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MODULE 1: Setting the scene
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Lesson 1.1: Introduction to the CoM SSA initiative2 Topics
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Lesson 1.2: Introduction to the SEACAP3 Topics
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Lesson 1.3: Climate change and cities in Africa2 Topics
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MODULE 2: SEACAP mitigation pillar
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Lesson 2.1: Key concepts in climate change mitigation1 Topic
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Lesson 2.2: Introduction to the mitigation pillar2 Topics
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Lesson 2.3: The SEACAP development process for the mitigation pillar1 Topic
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Lesson 2.4: Emissions inventories: GHG emissions4 Topics
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Lesson 2.5: Developing a Baseline Emissions Inventory (BEI)3 Topics
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Lesson 2.6: Tools for BEI development2 Topics
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Lesson 2.7: Setting mitigation targets2 Topics
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Lesson 2.8: Planning mitigation actions1 Topic
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MODULE 3: SEACAP access to energy pillar
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Lesson 3.1: Key concepts in access to energy
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Lesson 3.2: Introduction to the access to energy pillar2 Topics
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Lesson 3.3: The SEACAP development process for the access to energy pillar1 Topic
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Lesson 3.4: Data collection3 Topics
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Lesson 3.5: Developing an Access to Energy Assessment (AEA)2 Topics
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Lesson 3.6: Setting an energy vision and targets3 Topics
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Module 3.7: Planning energy actions3 Topics
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MODULE 4: SEACAP adaptation pillar
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Lesson 4.1: Key Concepts in climate change adaptation
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Lesson 4.2: Introduction to the adaptation pillar2 Topics
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Lesson 4.3: The SEACAP development process for the adaptation pillar1 Topic
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Lesson 4.4: Developing a Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (RVA)
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Lesson 4.5: Setting an adaptation vision and sectoral targets2 Topics
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Lesson 4.6: Planning adaptation actions2 Topics
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MODULE 5: Steps to take before you implement your SEACAP
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Lesson 5.1: Next steps for prioritised actions
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Lesson 5.2: Categorising actions to access external finance2 Topics
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MODULE 6: Communicating your SEACAP
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Lesson 6.1: Designing your SEACAP3 Topics
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Lesson 6.2: Communicating your SEACAP to key stakeholders1 Topic
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MODULE 7: Reporting your SEACAP
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Lesson 7.1: Introduction to reporting your SEACAP3 Topics
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Lesson 7.2: Introduction to reporting the mitigation pillar4 Topics
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Lesson 7.3: Introduction to reporting the adaptation pillar3 Topics
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Lesson 7.4: Introduction to reporting the access to energy pillar3 Topics
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MODULE 8: Integrating your SEACAP into existing planning processes
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Lesson 8.1: Integrating your SEACAP actions into local level plans1 Topic
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What is the CIRIS tool?
- The City Inventory Reporting and Information System (CIRIS) tool is an Excel-based tool for managing and reporting city greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory data.
- It was developed by C40, ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability and CDP, based on the Global Protocol for Community-scale Greenhouse Gas Emission Inventories (GPC). Hence, it is recommended to use the tool alongside the GPC guidebook.
The CIRIS tool can be downloaded from the C40 website.
Why use the CIRIS tool?
- The CIRIS tool will help CoM SSA cities to streamline their GHG emission inventory and meet the requirements for the mitigation pillar of the SEACAP.
- The CIRIS tool is compliant with the GPC, and helps cities to develop a GHG inventory that is aligned with this international standard and the requirements of CoM SSA and the GCoM.
- It is accessible, easy-to-use and flexible and is based in Microsoft Excel.
- It facilitates calculation and ensures transparent reporting of emissions for all sectors.
All outputs are directly transferable onto the ICLEI-CDP Unified Reporting Platform by simply uploading the Excel file.
What is inside the CIRIS tool?.
The tool is organised into 6 tabs:
- Introduction
- Set up
- Inventory
- Calculators
- Results
- Notes
Let’s go through each tab to see what is included.
Tab 1: Introduction
Each tab has several sub-tabs called sheets.
For example, the introduction tab has 5 sheets. Click on each sheet to learn more about what it contains.
User guide
GPC
Notation keys
GWP
Conversion factors
User guide
The user guide (within the introduction tab) describes what the user is required to input at each stage.
GPC
- The introduction provides an overview of the GPC framework.
- It then has a section explaining how the entire tool corresponds to the GPC through specific colour coding which is reflected in the image below.
- Finally, it illustrates a table of definitions for the various sectors and subsectors measured by the CIRIS tool.
Notation keys
- The notation sheet gives an explanation of why it’s necessary to use notation keys, when to use them and how.
- Data availability and the presence and relevance of emissions sources will differ between cities.
- As recommended in IPCC guidelines, the GPC describes a set of abbreviations or notation keys to clearly communicate gaps in emission inventories and provide a basis for transparent explanation when data is missing.
- The following four abbreviations are the notation keys described here:
- NO: Not Occurring means an activity or process does not occur or exist within the city.
- IE: Included Elsewhere means that GHG emissions for this activity are estimated and presented in another category of the inventory. That category shall be noted in the explanation.
- NE: Not Estimated is when emissions occur but have not been estimated or reported; justification for exclusion shall be noted in the explanation.
- C: Confidential allows for a record to be made of GHG emissions which could lead to the disclosure of confidential information and can therefore not be reported.
GWP
- The next sheet in the introduction tab covers Global Warming Potentials.
- The GPC requires that all emissions are reported in metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). CIRIS automatically calculates emissions in tCO2e based on the GWP value specified by the user on the emission factors sheet. More information is included in the emission factors sheet in the set up tab.
- There are several different sets of GWP values reported by different assessment reports published by the IPCC. For example, the 4AR values are taken from the 4th assessment report published in 2007. Over time, these values change to reflect the latest understanding of the science of climate change. The GPC recommends that cities use the most recent GWP values when converting their emissions to CO2e. Earlier versions of global warming potential are allowed when the city GHG emission inventory is required to be consistent with the national GHG emissions inventory which has used an earlier version.
- CIRIS automatically looks up and uses the appropriate GWP values when the users specify which set of values they wish to use.
- For consistency, the same GWP should be used throughout CIRIS.
Conversion factors
- Conversion factors for commonly used units for energy, mass, volume and distance are provided in the CIRIS tool.
- This sheet is used by CIRIS to convert a quantity in one unit into the same quantity in a different unit.
Tab 2: Set up
The set up tab collects the background information needed to report a GPC compliant inventory. Such information is collected for many reasons, such as:
- quality assurance and quality control,
- to enable transparent review of inventories, and
- to allow benchmarking against other cities and between years.
The set up tab consists of 4 sheets. Click on each sheet to learn more about what it contains.
City information
Data sources
Emission factors
IPPU emission factors
City information
This includes general information about the city and the inventory.
Data sources
This is information regarding the sources of data used in the inventory (you can add as many rows/sources as necessary).
Emission factors
This sheet contains all the emission factors used to calculate the GHG emissions for all activities included in the inventory.
Names in the Unique identifier column are used to identify the relevant emission factors in the inventory sheet that will be looked at later on. (We recommend the format “EF_Name” with the name of the type of activity for example “EF_Natural Gas_residential”.)
IPPU emission factors
Here you record the emission factors to calculate any F-gases emissions (only in case of reporting IPPU activities).
Tab 3: Inventory
The inventory tab has a sheet for each sector:
Stationary energy
- This sheet is used to record activity and emissions data for stationary energy sources.
- These emissions come from:
- Direct fuel combustion in buildings and industries
- Indirect use of grid-supplied electricity or heat,
- Fugitive emissions released in the process of generating, delivering, and consuming energy
- There are 8 tables to record data on the different subsectors:
- Residential buildings
- Commercial and institutional buildings and facilities
- Manufacturing industries and construction
- Energy industries
- Agriculture, forestry and fishing activities
- Non-specified sources
- Fugitive emissions from mining, processing, storing and transportation of coal
- Fugitive emissions from oil and natural gas systems
- Each table is further divided into Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
The below screenshots make up the long, horizontal table for the Residential buildings subsector in the inventory sheet for stationary energy. The table can be thought of as containing 5 sections (scrolling left to right):
- Info about the emission source
- Activity data
- Emission factors
- GHG emission results
- Quantitative data for record-keeping
Each individual line is for one emission source – in the example below, one specific energy source (fuel or electricity).
Transportation
Transportation covers all journeys by road, rail, water and air, within the city boundary, as well as inter-city and international travel.
- GHG emissions are produced directly by the combustion of fuel or indirectly by the use of grid-supplied electricity.
- There are 5 tables to record to the different subsectors:
- On-road transportation
- Railways
- Waterborne navigation
- Aviation
- Off-road transportation
- Each table is further divided into Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Waste
- Waste can be disposed of and/or treated at facilities inside or outside of the city boundary.
- Waste disposal and treatment produces GHG emissions through decomposition, or incineration.
- There are 4 tables to record to the different subsectors:
- Solid waste disposal
- Biological treatment of waste
- Incineration and open burning
- Wastewater treatment and discharge
- Each table is further divided into Scope 1 and 3 emissions. Note that there is no Scope 2 in the waste sector, as the emissions in this sector come from the waste decomposition process, and are not related to energy input.
- Emissions from waste generated outside of the city boundaries but treated inside the city must be reported in CIRIS, but are generally excluded from the total of emissions, given that they are not attributed to/caused by activities within the inventory boundary.
- When energy is produced from waste, the activity must be reported in the stationary energy sector.
- The exact emissions of waste are complex to estimate, so users can make use of the calculators, covered later, for this sector.
IPPU
- IPPU covers GHG emissions from non-energy related industrial activities that occur within the city boundary and products used within the city boundary.
- There are 2 tables to record to the different subsectors:
- Industrial processes
- Product use
AFLOU
- AFOLU is about GHG emissions from activities including land use changes that alter the composition of the soil, methane produced in the digestive process of livestock and nutrient management for agricultural purposes
- There are 3 tables to record to the different subsectors:
- Livestock
- Land
- Aggregate sources (other activities such as biomass burning, harvested wood product, etc.)
- Only Scope 1 is covered as part of GPC methodology. Scope 3 (extra-territorial) emissions of AFOLU are not yet covered in GPC’s assessment boundary, e.g. manure management, use of fertilisers, crop production.
Other scope 3
This sheet is used to record activity and emissions data for any other emissions occurring outside the geographic boundary as a result of city activities.
- Measuring these emissions allows cities to take a more holistic approach to tackling climate change by assessing the GHG impact of all city activities, particularly emissions embodied in the supply chain of goods and services used by city residents, e.g. supply chain emissions from city residents’ consumption of food and drink, supply chain emissions from construction, any other emissions attributable to the city, but not occurring within the city boundary.
- As city governments plan for future economic development, growth and diversification, it is useful to consider the GHG potential of alternative pathways, particularly as GHG-intensive value chains are exposed to transition risk (e.g. carbon tax, export market preferences etc.). Evaluating scope 3 emissions can assist with this kind of planning.
Tab 4: calculators
CIRIS’s calculators consist of 5 built-in tools to support cities with reporting emissions from activities that are more complex to estimate.
- These tools contain formulas and default values from the IPCC guidelines and the GPC with space for manually entering city-specific information.
- The results then automatically appear in the inventory sheets once calculated.
- They are intended to help users to calculate emissions by providing a simple interface and to estimate emissions using default values only if city-specific information is limited.
- Each calculator provides simple instructions on how to use it and shows you where to input the required information. The results are summarised into a table. You can also scroll down the sheet to deep-dive into how the calculator works and see the methods, formulae, calculation tables, data tables and data sources.
Fugitive emissions from gas distribution
Solid waste disposal
Biological treatment
Incineration
Wastewater
Fugitive emissions from gas distribution
- There are a variety of sources of fugitive gas leaks, including fugitive equipment leaks, evaporation losses, venting, flaring and accidental releases.
- All natural gas distribution systems will have some fugitive emissions so any city with a gas network should estimate fugitive leaks.
- This is not relevant to cities without a piped gas network and that do not produce or transport natural gas.
Solid waste disposal
- The quantification of GHG emissions from solid waste disposal and treatment is determined by two main factors: the mass of waste disposed, and the amount of degradable organic carbon (DOC) within the waste, which determines the methane generation potential.
- A different sheet in the calculator should be used for each type of solid waste disposal used (e.g. sanitary landfill, controlled landfill, unspecified landfill, open dumping).
Biological treatment
Treating waste biologically, through composting and other measures, reduces overall waste volume for final disposal (in landfill or incineration) and reduces the toxicity of the waste.
Incineration
This calculator has been designed to help cities estimate non-biogenic CO2, CH4 and N2O emissions from the incineration and open burning of solid waste.
Wastewater
The wastewater calculator has been designed to help cities estimate CH4 and N2O emissions from treatment of domestic, commercial and industrial wastewater.
Tab 5: Results
Results are presented as:
- High-level summary of the city GHG emissions inventory, useful for internal and external communication)
- Scope and sector totals
- Summary graphs showing city emissions, by (sub) sector, scope and reporting level
- Colour-coded for comparison
- Overview consisting of a detailed summary table of city emissions profile, by (sub) sector, scope and reporting level
- Indicates all subsectors
- Analysis of city emissions profile and trend
- Results can be viewed as GHG emissions, per capita, per unit land area (km2), or per unit GDP (US$ million)
- Possibility to compare current inventory with previous inventories manually added to CIRIS
- Net emissions which considers the city’s GHG emissions absorption or any offsetting through carbon credits
- If your city has a net GHG emissions reduction target, use this sheet to record your emission credits and estimate your net emissions.
- High-level summary of the city GHG emissions inventory, useful for internal and external communication)
STICKY NOTE
STICKY NOTE
- undertaking calculations,
- undertaking checks on data, and
- documentation.
CIRIS also contains six blank sheets to support users with the compilation and reporting of data in CIRIS. These are optional, but could be used to support the following:
FURTHER READING:
For more information and guidance, please refer to the official video series and user guide resources here.
