SCATTER is a local authority focussed emissions tool, built to help create low-carbon local authorities.
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What is SCATTER?
SCATTER is a local authority focussed emissions measurement and modelling tool, built to help create low-carbon local authorities. SCATTER provides local authorities and city regions with the opportunity to standardise their greenhouse gas reporting and align to international frameworks, including the setting of targets in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. Its use is free of charge to all local authorities in the UK.
The SCATTER tool:
- Generates a greenhouse gas emissions inventory following the Global Protocol for City-wide Greenhouse Gas emissions for your local authority area
- Helps the understanding and development of a credible decarbonisation pathway in line with emissions reduction targets
- Provides outputs that can be used for engagement to create a collaborative carbon reduction approach for local authorities
The first part of the tool generates a greenhouse gas emissions inventory following the Global Protocol for City-wide Greenhouse Gas emissions for each local authority. This allows local authorities to align with international standards of best practice, standardize their reporting and identify emission hotspots across multiple sectors and greenhouse gases. Emissions are calculated by sector and sub-sector.
The second part of the tool offers the modelling of emissions reduction pathways to 2050, based on several emissions reduction measures that can be set by the user. There are 30+ carbon reduction interventions that can be modelled for each area to varying degrees of ambition to create a bespoke decarbonization pathway for each local authority.
How to use the tool and link to Net Zero Go
Instruction on how to use SCATTER are provided on the website and there are various webinars available.
SCATTER is a top-down model which aims to answer what needs to be done to achieve area-wide climate targets by looking at a combination of interventions across the whole energy system. It does not assess how this could be achieved or the policies, finance or stakeholders needed to deliver changes. Therefore, the 30+ SCATTER interventions should be used to understand the scale and type of interventions needed and prioritize those areas with the largest impact.
SCATTER can only be used for area-wide analysis, it includes but does not separately calculate emissions for councils as organisations (other tools exist for this).
The next step after using SCATTER is to look at how the interventions could be delivered at scale, by developing priorities and actions under each of the sub-sector targets. You can then start to look at delivering this by looking at programmes and projects that the council could implement to support the actions and priorities defined. It is important to maintain the links back to the footprint and targets to ensure that projects can demonstrate their impact.
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