ICOS Cities is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to develop new concepts and technologies for greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement systems in urban areas. The project supports the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement, and is expected to assist local climate action through the development of research, services and tools for the cities, society and other stakeholders.
As cities are significant players in the production of GHG emissions and have an important role in local climate governance, the PAUL project intends to investigate the selected cities' current situation and understand their GHG assessment needs.
In order to test different modelling measures, three pilot cities have been selected: Paris (large), Munich (medium), and Zurich (small). Apart from the three pilot cities, 12 other European cities have also joined the city network and are expected to participate in the last phases of the project.
In essence, the main goals of PAUL are to:
- Implement new methods of a pilot city observatory in the three pilot cities
- Work with various stakeholders to create systems for GHG monitoring aimed to observe the implementation of the Paris Agreement
- Further understand the specific needs of GHG assessment in cities
The Chair of Climate and Environmental Policy's task within the project is to research multi-level climate governance in the three pilot cities, and the role and involvement of different actors from politics, science, business and civil society in local climate policy. In detail, our team investigates whether decision makers in the three pilot cities have previously used emissions data and inventories in their policymaking decisions on climate actions, and if so, how. The research is also expected to explore how new emissions data could potentially improve local decision-making processes.
Duration: 2021–2025
