A targeted approach to identifying emission hotspots

The complexity and high costs of MRV (Measurement, reporting and verification) for the transport sector represent significant barriers for short-term evaluations of interventions on public transport and the consideration of transport projects under innovative financing instruments. In 2016, this project has successfully developed a methodology to monitor CO₂ emissions and NO_X pollution levels using mobile phone data in real-time and has tested it in the City of Nuremberg.

The IMC4T approach uses mobile data to capture traffic flows throughout a city, calculating the pollution footprint and identifying potential hotspots for air pollutants.

The data is automatically generated when mobile phones connect to cell towers for calls, text messages or Internet access. Thanks to the continuous data generation, the final data sample is larger and more comprehensive compared with manual measurements. In addition, data collection takes significantly less time. The project is led by South Pole Group in partnership with Teralytics.

IMC4T’s pilot project with the city of Nuremberg provides important information for decision makers and help create tailor-made solutions to counter pollution hotspots.

Telefónica Germany has provided anonymized mobile data for 2015 and 2016. Using specially developed algorithms, Teralytics converts this data into motion and traffic flows before passing it on to South Pole Group, which calculates the total amount of different pollutants.

These calculations are compared to existing data regarding the air quality in Nuremberg. The ability to compare current data with information from 2015 will allow project partners to evaluate the effectiveness of measures taken to combat poor air quality.

Interested in IMC4T?

Cities in both developed and developing countries that are looking for more accurate measurements of their air quality can contact the IMC4T project team.