The pathway of the Province of Siena toward the «Siena Carbon Free» goal

To the best of our knowledge, the Province of Siena is the first administrative system in Europe to achieve the total abatement of gross emissions, becoming a carbon neutral area and obtaining an ISO 14064 certification of its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, developed in time series (2006–2011) by using the 2006 IPCC methodology. Starting from an already favourable condition (low population density, low industrialization, 72% of gross emission abatement, etc.), the administration has set the target of achieving, by the year 2015, a carbon neutral condition. The goal was already achieved in 2011 (102.1% of gross emission abatement), four years before the initially proposed deadline. In this paper we present the results of GHG inventories elaborated for the Province of Siena during the period 2006–2011, focusing on the global and indirect factors, as well as environmental policies that contributed to reach the “Siena Carbon Free” goal. The Province of Siena constitutes a practical example of the effectiveness of local approach to react to climate change. This initiative is easily feasible and highly transferrable to any regional system. Therefore, the experience of the Province of Siena can be considered a significant reference model for all public authorities who are interested in reducing GHG emissions. © 2014 WIT Press. Emission in time series; Environmental policies; GHG emission reduction; GHG inventory; Mitigation actions