Monitor and Track Progress

The primary goal for implementing climate actions is to reduce GHG emissions. But how do you know whether the actions you are taking are actually reducing emissions? The key to long-term success in climate action planning is to periodically measure and track reductions associated with your climate actions. By doing so, you ensure that you’re getting results! And if you’re not getting the anticipated results, then it’s time to reevaluate your strategies and decide whether alternative measures would get better results. Here are two basic ways to track progress.

Conduct Annual GHG Inventories to Track Reductions by Sector

A periodic assessment to re-inventory GHG emissions is necessary to track GHG emission reductions over time. Ideally, cities and counties should conduct an annual inventory of GHG emissions. Regardless of the interval selected, many of these same resources can be useful to monitor the success of achieving your GHG reduction goals.

Track Actual GHG Reductions Directly by Activity

Cities and counties may also be interested in tracking project-level mitigation of GHG emissions associated with land use, transportation, energy use, and other actions. For example, if a city adopts a policy that all new construction shall exceed the Title 24 Energy Code by 15%, they may wish to track the associated GHG emission reductions to ensure policy goals are met.

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