A Local Government Tool for Climate and Air planning: The Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool (HEAT)

ICLEI-- Local Governments for Sustainability is a worldwide non-profit association of local governments including over 600 Cities that participate in the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign. Participants commit to reducing GHG emissions and embark upon a process that starts with building an emission inventory, proceeds to political process to set a reduction goal, and culminates in measures designed to meet the target.

In this session, ICLEI will introduce its latest software initiative called the Harmonized Emissions Analysis Tool (HEAT). It will be designed to inform policymaking by helping non-expert decision makers understand the link between local energy and waste policy to GHG and air pollution emissions. At its core, HEAT is a database to track GHG emission inventories and, subsequently, actions taken to reduce those emissions. Some features include:

· IPCC-based protocols for GHG quantification, coupled with simplified top-down emission factor protocols (i.e., advocacy-rated) for air pollution emissions. · Modular and upgradeable architecture for ready inclusion of features such as agriculture sectors, health indicators, and carbon trading accounting. · Multi-country and multi-lingual Internet-based interface.

HEAT will be an unprecedented worldwide data repository on local government energy use, containing hundreds of inventories and GHG mitigation action plans.