
Coal coke
Patent fuel
BKB
Natural gas-based fuelsc
Natural gas liquids (LNG)
0.42-0.54
0.47
3.5-4.5
3.9
Crude oil
0.7-0.9
0.8
5.8-7.5
6.7
Motor gasoline / petrol
0.73-0.76
0.74
6.1-6.3
6.2
Aviation gasoline
0.7-0.72
0.71
5.8-6.0
5.9
Distillate Oil
0.82-0.95
0.84
6.8-7.9
7.0
Distillate fuel oil No.1
0.82-0.85
0.84
6.8-7.1
7.0
Distillate fuel oil No.2
0.82-0.85
0.85
6.8-7.1
7.1
Distillate fuel oil No.4
0.91-0.95
0.93
7.6-7.9
7.8
Residual Oil
0.93-1.03
0.94
7.8-8.6
7.8
Residual fuel oil No.5
0.93-0.95
0.94
7.8-7.9
7.8
Residual fuel oil No.6
0.89-1.01
0.94
7.4-8.5
7.8
Jet kerosene
0.76-0.83
0.79
6.3-6.9
6.6
Kerosene (other)
0.79-0.82
0.80
6.6-6.8
6.7
LPG
0.53-0.55
0.54
4.5-4.6
4.5
Naphtha
0.75-0.82
0.77
6.3-6.8
6.4
Petroleum-based fuels
Petroleum Coke
Asphalt / bitumen
Pitch
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Fuel Type
Gaseous (kg/m3)a,b
Liquid (kg/L)b
Gaseous (lb/ft3)a,b
Liquid (lb/gal)b
Range
Range
Typical
Range
Range
Typical
0.8-1.1
1.0
6.7-9.2
8.3
0.96-1.00
1.0
8.0-8.3
8.3
Typical
Lubricants
Typical
Waxes
Shale oil (liquid)
Oil shale
Other Fuels
Peat
Waste plastics
Tar
Waste tire derived fuels
Biomass
Wood (dry)
Wood (wet)
Fuelwood (approx. 20% moisture)
Black liquor
Landfill gas
0.67-1.2
0.9
0.042-0.075
0.056
Waste water treatment biogas
0.67-1.2
0.9
0.042-0.076
0.056
Biodiesel
0.96-1.00
0.85
6.9-7.2
7.0
Turpentine
-
0.87
-
7.2
Vegetable oils
0.96-1.00
0.90
7.4-7.5
7.5
a) Density values are highly sensitive to changes in temperature and pressure. Values indicated are based on
room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure.
b) Dry unless otherwise noted.
c) At room temperature and standard atmospheric pressure.
Source: World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development stationary combustion
calculation tool version 3.3(1)
Typical values are based on a compilation of commonly accepted sources such as US DOE/EIA,
national inventory reports to the UNFCCC and other sources.
More detailed conversions of fuel data to MWh can be found in the CDP – Technical note document.
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Appendix 4
Resources and Reports
Below you can find a list of supporting materials which may be helpful to you when filling out the
questionnaire.
Risks
Cities Preparing for Climate Change: A Study of Six Urban Regions by the Clean Air Partnership
(Canada).
Coping with Global Climate Change, The Role of Adaptation in the United States by the Pew Center
on Global Climate.
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Working Group II: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Full Report
Sweden facing climate change – threats and opportunities: Full Report
Economics of Climate Adaptation Working Group – Shaping Climate Resilient Development: A
Framework for Decision Making: Full Report.
Opportunities
The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change Full Report.
1. Emissions Accounting
 IPCC: Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories.
 The Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative: Calculation Tools.
 The study Greenhouse Gas Emission Baselines for Global Cities and Metropolitan Regions
provides a comparison of accounting practices of more than 40 global cities by provides a
comparison of accounting practices of more than 40 global cities.
2. Existing methodologies and protocols for emissions accounting:
 The GHG Protocol for the U.S. Public Sector: Interpreting the Corporate Standard for U.S.
Public Sector Organizations.
 Local Government Operations Protocol (LGOP) for the Quantification and Reporting of
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories (Version 1.1).
 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories
 ISO 14064 Greenhouse Gases series of standards
 GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) Public Sector Agency Supplement.
3. Protocols and standards specifically for community emissions accounting:
 Greenhouse Gas Regional Inventory Protocol GRIP
 Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG emissions (GPC). C40 Cities Climate Leadership
Group and ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability. In collaboration with: World Bank,
UNEP, UN-HABITAT, World Resources Institute
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Appendix 5
Source: Draft City Climate Hazard Taxonomy. C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and Arup.
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