What is the Data Portal for Cities?
The Data Portal for Cities is a free service that helps cities establish a solid data foundation for climate actions. It also offers a simple way to track developments over time. The portal provides estimated data and allows users to enhance and refine these datasets through an easy-to-use input interface.

What types of data are available?
The portal provides estimated activity data and emission factors across several sectors, following the CRF standard format. It also grants access to transportation data from Google’s Environmental Insights Explorer (EIE). This includes key information on electricity and fuel use, vehicle fuel consumption, waste production, and other assumptions for building a community-scale greenhouse gas inventory.

Where does the data come from?
The data is estimated using national and regional statistics, scaling factors, and city-specific information like population or building stock data. Standardized and transparent methods are used, based on guidelines such as the Global Protocol for Cities (GPC). Key sources include government ministries and other authoritative data from each country.

Who should use the Data Portal for Cities?
The portal is primarily designed for cities to support the creation of effective climate action plans. However, anyone can access the data for available cities and download the datasets for offline use.

How can I use the data?
You can view and download estimated datasets specific to your city. The data can help you understand various sectors within your city and inform the prioritization of climate actions. It is structured to support inventory calculation and reporting on platforms like CDP and ICLEI.

Why has some of the data changed?
The data provided are preliminary estimates, based on country or regional sectoral statistics and city-specific factors. Over time, improvements in methods, assumptions, and data sources can lead to revised estimates for certain sectors or years.

Why is my city's data different?
The portal’s data are primarily top-down estimates using national or regional data and city-specific factors. Local data may differ due to the inclusion or exclusion of certain activities, or variations in methods and assumptions. When comparing, ensure that the data cover the same activities, geographical area, and time period.

How do I cite the data from the portal?
For data estimates, use the following citation:
Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. Data Portal for Cities. 202X (year of citing). Available online at: http://www.globalcovenantofmayors.org. For specific facts like population data, cite the original source provided in the data download.