Periodic Reporting for period 1 - PAUL (Pilot Application in Urban Landscapes - Towards integrated city observatories for greenhouse gases)
Reporting period: 2021-10-01 to 2023-03-31
The aim is to provide unique data sets feeding diverse models and scientific studies while testing the feasibility of modelling approaches in various areas. Moreover, the project will help cities execute their climate action goals by providing data on fossil fuel emissions from urban areas. To conduct pilot studies, three cities were chosen (Munich, Paris, and Zurich). For an increased impact, 12 other European cities are included in the city network, to provide feedback and further testbeds.
Ultimately the goal of the project is to gain knowledge of how to measure greenhouse gases in an urban environment, and how the data is used to mitigate the city's climate action plan and disseminate the results to the citizens. This should result in a blueprint for other European cities.
In parallel we have produced reports comparing policies, workshops to gauge what kind of services and tools are needed by the cities, what capabilities are available within our city network and how we can share lessons learned so far. Further a publicly available tool (plug-in for QGIS) was developed: An integrated tool capable of mapping future emissions based on city climate plans and urban development plans. This tool may help a city to create ‘scenarios’ for future city developments and emission mitigation plans.
Outreach and engagement took place in many different forms and activities. For example, we provided many posters and talks at the European Geoscience Union (EGU23) general assembly. Many of our partners presented the project to the broader scientific community as well as to the public. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as another example shared information about PAUL with the WMO network (WMO Study Group on Integrated Urban Services and Steering Committee of the Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Information System, IG3IS) to include the good practices that are being developed by PAUL to the IG3IS Urban Greenhouse Gas Emission Observation and Monitoring Good Research Practice Guidelines. This document is planned to be regularly.