Chapter 1
Introduction
To slow the pace of climate change and prevent its worst effects from materializing, local, state, and national governments must design measures that mitigate (i.e., lessen the severity or even eliminate) the root cause of the issue: GHG emissions from human activities. To do so, they need tools and resources to accurately assess and quantify GHG emissions, and to design effective methods to reduce emissions.
The purpose of the Handbook is to provide accurate, reliable, and standardized emission reduction quantification methods for project analysis and long-term planning. It also aims to support and enhance the consideration of climate vulnerabilities, and health and equity during the project design, planning, and implementation process. The Handbook is intended to support the efforts of local governments to address GHG emissions and vulnerabilities to climate change in their planning efforts and environmental review of new projects, and to achieve more equitable outcomes when addressing these impacts. The Handbook will also be useful for project proponents and other parties interested in enhancing resiliency and sustainability.
The guidance provided in the Handbook specifically addresses appropriate procedures to apply quantification methods to achieve accurate and reliable results. The Handbook includes background information on programs and concepts associated with the quantification of GHG emissions and climate change vulnerability. The Handbook does not provide policy guidance on any of these issues, nor does it dictate how a jurisdiction should address questions of policy. Policy considerations are left to individual agencies and their governing boards. The Handbook is intended to create a standardized approach to quantifying GHG reduction and climate change resilience measures so the effectiveness of these measures can be considered and compared on a common basis.
Chapter 1 provides additional information on the Handbook and its contents. Readers are also encouraged to review pages 1-14 which includes the Title Page, Acknowledgements, Dedication, An Important Consideration, Table of Contents, Acronyms and Abbreviations.