Comprehensive low carbon plans will be vital in tackling climate change and resource depletion, new research suggests
Cities present us with huge environmental challenges, but also offer huge opportunities, because they create economies of scale in technology deployment and access to capital, both of which are vital if we are to make the existing built environment of our cities sustainable and resource efficient by 2050.
The biggest 20 cities in the UK by population size, for example, are responsible for more than 20% of national carbon emissions and more than 20% of energy consumption, so local action by cities will be vital if we are to meet the UK national target of an 80% reduction on 1990 levels by 2050.
Research also shows that that more densely populated cities are more carbon and energy efficient, in per capita terms, than cities that are not so crowded. Increased wealth is also associated with more emissions (in per capita terms), and cities that create more waste also tend to create more carbon emissions.
However, driven by a need to reduce energy costs, green jobs and economic growth, and the increasing issue of fuel poverty, UK cities are putting low carbon plans into action; having these in place to reduce carbon emissions can make a significant difference to the amount of overall reduction in emissions over time.
Recent research on the top 60 UK cities by population size, funded by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Education Trust, has shown that the majority of them have agreed carbon reduction plans in place, either through climate change plans, explicit low carbon plans or some other kind of plan. Within these plans, most UK cities have carbon reduction targets in place. More needs to be done, however, because only five UK cities had 2050 targets in place, and targets were frequently set for shorter timeframes. The research also suggests that having a plan or strategy to reduce carbon emissions can make a significant difference to the amount of overall reduction in emissions over time.
Despite this, the changed political and fiscal landscape is also having a substantial impact. The research found that there was still considerable uncertainty over how the localism agenda is playing out and many people felt the removal of the NI186 carbon emissions indicator set – those CO² emissions that local authorities are expected to minimise – would have a negative impact (20%). If national targets are to be met, then local action is needed, but the localism agenda makes the government reluctant to impose targets on local authorities. Some 68% of respondents were positive towards the Green Deal, and the biggest 20 UK cities were the most positive group among respondents, although there were also concerns expressed over uncertainty regarding the exact mechanisms of the deal. Finally, about half the respondents, who were senior climate change or sustainability officers, felt that the national renewables target was also unlikely to be achieved by 2020, implying a tension between localism and the need to have a coherent set of mandatory local targets.
Looking at the situation internationally, the cities that are succeeding with their low carbon plans are those that set ambitious targets, thosen that place them in an integrated low carbon and climate change framework, have innovative financing in place and use partnerships creatively. But UK cities still need to do more to develop fully integrated low carbon plans and strategies and to help play a leading role in developing and promoting a low carbon economy through, for example, local economic partnerships.
In turn, government needs to develop a new policy framework that recognises the role of cities in the climate change and low carbon agendas, and to also introduce mandatory local carbon budgets, which should be anchored within the NI186 (or equivalent) carbon emissions indicator set. Without these measures, UK cities will struggle to play the important role that they should in helping meet our national 2050 targets.
Tim Dixon is professor of real estate and director of the Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development (OISD) at Oxford Brookes University and the author of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors research paper ‘Hotting Up? Low Carbon Plans in UK Cities’
Taken from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sustainable-business/low-carbon-city-plans
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