October 18, 2021. The Center for Climate Strategies (CCS) is pleased to introduce the GHG Strategy Tool, an open, transparent, user-friendly, native language, desktop analysis tool designed to support national and subnational governments and stakeholders with early stage, rapid, low-cost mitigation policy development and analysis to achieve greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction goals. The Tool serves as a kickstart to guide further development and implementation of more detailed short and long-term decarbonization, pathways, reducing the length of this process from years to months. Users with basic proficiencies can develop and assess robust mitigation scenarios rapidly with targeted setup assistance and the aid of comprehensive, customizable defaults.
 
The Tool supports short- and long-term target setting, sector level strategy choices, and implementation design of mitigation actions across sectors by jurisdictions and guides further development and implementation of detailed short and long-term decarbonization, pathways. It can reduce the length of this process from years to months. In addition, the Tool enables validation and open-source development by the research and academic community and it supports agencies and interest groups with scenario development and evaluation, including sensitivity analysis and alternative scenarios.

As Oswaldo Lucon, Climate Change Advisor, São Paulo State Infrastructure and Environment Secretariat, explains, “The GHG Strategy Tool provides Sao Paulo an important entry point for the development of long term decarbonization strategies and independent collaboration around scenarios and analysis. It can be used with more complex systems where needed and can be tailored to local needs. We look forward to our research and policy communities using the tool in a flexible manner for climate stabilization in Sao Paulo and encourage its use in other regions.”

The Tool is part of CCS’s continuous work supporting self-determined planning, analysis, and development of short and long-term decarbonation policies that integrate multiple objectives, including climate stabilization and sustainable economic recovery and growth. It was developed and tested for the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil as part of the Climate Pathway Project in partnership with The Climate Group. CCS provided initial technical assistance and capacity building for set-up and use of the tool to reflect local GHG emission sources and activity data, with guidance on the identification and design of the mitigation strategies. Sao Paulo is now equipped to use the tool independently to support achievement of its net zero decarbonization target by 2050. For further information regarding use of the Tool, please contact CCS at info@climatestrategies.us.

The Climate Pathway Project began in 2019 as part of the Under 2 Coalition to develop mid-century decarbonization approaches that stabilize Earth’s climate and foster public-private collaboration on local community development and sustainable economic recovery through modern energy and natural resources uses. 

GHG Strategy Tool Fact Sheet