A comparison of carbon emissions perspectives for a single city and insights for data developers and policymakers

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Allan, Grant and Kilian, Lena and Kodoli, Sandeep and Michie, Craig and Owen, Anne and Tachtatzis, Christos and Williamson, Jack (2026) A comparison of carbon emissions perspectives for a single city and insights for data developers and policymakers. Environmental Research Communications, 8 (4). 041014. ISSN 2515-7620 (https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ae5d98)

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Abstract

Cities are setting targets for emissions reductions, however a lack of consensus on methodologies has produced a range of metrics. This makes it important for policymakers to understand how policies might impact metrics, and to communicate the impacts of policy choices. We take the municipality of Glasgow (Scotland) as a case study to calculate and compare four emissions accounting metrics. Our results reveal variation across metrics, arising from differences in the coverage and elements included, and large differences in major areas—emissions from housing and transport. Taking specific local policy ambitions to reduce emissions—the development of heat networks and reducing passenger kilometres driven—we describe conceptual and measurement issues in how these will impact on each metric. Our findings suggest a critical pathway forward for development of city-scale emissions data, and lessons for policymakers on the use of metrics and demonstrating the impact of policies.

ORCID iDs

Allan, Grant ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1404-2768, Kilian, Lena, Kodoli, Sandeep ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3998-3434, Michie, Craig ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5132-4572, Owen, Anne, Tachtatzis, Christos ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9150-6805 and Williamson, Jack ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2043-7847;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)