Sustainable urban systems = Mitigating Climate Change
Today, climate change has clearly come to be recognised as one of the greatest environmental, social and economic threats facing the world. Cities and urban activities are at the heart of this challenge. According to UN-HABITAT, even though cities barely occupy two percent of the world’s surface area, they are responsible for 75 percent of global energy consumption and 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. So, clearly, the answer to mitigating climate change is driving sustainable cities with green built environments.
In any city, almost half of the carbon emissions are due to transport and the other half is due to energy-use in buildings. According to estimates, the resident of a highdensity, masstransit driven European city produces 10 tonnes of carbon dioxide pollution a year, compared with 20 tonnes produced by his North American counterpart in a standard auto-centric low-density city. Further, in the building sector, depending on the extent of specifications, a green building can reduce energy costs by 25 to 40 percent. An urban model that encourages public transit and an eco-friendly built environment will significantly reduce energy emissions.
Building ‘green’ is not only a way to ‘save the planet’ but also about creating a place that improves human health and provides long-term cost savings. Green development views the built environment as an extension of the ecosystem and believes that each element in a building affects the overall performance of the environment. So, green development ideals try to optimise the functioning of a community, and preserve and protect important resources like water, land, and energy. In the end, sustainable development has minimal adverse effects on the natural environment in its immediate surrounds and on the wider regional and global setting.
Also, eco-friendly development is an attractive proposition all around for developers. A reduction of 30 to 40 percent operating costs is a clear financial benefit in the long run. Also, in today’s world, adopting green practices adds to the marketability and USP of a product or brand. Further, real estate developers and communities can also use their green development as a way to make additional money by using tools like carbon credits
.
Carbon credit is currently being used by companies in the area of power, steel and renewable energy with great success. Carbon credits have come to become a great tool that incentivise initiatives, and companies that are using energy-efficient development principles. Developers who are building large communities, housing societies, and neighbourhood associations who adopt energy reduction strategies can use carbon credits as a way to make more money.
This article was first published in the Times of India on June 5th 2009.
What is carbon credit?
Carbon credit is a component of the international emission trading regulations
which compels developed countries to reduce carbon emissions. Carbon credits are produced by activities or enterprises that reduce energy emissions by adopting
cleaner technologies, renewable energy or energy efficiency measures. For every ton of carbon emission that an enterprise reduces, it gets a carbon emission certificate which can be sold through a market exchange, similar to any other commodity exchange. This mechanism is seen as a way to incentivise the developing world to leapfrog towards greener technologies and approaches.The trade formally takes place under an UN-directed international convention on climate change to facilitate developed countries reduce their emissions by buying carbon offset. There are several voluntary exchanges that trade carbon as well and have less intense documentation processes.
ECO-COMMUNITY PRINCIPLES
• Preservation of open spaces, farmlands, and critical environmental areas including
parks, forests, and lakes
• Offers a variety of mass-transit choices
• Mixed land use and walkable
• Green buildings
GREEN BUILDING FEATURES
• Passive design strategies including intelligent building orientation, solar design, and
the use of natural lighting and ventilation
• Water conservation, rain water harvesting and ground water recharge
• Use of alternate energy sources such as photovoltaic in the building
• Adopting energy-efficient equipments for air conditioning, plumbing installations
and lighting systems
• Use of building materials having high recycled content or using rapidly renewable
materials
