A Quantitative Methodology to Support Local Governments in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Actions

Tackling climate change is a multidisciplinary process, which af-fects all aspects of government, on a local, regional and national scale. Local governments are publishing and using data related to climate change response and evidence-based actions, enabling the use of transparent and data-driven so-lutions. It is essential to provide user-friendly data-driven methodologies and tools in support of local governments to address the challenges they are facing due to climate change. This work provides a robust framework and a unique ranking methodology to assess local governments' performance in tackling cli-mate change. Utilising standardised annually reported questionnaires, the methodology calculates climate change related indicators, with the view of better understanding their performance, monitoring their activities and supporting their decision-making process. 7 different key metrics were created, based on the standardised questionnaire, spanning from governance related information to GHG-emissions city-wide levels. Results from this methodology are present-ed under the scope of supporting local governments to draw conclusions, com-pare and analyse actions other cities have taken when facing similar challenges, as the yearly reporting process encourages cities and regions to better under-stand and reflect on the climate risks they face.