Greenhouse gas reduction opportunities for local governments: a quantification and prioritization framework

The goal of this research was to present a decision-making framework for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation strategy selection for local governments based on the development of life cycle GHG mitigation “supply curves”. This approach offers the ability to combine the impacts and cost-effectiveness measurements of numerous GHG mitigation options at the same time. Life cycle GHG emissions accounting considers emissions generated throughout the supply chain of a product or process, and also typically considers system-wide or consequential effects on emissions as well. Life cycle cost analysis (LCCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) were the two methods used to quanitfy the costs and environmental impacts of the strategies, respectively. Los Angeles (LA) County and Yolo County were selected and the following actions for inclusion in GHG mitigation supply curves for each county were selected:

1. Los Angeles County chose to move forward with quantification of two strategies;

a. Transit bus ...