Review on City-Level Carbon Accounting

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Urban Studies
• Climate Change Mitigation

Background:

• City carbon accounting methodologies and protocols exhibit significant variability.
• Discrepancies in results stem from differing protocols, methods, and data sources.
• Bridging the gap between academic research and practical application in urban carbon accounting is crucial for effective climate action.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically review published research and protocols for city carbon accounting.
• To analyze the scientific basis and practical applications of various accounting approaches.
• To identify trends and relationships between research methods and accounting protocols.

Main Methods:

• Citation network analysis of highly cited articles to map the field's development.
• Comparative analysis of research methodologies and established accounting protocols.
• Chronological mapping of key organizations, protocols, and projects in urban carbon accounting.

Main Results:

• Citation networks reveal a dominance of production-based and infrastructure-based accounting models.
• Emerging consumption-based accounting models integrating economic system analysis are gaining traction.
• While newer protocols include consumption-based accounting, most cities still rely on production-based methods.

Conclusions:

• Protocol practitioners need enhanced support for comprehensive carbon accounting.
• Exploring diverse accounting perspectives is vital for identifying mitigation and adaptation potential.
• Future research should prioritize supporting practitioners and advancing multi-perspective carbon accounting.