Chicago Climate Report Methodology
CNT’s GHG emissions inventory for Chicago uses local data on energy use, electricity consumption, transportation, waste, industrial processes, land use, tree cover and use of GHGs in products to calculate the GHG emissions from all sources (homes, businesses, cars, etc.) in Chicago citywide. Researchers used Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methods and local data sources, in combination with modeling of national data to local demographics, to document all direct sources of GHG emission in Chicago and the six-county metro region, as well as indirect emissions from electricity consumption and waste.
Emissions were calculated for the six major categories of greenhouse gases regulated under the Kyoto Protocol - carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs),perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Emissions were converted into CO2e using global warming potentials from the IPCC Third Annual Assessment Report. CO2 formed the majority of Chicago’s GHG emissions in all study years.
To forecast the city’s 2050 emissions, CNT analyzed regional and national forecasts and historic trends for GHG emissions, and the underlying conditions and activities that generate those emissions such as vehicle efficiency and natural gas use.
Calculations were peer reviewed by a research advisory committee that included leading scholars and non-governmental organizations specializing in climate change research.
Mitigation Strategies
Researchers analyzed each of the 33 strategies to determine emission reduction potentials, the nature and scale of necessary programs and policies, existing activities in Chicago and the region that can be built upon, examples of successful programs elsewhere, and implementation opportunities and barriers.
The emission reduction strategies address every sector of Chicago’s emissions inventory. They include ways to reduce emissions from energy demand and supply; transportation; land cover and forestry; waste and water; and industrial processes and product use.
