Comune di Padova, the municipal government of Padova, produced a GHG inventory and a Mitigation and Adaptation Action Plan (MAP) as part of their involvement in the LAKs Project, supported by LIFE+ funding. This was approved by the city council in 2011 and forms a basis for its activities moving towards 2020.
The LAKs Project developed the LAKs GHG Inventory Toolkit: a calculator, with supporting reference documents, to help the quantification of municipality emissions by sector and by fuels used. The LAKs calculator is an easy-to-use spreadsheet (adapted for EU from ICLEI’s CCP calculator) which converts data from energy used (fuels, heat and electricity) plus agriculture and waste activities into GHG emissions using appropriate nationally-acceptable emission factors. The emissions results are expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2eq) (LAKs, 2014).
Figure 1: LAKs GHG emissions calculator (LAKs, 2014)
In Padova, the community inventory highlighted the industrial sector as the largest area of community emissions – 36% of all local emissions. The residential sector comprised 29% and the transport sector 17%. Commercial and institutional sectors in Padova accounted for another 15% of total emissions. The inventory also provides a picture of the individual fuels and energy sources that cause most of the emissions.
Using this inventory, Comune di Padova developed a Mitigation and Adaptation Action Plan with targets to reduce its emissions and increase local resilience to climate change. The activity areas were:
- New low carbon energy
Installation of renewable electricity to produce a 4% cut in total emissions by 2020 (based on 2005 levels)
- A greener and more efficient city
Increase energy efficiency in public buildings and the residential sector
- Smarter city and services
Reduce emissions from street lighting and residential waste
- A city which moves better
Encourage a shift to low carbon transport – public transport, cycling and walking
- A low carbon economy
Reduce commercial transport by improving infrastructure and working with the local business association to implement energy efficiency measures
- A resilient city
Work with the local university to identify vulnerabilities and priorities for intervention