Carbon Calculator

Comprehensive monitoring for Ukrainian and Georgian municipalities

Cities and towns aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions need regular accounting of these emissions to track their progress. The growing interest and commitment undertaken by Ukrainian and Georgian local authorities in the context of the Covenant of Mayors initiative led Climate Alliance to develop the Carbon Calculator for the calculation of CO2 emissions in Ukrainian and Georgian contexts.

The Climate Alliance Carbon Calculator allows municipalities to calculate the CO2 emissions associated to the energy consumption that takes place in their territory by sector and by energy carrier. The sectors covered include households, services, industry, agriculture, transport (passenger and freight), municipal buildings and facilities, and public lighting.

The tool includes a database of national energy, economic and demographic data that can be used to derive local energy data. If data on energy consumption is available at local level, the local authority may complete the tables with their own collected data. In the absence of local energy data for certain sectors, the tool scales energy consumption data from the national level to the municipal level by using a scaling variable such as the number of inhabitants, the number of employees by sector or the number of vehicles registered. The tool includes data from 2000 to 2010 and offers an extrapolation function, which allows local authorities to extrapolate their data for the years that they do not have data available. CO2 emissions are calculated via Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) default emission factors that take into account the impacts of the entire energy supply chain.

The Carbon Calculator was developed in spreadsheet software which is widely available in public administration in Ukraine and Georgia. The comprehensive database incorporated in the tool makes it very useful when local data is not readily available. The tool adopts a standardised methodology, ensuring that local emission inventories are consistent over time. Municipalities using the same tool can easily compare their results. The Carbon Calculator also respects the Covenant of Mayors methodological requirements; all the data required to compile a Baseline Emissions Inventory (BEI) can be exported directly from the tool to the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) document as tables and in graphical formats.

The Carbon Calculator is available for all municipalities in Ukraine and Georgia, in both English and in Russian. Climate Alliance members may use the tool free of charge. Training can be organised upon request.

The Carbon Calculator for Georgia was developed with the support of GIZ and Energy Efficiency Centre of Georgia. The tool for Ukraine was developed with the support of Association of Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine (AEEC) and Germany’s International Climate Initiative.

Want to learn more? Contact Miguel Morcillo at m.morcillo(at)climatealliance.org 

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