Modelling urban carbon emissions for multiple sectors in high spatial resolution for achieving sustainable & net-zero cities

Abstract

Many largescale initiatives and networks have been established to support city efforts and leadership in decarbonisation. An essential first step in these initiatives is developing a Baseline Emissions Inventory (BEI) to understand drivers of current emissions and provide a benchmark that progress can be measured against. There has been increasing interest in emission inventory methods. However, previous research has focused on single sectors, has neglected emissions other than CO₂, or has not followed a spatial approach. The latter is particularly important to support policy planning and decision-making. This study investigates the development of a novel BEI for a medium-sized city in Ireland to address the methodological knowledge gap in existing literature for a detailed methodology using mainly open-source and spatially resolved data for developing a multi-sectoral BEI in high spatial resolution. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions including CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O, represented as kilotonnes CO₂-equivalent (ktCO₂-eq), were modelled for the Residential; Transport; Commercial & Industrial; Public; Agriculture, Land Use & Fishing (ALUF); and Waste sectors. Total annual emissions were 987 ktCO₂-eq, with emissions per capita of 4.7 tCO₂-eq. The Residential sector accounted for 34 % of emissions followed by the Transport (29 %), Commercial & Industrial (22 %), Public (7 %), ALUF (6 %), and Waste (2 %) sectors. The fine-resolution spatial outputs facilitate the investigation of socioeconomic factors alongside GHG emissions helping to elucidate local drivers and produce equitable mitigation strategies. The findings will contribute to effective policy development and the methodologies, developed in accordance with the Global Covenant of Mayors, can be replicated by cities globally.