Low-carbon development in global citiesPeter Erickson, Stockholm Environment Institute (U.S.)Cape Town, South AfricaApril 23, 2013

Global Context – Pathways for <2° C

Source: WBGU. 2009. “Solving the Climate Dilemma: The Budget Approach”. German Advisory Council on Global Change. http://www.wbgu.de/wbgu_sn2009_en.pdf.

Cities Are Important to Global Climate Change Mitigation• “C40 Cities have the potential to

reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions by one full gigaton” Bill Clinton, former President of the

United States, announcing SEI research for C40 Cities, Rio+20, June 2012

• “What the world needs is the same science based foundation for cities that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides for nations.” Cynthia Rosenzweig, NASA, “Cities

lead the way in climate change action”, Nature 467 (2010)

What are the most significant sources of urban GHG emissions?

• Depends on what you count and why: Production and / or consumption

Ability to influence Measurability…

Source: SEI-US. 2012. Greenhouse Gas Emissions in King County. Seattle, WA: http://www.sei-international.org/publications?pid=2026.

Where are the greatest (average) urban-scale GHG abatement opportunities?Sector Sample

Technologies2020

Abatement2050

AbatementLocal

Influence

Energy Supply

Low-carbon electricity

Buildings & infrastructure

Building retrofits, design

Transport “Avoid, shift, improve”

Industry & goods

Low-GHG goods

Ag & food Low-GHG diets

Forestry Avoided clearing

Waste RecyclingSource: Erickson et al. 2013 (Forthcoming). Technologies, practices, and measures for GHG abatement at the urban scale. Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management. Work funded by C40 Cities. Note: dark circle means >5% of city GHGs. White circle <1%.

**

Transport sector analysisTechnology / practice

Policies and measures

2020 Abatement

2050 Abatement

Local Influence

Efficient vehiclesVehicle registration feesLow-GHG fuels

System efficiency (e.g., traffic mgmt.)

Traffic / demand mgmt

Mode shift Mass transit; road pricing

Trip avoidance Land use planning; road pricing

Source: Erickson et al. 2013 (Forthcoming). Technologies, practices, and measures for GHG abatement at the urban scale. Greenhouse Gas Measurement and Management. Work funded by C40 Cities. Note: dark circle means >5% of city GHGs. White circle <1%.

Example Policies and Measures• Energy Supply

Low-carbon electricity

• Building Energy Retrofit disclosure requirements and financing

• Transportation Vehicle charges & public transport Combined transport and land use planning

Putting it all together:Seattle example

Energy Supply –Examples• Seattle (USA) has a public

electricity utility, Seattle City Light Divested in coal in 2000 Committed to carbon neutral

electricity in future (but starts from >90% hydro)

• Cities tied to national / regional grids have it harder; common strategy is to focus on distributed local generation Sydney goal of capacity for

100% local electricity generation by 2030 with GHG reductions of 70%

London goal of 25% by 2025

Source: Seattle City Light. 2010. “2010 Integrated Resource Plan.”

Building Energy – Melbourne Example• Mandatory energy

disclosure - Building Energy Efficiency Disclosure Act 2010 (Australian Government)

• Low interest bank loans Secured by municipal charge

on the property (improvements and charges stay with the building); tenants contribute

Source: Mayes, David. 2013. The opportunities and lessons from the City of Melbourne’s implementation of building energy policies. City of Melbourne, Australia. Presentation to World Bank / CLC / C40 Workshop. April 2013.

Transportation – Singapore Example• Shift to rail-based transit

Following initial plan developed in early 1970s

Current 62% mode share for public transit during peak times; goal of 75% by 2030

Expanding rail; giving buses road priority

• Quotas on total car ownership

• Financial incentives for low-GHG vehicles

Source: Poon, Joe Fai. 2013. Transport: Opportunities and Lessons. Land Transport Authority, Singapore. Presentation to World Bank / CLC / C40 Workshop. Singapore. April 2013.

Transport / Land Use – Stockholm• Building towards the city centre;

using old industrial sites

• Integrating with transit

• Integrated planning; lots of stakeholder input

Source: Gustafsson, Thomas, 2013. Urban Planning and Climate from a Land Use Perspective. Presentation to World Bank / CLC / C40 Workshop. Singapore. April 2013.

Metrics for Tracking ProgressSector Driver Units Common local

data sources

Buildings Building energy intensity

MJ or kwh per m2 or employee

Utilities; surveys; city buildings departments

Transport Vehicle energy intensity

Liter / km or MJ / km

Vehicle registration departments

Share of public transit, non-motorized trips

% of trips by mode

Local vehicle /travel surveys

Avoided trips and/or reduced trip length

Pkm and tkm per resident

Local vehicle / travel surveys

Some international default data exist; e.g. UITP, ITDP, World Bank

Conclusions• Building energy, personal vehicle travel, and diet tend to have greatest GHG abatement potential, influence

• Interactions between government, stakeholders critical

• If data are available, simple metrics can help track progress, understand trends