Developing A Low Carbon Mobility Plan

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02 Nov 2017

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The term "low carbon" refers to a zero industrial carbon emission and reduction in the green house gas emissions.

Low carbon makes some sense only if there is a 90% reduction in the emissions. Otherwise, low carbon cannot prevent devastation as there still is the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere.

DEFINING CITY AND LOW CARBON CITY:

CITY:

A permanent settlement, which is relatively large, as compared to a town or a village and has a population, is called as a city [1] . Cities face a great challenge in terms of resource consumption and climate change. Urban areas have high energy and resource intensive lifestyle and consumption pattern. As a consequence, cities and the urban areas today contribute to more than 80% of the greenhouse gas emissions globally. [2] 

Thus, it’s imperative to design and restructure the cities in an eco-friendly manner, so that the carbon emissions are reduced to its minimum and the city becomes a low carbon city.

LOW CARBON CITY:

Though, a low carbon city is not defined universally, but it can be understood as the one, which focuses on the strategies that mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions. "Low carbon city can be understood as a localised concept of the low carbon economy." The efficient use of energy, development and innovation of techniques to mitigate and reduce carbon emissions, redefining and restructuring the industries and the interconnection between the humans, their survival and the nature, when combined together forms a low carbon economy. Thus, achieving economic prosperity even at a low level of carbon emissions is the concept behind developing a low carbon economy.

The concept of a low carbon city could be also understood as "sustainability in general". A city that realises sustainable development with a functional human-nature system and the coexistence of the humans with the nature as well as the society by the use of ecological techniques and methods is called as an eco-city.

Thus, various definitions of low carbon cities should have all its focus on how a city should reduce its level of carbon emissions without hampering its economic development and prosperity.

VARIOUS DIMENSIONS OF A LOW CARBON CITY:

The 3 important concept of a low carbon city includes [3] :

The concept of sustainability- it should meet the requirements of the present without hampering the environment and without compromising on the needs of the future generation.

The concept of liveability- the development of a low carbon city should ensure good health, better working and living conditions for its citizens.

The concept of development- it should maintain economic development and prosperity while attaining a low carbon future.

The main focus while developing a low carbon economy revolves around the three fundamental dimensions:

Housing (the building and the infrastructure part) - The buildings should be designed in such a way as to conserve maximum amount of energy.

The infrastructure built should involve the use of appliances, which are energy conserving such as, energy conserving air-conditioner, light bulbs and other household appliances.

The use of solar energy is an apt alternative.

Also, while designing, the building should be combined with the natural environment, so that maximum amount of energy can be saved.

Last but not the least, energy saving electrical appliances and renewable energy should be used to enhance green life style.

Some of the renewable energy source and energy saving appliances being- solar photovoltaic, solar water heater, wind turbine, natural gas, green roof, thermal insulated wall, use of thermal cycles, high efficiency lamp, terrestrial heat and cool, sewage irrigation and use of fuel cells, which would enhance low carbon life.

The waste should be recycled and then disposed.

Industrial sector- the industries should be restructured in a way such that a very little amount of pollution is produced.

The industries, which are technically backward, should be phased out.

Secondly, laws should be imposed on the industries pertaining to the amount of pollution and CO2 emitted.

The waste should be recycled before being disposed and close ended recycling method should be followed.

With more focus on the research and development, renewable energies should be more prominently used. Emphasis should be laid on the establishments of green industries, such as kirloskar ltd.

Transport sector- it is another important sector, which requires transformation in order to develop a low carbon city.

There should be more social interaction with social equity and livelier urban neighbourhood focussing on better health and high security.

More focus should be laid on the research and development process to find out ways of zero waste energy and climate change adaptation.

There should be an efficient use of the land, so that the natural environment, the biodiversity and the agricultural area is saved.

VARIOUS DIMENSIONS OF A LOW CARBON MOBILE CITY:

The amount of CO2 emitted by the transport sector forms the largest segment of the emissions and thus causes the maximum amount of pollution. But at the same time transportation is very important for connectivity and the mobility of the goods and the services.

So keeping in mind the importance of the transportation with the development of a low carbon city, it is imperative to restructure the city transport system. Various dimensions of a low carbon system can be seen as follows:

More focus should be laid on walking and cycling, thereby laying emphasis on green transport.

Public transport should be given more preference as compared to the private vehicles.

Firm laws should be enforced in terms of the traffic rules and to develop safer roads.

Use of car and motorcycle should be minimised.

The level of use of the motorised transport can be reduced by changing the land use pattern and developing a compact city development and thereby reducing the number of trips by the public transport.

The quality of bus services in terms of number of trips, infrastructure and regulation should be improved.

Research should be carried out to find ways to reduce the amount of fuel combusted per kilometres travelled.

Use of BIO-FUEL and natural gas should be encouraged.

Electrification of the whole transport system should be emphasised upon.

Transit and non-motorised transportation should be promoted instead of the freeways.

INDICATORS USED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A LOW CARBON CITY:

The indicators used for the development of a low carbon city can be classified under two broad categories:

Macro level Indicators

City level Indicators

Macro level Indicators:

The indicators which are executed on the macro level are the macro level indicators. These indicators have national and long term contexts.

This can be further classified under the following heads:

Economic indicators

Carbon intensity of the transport

Energy security

Transport infrastructure investment

Total cost of transport

Social indicators

Access to transport

Transport subsidy

Food security

Environmental indicators

Air pollution

Water pollution

Water stress

Technical/ Technological indicators

Motor vehicles(fleet)- energy and emissions efficiency

Carbon content of electricity

Transport demand substitution

Operational efficiency of transport infrastructure

Strategic indicators

Sustainable urban form and infrastructure

National logistics grid

Investment in innovations, R&D and new technologies in transport sector

City level indicators:

It is on an intra-city level and different indicators chosen here are city based transportation system. Various city level indicators can be classified under the following heads:

Mobility and accessibility

Modal share

Travel time

Trip length

Affordability

Infrastructure and land use

Infrastructure quality

Land use

Parameters- 1) income level

2) Kernel density of roads

Safety and security

Environmental impacts

Emissions

Depletions

Health hazards

Economic indicators

Investment

Cost borne by the operators

Fare policy



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