This document discusses best practice indicators for decarbonization at the sectoral level. It presents an overview of a comprehensive list of 35 indicators across 5 sectors plus sub-sectors. The document then provides examples of defining best practice for electricity emission intensity and transport road emission intensity. Countries are identified that best represent current best practice for these indicators. The document concludes that sectoral indicators allow identification of decarbonization trends not apparent at the macro level and help understand drivers of emissions pathways.

1. Best practice indicators at the
sectoral level and where countries
stand
Side Event
1 December 2015, 18.30 – 20.30
Sebastian Sterl & Markus Hagemann

2. Agenda
• Best practice of what? – Selecting sectoral indicators to
describe decarbonization trends.
• What is best practice? – Defining best practice by
indicator
• Decarbonization and best practice in selected sectors
– Electricity sector
– Transport sector
• Summary
• Moving forward - A tool everybody can use to understand
best practice in a country context
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 2

3. Understanding decarbonisation trends
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 3
Pledge (if available)
Current policy (if available)
Required
for 2°C
Global average
2010 2050
Current best
practice
Different countries
Activity indicator
Pledge (if available)
Current policy (if available)
Required
for 2°C
Global average
2010 2050
Current best
practice
Intensity indicator

4. Overview of comprehensive indicator list
• 5 sectors plus sub-sector
• 35 indicators
– At least 1 intensity and activity indicator per sector
– 6 macro level indicators to describe country level trends
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 4

5. Defining best practice – example electricity, emission
intensity
Best practice type Description/ Reasoning Applied to
indicator
Countries chosen for
Best practice
Country w/ nuclear
power
A number of countries
have decided to use
nuclear as a main source
of their energy mix
[gCO2/kWh]
[% renewables]
France
Country w/ large
hydro potential
A number of countries
have a large hydro power
potentials
[gCO2/kWh]
[% renewables]
Norway, Brazil,
Sweden
w/o nuclear or large
hydro
A number of countries
do not have any hydro
power potential nor have
included nuclear energy
in their mix
[gCO2/kWh]
[% renewables]
Denmark, Germany
[gCO2 / kWh]
Philippines, EU [% RE]
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 5

6. Example electricity – emission intensity
• E.g. EU:
– Historic emission intensity below global average but well above what is
possible according to best practice
– Future projected policy path in line with what 2°C scenarios suggest
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 6
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
[gCO2/kWh]
Electricity - Electricity emission intensity [CO2 emissions per unit electricity produced] EU
Global average
Current policies
Pledge
Required for 2 ºC pathway
Required for 2 ºC pathway
Nuclear
Large hydro potential
Large hydro potential
Large hydro potential
w/o nuclear or large hydro
potentail

7. Defining best practice – example transport (road)
• Modal split [% private cars and motorcycles]:
– Value: 58%
– Source: share as currently (2010) in Japan
• CO2 emission per vehicle kilometer [kgCO2/vkm]
– Value: 0.208
– Source: Emission intensity of (2010) in EU
• Biofuels and electrification in road transport [%
biofuels/elec.]
– Value: 18.9%
– Source: Share of biofuels in (2010) in Brazil
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 7

8. Example transport – emission intensity of LDVs
• E.g. USA
– Historically high emission levels, much higher than best practive
– Future policy projections though in line with 2 degree and better than
current best practice
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 8
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050
[kgCO2/vkm]
Transport: Road - Road transport intensity (emissions) [CO2 emission per vehicle kilometre]
USA
Global average
Current policies
Pledge
Required for 2 ºC pathway
Required for 2 ºC pathway

9. Conclusions
• Sectoral decarbonization indicators allow to
identify important trends that are not apparent at
the macro level
• They provide a more nuanced and help to
understand driver behind emissions pathways a
lot better.
• Defining best practice levels for this indicators
allow to identify how and where countries can
increase their ambition
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 9

10. Additional information
• Policy brief
“Faster & Cleaner”
• How decarbonization is
happening faster than
expected
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 10

11. Climate Action Tracker database
WEBSITE presentation
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 11

12. BACKUP slides
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 12

13. Approach to selecting impactful indicators
Guiding
questions
Guiding questions for
identifying indicators
- How easy is it to get
access to data for the
indicators?
- How relevant are
indicators with regard
to policy design and
evaluation?
- Can we identify best
practices and how
meaningful is it?
Long list of
indicators
Establish a
long list of all
possible
indicators
•Macro vs
Sector
•Activity &
Intensity
Selection of
indicators
Assess data availability:
Need consistent and coherent data for a
significant fraction of countries on:
•Historical development
•Current best practice
•2 degree compatibility pathway
Evaluate policy relevance:
• Will policies actually influence indicator
development?
• Can policies be evaluated by tracking
indicators?
Application to
countries
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 13
Assess data
availability
Evaluate policy
relevance

14. Overview of sectoral best practice indicators
Sector Indicator Definition Unit
Industry: Cement Cement activity Amount of cement produced per capita t product / cap
Industry: Cement Cement intensity CO2 emissions per unit cement produced kg CO2 / t product
Industry: Steel Steel activity Amount of steel produced per capita t product / cap
Industry: Steel Steel intensity CO2 emissions per unit steel produced kg CO2 / t product
Industry: Chemicals Chemicals intensity
CO2 emissions in chemical sector per
added value gCO2 / USD2012
Industry: Chemicals Chemicals activity n.a. n.a.
Oil and Gas Oil and Gas intensity Fugitive GHG emissions tCO2e / ktoe
Oil and Gas Oil and Gas activity n.a. n.a.
Electricity Electricity activity Electricity demand per capita kWh / cap
Electricity Electricity emission intensity
CO2 emissions per unit electricity
produced gCO2 / kWh
Electricity Electricity renewable intensity Renewables in electricity generation % renewables
Transport: Road Road transport activity Modal split
% private cars and
motorcycles
Transport: Road
Road transport intensity
(emissions) CO2 emission per vehicle kilometre kg CO2 / vkm
Transport: Road
Road transport intensity
(biofuel/electrification)
Biofuels and electrification in road
transport % biofuels/elec.
Transport: Aviation Aviation biofuel intensity Biofuels and electrification in aviation % biofuels/elec.
Transport: Aviation Aviation activity Passenger flux per capita pkm / cap
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 14

15. Overview of sectoral best practice indicators – cont.
12/1/2015 www.climateactiontracker.org 15
Sector Indicator Definition Unit
Buildings Buildings activity (residential) Residential building area per capita m² / cap
Buildings Buildings activity (commercial) Commercial building area per capita m² / cap
Buildings Buildings intensity (residential)
CO2 emissions per residential
building area kg CO2 / m²
Buildings Buildings intensity (commercial)
CO2 emissions per commercial
building area kg CO2 / m²
Buildings Buildings intensity (per capita)
Total building CO2 emissions per
capita t CO2 / cap
Forestry Forestry activity Forest area (indexed to base year)
ha of forest (indexed to
1990)
Forestry Forestry intensity n.a. n.a.
Agriculture
Agriculture activity (meat):
consumption Meat calorie consumption per capita meat kcal / cap / day
Agriculture
Agriculture activity (total):
consumption Total calorie consumption per capita kcal / cap / day
Agriculture
Agriculture activity (meat):
production Meat production per capita meat kg / cap / day
Agriculture Agriculture intensity (total)
Tonnes of GHG emission per valued
added
tCO2e / thousand
USD2012
Waste Waste activity Amount of waste per capita t waste / cap
Waste Waste intensity Methane emissions per unit of waste
tCH4 from landfill / t
waste