Conduct analysis of city consumption linked to tropical deforestation and develop an action plan. Tools such as the Forest Footprint for Cities can estimate a city’s impact on tropical deforestation driven by urban consumption of commodities (e.g., beef, soybeans, timber) associated with tropical deforestation.  

For example:

1. In partnership with Cities4Forests, the cities of Quito (Ecuador) and Mexico City analysed their forest footprint in 2020. At the time of writing, the cities have engaged in further conversation with Cities4Forests to develop action plans.

1. Adopt or update city sustainability policy(ies) to reflect the city’s recognition of their impact on tropical deforestation. Many cities worldwide have adopted general sustainability policies, plans, or agendas to guide decision-making in spite of concerns of lack of funding and capacity . For example:

   1. As a part of the nation’s larger suite of climate policies, France adopted a National Strategy to Combat Imported Deforestation in 2020. The measure aims to cease national consumption of imported deforestation through a number of actions by 2030, and is part of a larger EU initiative to do the same.

2. Implement a city carbon accounting methodology or social cost of carbon (SCC) policy that includes consumption-based emissions from land-use change. Many carbon accounting methodologies and SCC policies render the consideration of scope 3 emissions optional. For city decisions to factor their impact on tropical forests through carbon emissions considerations, 

In 2014 the Greater London Authority (GLA) used the recently-developed PAS 2070 methodology to calculate the city’s consumption-based emissions (scopes 1-3). The initial study found that the city’s consumption-based emissions were 2-3x larger than based on scope 1 emissions alone.