Local perspectives in the control of greenhouse gas emissions – The case of Rio de Janeiro

Municipalities in developing countries can contribute to mitigating climate change and thereby benefit from reductions in the emissions of conventional pollutants and traffic jams or from improvements in waste management systems, amongst other local benefits. These benefits result from measures taken to reduce greenhouse gases emissions (or carbon sequestration) by two means: either measures taken to mitigate greenhouse gases emissions themselves and/or from the income obtained in the international carbon market. The evaluation of the current status of emissions and the potential for mitigation measures are based on various planning techniques, such as inventories and scenario building, as suggested in the paper. A brief report of the experience in making an inventory from secondary data and building up scenarios that has been undertaken in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is presented as a case study. Mitigation measures that are beneficial to the quality of city environments and suited to municipal administrations are also presented.