In this page you will find why monitoring and learning are essential for tracking progress along cities’ climate transition plans and how they enable evidence-based and timely course-corrections. It outlines the defining features of the NZC Programme’s Monitoring, Learning and Impact framework and directs readers to relevant resources.

MONITORING & LEARNING FOR IMPACT

Effective monitoring helps quantify the progress of the portfolio of actions implemented, strengthens transparency and legitimacy and assesses the effectiveness of solutions. System-wide transformation for decarbonisation requires multi-sector monitoring and rapid feedback loops, while also measuring co-benefits as part of an integrated approach. Comprehensively understanding the bigger picture requires both qualitative and quantitative data. By monitoring progress, cities can evaluate their actions, learn from experiences, and course-correct to accelerate their journey toward climate neutrality. Transparent data-sharing with interested and affected stakeholders also helps cities mitigate the risk of greenwashing.

MONITORING & LEARNING IN NETZEROCITIES

Many cities have developed extensive in-house expertise in monitoring and learning over the years. The NetZeroCities programme helps these cities build upon and expand their existing capabilities while also providing support to those with limited capacities in this field. This dual approach ensures that all participating cities can effectively track their progress toward climate neutrality.

The NetZeroCities Theory of Change provides a systemic causal framework that outlines the process and interconnected components towards climate neutrality. This Theory of Change aligns with the programmatic goal of using systemic innovation and a portfolio approach through which cities can activate multiple levers of transformative change under a single emission domain. The six levers—technological innovation and infrastructure, finance and funding, social innovation, democracy and participation, governance innovation, and learning, capacity, and capability building—integrate the emission domains into a coherent portfolio. These levers serve as entry points for broader systems-wide transformations, aiding in the design and implementation of city actions. This approach not only creates pathways to achieve 2030 net-zero targets but also strengthens the MEL process, as it identifies and allows for the assessment of direct impacts and a variety of co-benefits along the way.