Are European cities achieving emission reduction commitments? A comparative analysis under the Covenant of Mayors initiative

Cities are widely recognized as responsible for Greenhouse Gas emissions while being affected by climate change. The potential of cities in contributing to the climate challenge has been clearly recognized and supported within Europe by the Covenant of Mayors initiative. Climate strategies at the local level are site-specific and suit local communities and territories’ needs and peculiarities. In addition, several drivers can influence the impacts of CC mitigation policies at the urban scale. This paper follows the pathway set by former studies with the aim to understand potential factors positively or negatively influencing the results of planned measures by CoM signatories in their SEAPs by mainly focusing on policy instruments and sectors, in addition to other previously explored characteristics. To this aim, this study provides a regression analysis based on data regarding Baseline Emission Inventories and Monitoring Emission Inventories from a sample of CoM signatories as of August 2019.