Low-carbon cities: The need of the hour

Posted by Vineet Feb 09, 2012 Last Updated Mar 13, 2012
0 Comments

City and town planners in India are still at sea as far as the concept of low-carbon development is concerned. Carbon footprint reduction is a primary agenda not only for the developed countries, but even for the industrial policy makers in the developing world. The concept of tradable energy certificates is being implemented in Indian industrial landscape. The unfortunate part is that these mindset is yet to transcend to town planning division.

Image Credit: whatsonxiamen.com

There are a slew of carbon consulting and advocacy organizations which have gone global with their agenda of low-carbon city planning & development – descending upon the major markets like India to tap the $800 billion low-carbon market.  Carbon footprint tools are being developed in a hurry (some in collaboration with major IT companies) – These low-carbon master-planning tool can be leveraged to reduce the carbon footprint of cities over a period of time.

Future of Indian cities: Next 2 decades

Any low-carbon master plan will take at least 15 -20 years to be implemented in totality – According to Mckinsey Global Institute, India’s GDP would have grown by more than 5 times by that time and the cities would be contributing 70% of this growth. This translates into more than 68 cities in 2030 with a population of more than 1 million as compared to 42 such cities today – this also means the creation of 700 – 900 million square meters of office and residential space -  paving of 2.5 billion square meter of roads – 7400 kms of metros and subways.

Image Credit: economictimes.com

The worrying part is not whether India would be able to achieve the above milestones, but the fact that any construction of even a smaller magnitude would be a disastrous proposition for the environment – alarming levels of carbon emissions from India urban development projects. The translates into a great opportunity for low-carbon development market – making India the fastest growing low-carbon market in the world growing from  $23 billion in 2009 to $135 billion in 2020 (6.1 % of the global market) – According to the HSBC Global Research.

The major drivers of growth…

According to the same research, energy-efficiency  solutions will hog the maximum limelight and will see an investment of $77 billion. The other major areas of impetus towards a sustainable low-carbon city will be..

  • Improvement of industrial transport and building efficiencies
  • Creation and implementation of energy conservation building codes
  • Adoption of environmental forecasting tools – which will accurately forecast the consumption of water and power by the residents of the city – An example is the Berkeley Lab’s road-mapping tools which is being evaluated by Pune and Jaipur
  • Adopt IT in greater measure to monitor, analyze and respond to energy and habitat related problems in real time – IBM and Cisco have been the early proponents of this approach
  • Utilization of local resources for developing future low-carbon cities – long distance transportation is a high-carbon exercise
  • Creation of micro-grids which would offset the power consumption from the national thermal grid
  • Finally, the adoption of smart grids by low-carbon Indian cities – this would also expedite the adoption of electric vehicles.

Image credit: business.outlookindia.com

Apart from the above segments, in relation to the smart cities, “IT can help manage supply and demand holistically using local resources,” says Chandrakant Patel, senior research fellow at Hewlette Packard Laboratories in California.


Tags:  , , , , , , ,

Leave a Reply


Climate…Spotlight

GLOBAL WARMING - A THREAT TO CORAL REEFS IN GULF OF MANNAR: The coral reef wealth of the Gulf of Mannar, which is being conserved through joint efforts of various governmental, non-governmental and research agencies, is now facing a different kind of threat global warming and consequent climate change.
Coral reefs, known as rain forests of the sea, are a source of food security and livelihood options for hundreds of millions people, coastal defence and tourist hotspots. The Gulf of Mannar (GoM) is one of the four important coral reefs in India and thousands of artisanal fisher folk are dependant on fishery resources from this reef area.
------------------------------------------------------------------
CLIMATE CHANGE MAY CAUSE KIDNEY STONES: Climate change, it turns out, has a few side effects. High temperatures make it harder for the body to cool itself, which can cause heat cramps, exhaustion, and stroke--a particular concern for people with heart conditions. Heat also affects air quality, as stagnant air leads to higher smog concentrations, which in turn places stress on those with respiratory conditions like asthma. Higher levels of carbon dioxide will likely cause pollens to proliferate, while increased humidity will nurture fungal growth--two major aggravators of asthma and allergies. Hotter weather will also lead to the spread of disease. Mosquitoes carrying diseases like malaria, West Nile virus, and dengue fever will migrate into new areas of the US. So will ticks bearing Lyme disease. Water- and food-borne pathogens also thrive in balmier climes.
------------------------------------------------------------------
HARSH WINTER DOESN'T MEAN LESS WARMING: German climate experts say the past harsh winter in Europe and North America does not indicate a slowing of global warming.
The German Meteorological Service said Tuesday while the history of climate change shows ups and downs, the overall rise in temperatures is evident.
------------------------------------------------------------------
FIXING THE OIL SPILL - DUMP INTO GULF OF MEXICO: BP and the U.S. Coast Guard are dumping large amounts of "dispersants" both on the surface and underwater, in a desperate attempt to control the ongoing spill. Dispersants are surfactants, not unlike what you use on your dishes, that break oil down into small droplets that sink into the water.
How much are they dumping? Lots. According to ProPublica, "BP has already bought up more than a third of the world's supply" of dispersants. On Thursday alone, ProPublica reports, emergency workers dropped 100,000 gallons of the stuff into the Gulf.
------------------------------------------------------------------
BURNING OIL SENDS TOXIC SMOKE TOWARDS GULF OF MEXICO: The EPA is warning that Gulf Coast residents are at risk of headaches, nausea, and other ill health effects; the culprit is air pollution from the oil burns that response teams are conducting to try to keep the big slick away from coastlines.
"The BP Oil Spill in the Gulf could cause an odor similar to that of a gas station for communities along the affected coast," warns the site the EPA set up on the disaster
------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW GOOGLE INVESTS IN 2 WIND FARMS: Google Inc. has invested $38.8 million in two North Dakota wind farms, the Internet giant's first direct investment in utility-scale renewable energy generation.
The Mountain View, Calif., company said in a Monday blog post that it invested in wind farms built by NextEra Energy Resources, a unit of FPL Group Inc. The wind turbines, made by General Electric Co., generate 169.5 megawatts of power, enough to serve more than 55,000 homes.