This resource provides the principles and methods for quantifying GHG reductions from municipal climate change projects, along with examples. It is designed for municipal staff who are looking to quantify and report on GHG or energy reductions for municipal mitigation projections.
Quantifying the GHG benefits for specific projects, programs and policies can help:
• Celebrate the success of a project
• Demonstrate a project’s effectiveness to stakeholders, funders and council
• Generate support and funds for future projects
• Refine and readjust efforts or inform the level of ambition required to meet climate mitigation goals and targets
• Inform decision-making and priority setting
This guidebook begins with an overview of how to quantify GHG emissions generally, then reviews the basic approach for calculating emission reductions at the project level. The following sections present step-by-step instructions for different mitigation projects at both the corporate and community levels, such as building retrofit projects, transportation policies and waste diversion programs, among others. The last section discusses challenges and provides further resources.