Greenhouse gas accounting and disclosures by cities

A substantial reduction in anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is urgently required to mitigate the impacts of climate change, which poses a severe threat to humanity and biodiversity. As cities are large scale producers of GHG emissions, they have a role to play in reducing emissions and mitigating the impacts of climate change. Sustainability accounting and reporting can help city administrations identify, measure, and monitor GHG emissions, critical for developing emissions reduction strategies and mitigation actions. Moreover, communicating emissions information to users meets accountability expectations and responds to pressure from citizens and other stakeholders. Hence, this study explores the accounting and reporting of GHG emissions-related information across different communication media. Our findings indicate that cities are disclosing various emissions-related information through multiple communication media. However, detailed disclosure of the costs and emissions reductions achieved from their activities is limited. The findings have implications for policymakers, stakeholders, and managers interested in cities' emissions inventory, emissions reduction targets, and actions.