Estimating Climate Impacts of Infrastructure Projects

The Guidebook on GHG Emissions Impact Analysis (below) was prepared to allow professionals or city officials to understand the importance of undertaking a project level analysis to facilitate the implementation of sustainable infrastucture projects and provide an understanding of how greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impacts should be considered and calculated, an example of which is by utilising C40's Integrated Impacts Assessment Tool (IIAT or ‘Impacts Tool’). 

Integrated Impacts Assessment Tool (IIAT or ‘Impacts Tool’)

The tool has been developed by the CAP team and can be used to estimate greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollution emissions, as well as air quality related and active mobility health benefits. 

The tool is intended to be used by both expert and non-expert users. The basic mode allows users to obtain quick estimates using default values and minimal project information. The advanced mode provides users highly detailed estimates and allows all parameters to be modified. For the advanced mode to provide maximum accuracy, the user will need to collect extensive information on the project context. The Impacts Tool is designed to perform a wide variety of climate project impact analyses. It is capable of evaluating multiple impact types at the same time and gives a clear understanding of the multiple benefits of a climate action. The tool also allows comparisons of different projects or project alternatives. It also allows the user to aggregate multiple projects and demonstrate the cumulative impact of a package of climate actions.

Upcoming expansions will also allow evaluation of job generation and other local economic impacts.

The Impacts tool has been used to calculate all of the mitigation projects supported by the CFF and a selection of these can be found on the respective project pages. 

If you would like to access the impact tool, please email us. 

To support city officials and practioners to effectively use the Impacts tool and to produce a reliable estimate of a projects GHG reduction potentials, the CFF and CAP programme have developed a series of resources which can guide the user through its use:

1. Overview of the Impacts Tool

This guide describes the general structure, workflows and an overview of the Impacts tool to assist cities and practitioners with the assessment of project-level impacts. 

2. Supplemental Guidance on Project Specific Parameters

A guide which discusses individual projects and the key parameters involved in the analyses. The guide directs the reader to the data inputs and assumptions for their specific project type that requires close attention as they can have considerable influence on the final results. This guide also provides guidance on what data is required and where this data can be collected.

3. A Methodology for Estimating GHG Emission Mitigation Potentials of Infrastructure Projects

The methodology used by the IMPACT tool to calculate the emission mitigation potentials of any infrastructure projects. Please note this is more technical in nature and not necessary to read to be able to utilise the tool but is provided as reference. 

4. Impacts Tool videos

A series of walkthrough video guides on:

• Data Sources
• Emission Factors
• BRT Projects
• Zero-emission (electric) bus Projects
• Solar PV Projects
• Cycling Projects

Based on the experiences of the CFF and C40's CAP team in developing each the GHG emissions mitigated by the projects supported by the CFF, four short case studies have been developed, identifying some of the key challenges that appeared during the analysis and some key lessons learned during the process of developing the estimates. These case studies from Quezon City, Jakarta, Colombia and Quito are a useful resource for any city official or practioner when estimating the emissions reductions of their own projects.