Territorial carbon footprint

The territorial carbon footprint is the set of greenhouse gas emissions generated within the geographical boundaries of a territory, such as a municipality, a county or a region. It is a local and regional application of the general concept of carbon footprint and serves as the basis for the climate plans of local councils and authorities.

Territorial approach versus consumption footprint

There are two main ways to account for a territory's emissions. The territorial or production-based approach accounts for the emissions that physically occur within the territory's borders, regardless of where goods and services are consumed. The consumption footprint, by contrast, attributes to the territory the emissions associated with everything its inhabitants consume, even if generated elsewhere. The two approaches are complementary and offer different perspectives for designing climate change mitigation policies.

Reference methodologies

Calculating the territorial carbon footprint relies on internationally recognised methodologies:

• The IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories, which provide the methodological basis for sectoral inventories.
• The Global Protocol for Community-Scale GHG Emissions (GPC), developed by WRI, C40 and ICLEI, designed specifically for cities and aligned with the IPCC guidelines. In this framework, emissions generated within the city boundary are treated as scope 1 or territorial emissions.

These frameworks make it possible to build a coherent emissions inventory that is comparable across territories and can be aggregated at higher scales.

Sectors covered

A territorial inventory usually covers stationary energy (buildings, industry), transport within the territory, waste, and industrial processes and agriculture where relevant. The distinction between direct emissions and emissions linked to imported energy is important, just as in corporate accounting the boundary between scopes determines what is included, a principle that also guides scope 3 in organisations.

Use by councils and authorities

The territorial carbon footprint is the starting tool for local governments to set a baseline, establish reduction targets and design their climate action plans. It helps prioritise measures, track progress and account to citizens and other authorities.

Calculation challenges

Building a reliable territorial carbon footprint involves several challenges. The availability and quality of local data are often limited, especially for transport and energy use, so estimates and reference emission factors frequently have to be used. It is also important to avoid both omissions and double counting, particularly for emissions linked to energy or waste that cross the territory's borders. That is why applying a consistent methodology and documenting the assumptions used is essential, so that inventories remain comparable over time and across territories.

How Manglai can help

Although Manglai focuses on the carbon footprint of organisations, the logic of inventories, emission factors and reduction plans is shared. Discover how Manglai can help you measure and reduce your emissions rigorously.