CitiesGoGreen -September 2008 - (Page 30) Special Report Creating a Worldwide GHG Measurement Standard ICLEI’s Local Government Greenhouse Gas Protocol Without consistent measurements it is impossible to know what’s working, to compare results from different places, or to aggregate results in a meaningful way. There has to be standard, and ICLEI is leading the way on developing one that works worldwide. It is frequently said that we can only manage what we can measure. As local governments all over the world continue to join the climate protection movement, the need for shared conventions and a standardized approach to measuring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is more pressing than ever. Program managers need to be able to tell what is working and what isn’t, decision makers need an accurate way to quantify priorities, elected leaders want to be able to explain the Also, the same emissions may be important to different entities. Counting methane emissions from landfills is important for landfill operators, and counting methane that results from waste is relevant to policy-making for local governments, which can encourage recycling or composting programs. These are the sorts of questions ICLEI can help answer. If local governments don’t answer such questions or count emissions the same should use, and how they should report their findings. ICLEI is striving for the fullest possible alignment with established protocols to ensure the final product captures the most relevant expertise and sets an informed global standard for local governments engaged in climate protection work. When complete, ICLEI will offer an international standard developed with input from partners around the world. Country-specific supplements will allow application of the general rules to different sets of available data, taking into account the unique circumstances and the differing roles, powers and responsibilities of local governments in different countries. The Local Government Greenhouse Gas Protocol will: • Promote understanding of the role of local governments in combating climate change, • Enable local governments to develop emissions inventories following internationally recognized GHG accounting and reporting principles, while acknowledging their unique local context, • Help create harmonization between GHG inventories developed and reported to multiple programs. • Advance the consistent, comparable and relevant quantification of emissions, and • Advance appropriate, transparent and policy-relevant reporting of emissions. If local governments don’t count emissions the same way, their results will not be comparable. If results are not comparable it is difficult to learn what works and what does not, and impossible to measure the total effect. values of their successes, and the public needs consistent reporting in order to judge the effectiveness of their local government’s climate protection work. From all of these needs and the specific circumstances of each community many questions arise. Is it better to invest limited energy efficiency dollars in variable frequency drives at the water treatment plant or to improve the thermal envelope at the old fire station? Is the answer different in Seattle than it is in New York? Would investing in liquefied natural gas buses be better for the climate than using a biodiesel blend? What are the most significant sources of greenhouse gases in the community? Is our community more or less efficient than our neighbors? What cities and counties are having the most success and how can we learn from them? How should methane be compared to carbon dioxide? Should emissions from a wastewater treatment plant be included if it is operated by a special district? Should emissions from the driving behavior of a city’s residents be included regardless of where they are driving, or should emissions from vehicles driving within the city limits be counted regardless of where the drivers live? Or both? 30 .com way, their results will not be comparable. If results are not comparable it is difficult to learn what works and what does not, and impossible to measure the total effect. The Local Government Greenhouse Gas Protocol creates a mechanism whereby local governments can track and account for emissions in these complex situations in consistent ways, allowing for meaningful comparison and aggregation. To provide a standard convention and increase consistency in reporting, ICLEI has formalized its GHG emissions analysis protocol development process. It is working through that process to develop Resource a standard protocol with clear guidelines GHG Protocol for how local governments should count www.icleiusa.org/protocol their GHG emissions, what data they “ We worked with ICLEI to develop our emissions goals and have used them to network with other cities that are similar to our demographics. If you’re working on your own, you’ll probably end up looking at Seattle’s climate action plan and it’s not as pertinent to a place like Bozeman, so it’s nice to have that networking. We’re committed to working with ICLEI. They’ve definitely proven that they’re the primary resource for cities. Natalie Meyer, Grants and Climate Protection Coordinator City of Bozeman, Montana September 2008 ” http://www.icleiusa.org/protocol http://www.icleiusa.org/protocol http://www.icleiusa.org/protocol http://CitiesGoGreen.com
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