The Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS) Cities - Pilot Application in Urban Landscapes (PAUL) project develops systematic observations of greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas and services for cities to support climate action; given that urban areas contribute to a large share of global and European fossil fuel emissions, cities are at the heart of emission reduction efforts.

The ICOS Cities Panel is a probability-based online panel focused on studying environmental attitudes in urban spaces that measured public opinion about climate issues and green policies in European cities. The panel had a gross sample of 2,500 residents in each city, and respondents received letter invitations to participate in the survey and take part of the panel in the subsequent waves with their explicit agreement. The ESS developed a three-wave online panel fielded in the two pilot cities from the ICOS Cities network, Munich and Paris, during 2023 and 2024: the first two waves were fielded during spring and autumn 2023, and the third wave in autumn 2024.

The project closely collaborates with the cities in order to design relevant climate services and tools based on the city needs. 12 additional cities covering the European continent are supporting the project: Antwerp, Barcelona, Basel, Brno, Athens, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, Helsinki, Krakow, Rome, Rotterdam and Porto. The cities provide a diversity of profiles in terms of geography, population, and economic activity, and they give feedback as well as share experiences throughout the project, while highlighting the needs of European cities in terms of climate action.

The questionnaire was developed by adapting questions from the ESS Round 8 module on climate change and by mapping the environmental policies described in the City Climate Action Plans from Munich and Paris. It covered different climate-related topics such as green policies, transportation, greenhouse gas emissions and energy, among other environmental behaviours.

PAUL, Pilot Applications in Urban Landscapes - Towards integrated city observatories for greenhouse gases (ICOS Cities) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 101037319.