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Three‐scope carbon emission inventories of global cities
Author(s) -
Wiedmann Thomas,
Chen Guangwu,
Owen Anne,
Lenzen Manfred,
Doust Michael,
Barrett John,
Steele Kristian
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of industrial ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.377
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1530-9290
pISSN - 1088-1980
DOI - 10.1111/jiec.13063
Subject(s) - scope (computer science) , greenhouse gas , consumption (sociology) , business , climate change , natural resource economics , service (business) , electricity , environmental science , carbon accounting , environmental resource management , environmental planning , environmental protection , economics , engineering , ecology , social science , marketing , sociology , computer science , electrical engineering , biology , programming language
A major challenge for cities taking action on climate change is assessing and managing the contribution of urban consumption which triggers greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions outside city boundaries. Using a novel method of creating city‐level input–output tables, we present the first consistent, large‐scale, and global assessment of three‐scope GHG inventories for 79 members of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. These inventories cover the emissions from sources located within city boundaries (Scope 1), emissions occurring as a consequence of the use of grid‐supplied electricity, heat, steam, and/or cooling (Scope 2), and all other GHG emissions that occur outside the city boundary as a result of activities taking place within the city (Scope 3). We find that, by only accounting for territorial emissions, without Scope 3, the 79 C40 cities under‐report 4% of global annual GHG emissions from six key infrastructure‐related transboundary sources (73%) and from service‐related sectors (27%). In contrast, when only accounting for consumption‐based emissions, the C40 cities would miss the mitigation target on 41% of their territorial emissions. We argue that cities should complement their GHG inventories, adding full Scope 3 to Scopes 1 and 2, and develop low‐carbon consumption strategies in addition to current infrastructure‐focused action on climate change.