Adapting Cities for Climate Change

Treat the planet well, it was not gifted to you by your parents but it is loaned to you by your children

Cities, a place some cant live without and a place where some spend a lifetime aspiring to live in. How did our generations before us live and survive with our cities. Did we have the concept of cities then? What are Cities and who invented or rather discovered them? Cities have emerged due to peoples aspirations and desire to expand and overpower. Land which until about 3 decades back was never looked up to as a money generating source is today been abused against its natural wish and capacity. Natural disasters and calamities due to our lifestyle and inhuman behavior is a case of worry. Science mentioned facts on how the ice of the Arctic caps would all melt down by 2070 which did shock us but we carried on thinking we wouldnt be possibly there to witness this incident. Now today the time frame for the melting of the ice caps is claimed to be less than a decade from today! Cities today are being built with infrastructure, buildings, amenities etc to show the world what nations have to move forward, the rise in population is giving rise to the demand for more built spaces to occupy. Little do they realise that they are moving towards destruction of our future which we are yet to see but which looks all dark. Climate change is a new paradigm associated with this dark path we all are walking towards and the movement has a few crusaders, non-believers and a few who are least interested with this phenomena. The change for a positive future has begun but not enough. The developed countries are at an all time high and still going strong with their carbon emissions while the developing nations are facing the challenges and are given a task to mitigate the effects of climate change. We all are of the opinion that a lot can be achieved through restructuring our cities, designing better buildings, using efficient materials and technology but what needs to change at priority are the priorities themselves. The agenda of mitigating climate change must be to provide inspiration to our society and placing the society and its social fabric at the forefront. Today its not about designing and building for comfort and luxury but building for survival! India doesnt have a history of carbon emissions but is now in the forefront due to economic development and its ever increasing population. Effects of carbon emissions are greatly seen to impact the developing countries the most which they cannot afford as well like other developed and industrialized countries. Changes and alterations in climatic factors like rise in temperature, precipitation, humidity etc will lead to disturbed outputs in sectors of agriculture, biodiversity, infrastructure development etc (Ref: www.indiaclimateportal.org). Today India is the 4th largest emitter

of greenhouse gases and is travelling towards becoming the 3rd largest by 2015. Indias per capita CO emissions are approximately 1 tonne per annum, compared to a world average of 4 tonnes per annum. Coal and other fossil fuels are used abundantly for production of energy utilized for manufacturing, electricity for different sectors and in the building construction industry. Our Government has launched various policies and incentives to combat climate change and the use of fossil fuels. Bangalore has adopted low-emissions rapid transit system to curb emissions, while on the other hand Delhi is giving away incentives for buying electric vehicles like the REVA. States are forming committees and forums to exchange ideas and thoughts on climate change with multi disciplinary stakeholders like politicians, activists or even the youth. Developers of a certain class are also venturing into the construction of Green Buildings which has a huge impact of mitigating effects of climate change. The building construction industry itself contributes to about 50% of the energy demand in the world and with the growing demand for buildings and the downfall of peak energy demand is something to worry about. Buildings today are also the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions single handedly. The latest IPCC report states: improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings could potentially reduce projected global carbon emissions up to 29% by 2020, and up to 40% by 2030(Ref: declanbutler.info/blog). How is this achievable? How do we come down with our energy demands and usage in buildings? Who monitors and manages this sector? The solution to all our answers is: Design Green Buildings.

Figure: Electricity Production in India, 2006

(Ref: www.indiaclimateportal.org)

Green Buildings today are not only emitters of harmful CO2 gases but also other harmful gases such as halocarbons. Buildings designed today will last for a long life span and therefore its effect will help mitigate climate change in the coming years. Buildings and its emission content can be analysed through its Life Cycle Analysis. Buildings today use more than 80% of its energy in the operational phase through various processes like lighting, ventilation, cooling, use of appliances etc. Whereas only the remaining 20% of the energy is used during the construction stage of the building in materials, transportation,

construction processes etc. Therefore the efficient use of energy in the post occupancy stage in a building is of prime importance for mitigating the impacts of built space on our environment. Energy in buildings is primarily consumed during the following activities:

Embodied Energy

Manufacuring of building materials :

Transportation of materials from factories to sites:

Grey Energy

Induced Energy

Construction of buildings:

Operational Energy

Operation of builings:

Demolition of buildings: Recycling parts and materials wherever possible

To promote energy efficiency worldwide especially in developing nations it is important to have certain indicators and systems in place. Energy performance indicators help measure the performance of energy efficiency and consumption in buildings. Government can also set certain standards/codes to promote an reach certain benchmarked building performance levels. The Energy Conservation Building Codes (ECBC) touches upon these aspects of the built space to cater to energy efficiency in buildings in India. At present the ECBC is mandatory for buildings with a connected load of more than 500Kw and covers stages at the construction and operational phase of the building like Building Envelope, Hot water systems, Mechanical Systems, Lighting and Electric pumps and motors. Decision makers like Government bodies and other stake holders can look towards achieving the following: 1. increase energy efficiency in buildings; 2. increase energy efficiency of energy consuming appliances; 3. encourage companies generating and distribution energy to support emission reductions in the buildings; 4. change attitudes and behaviour of users and policy makers towards energy consumption; 5.promote the substitution of fossil fuels with renewable sources of energy. Commissioning buildings to regular energy audits and having a dedicated team for environmental management during the operational stages of the buildings will increase the efficiency of the systems installed and also help save energy in buildings. These trends will also move slowly and steadily towards designing and buildings of zero energy buildings i.e., buildings which meet all energy requirement on site through renewable energy and without the support and connectivity of any grid electricity connection.

So how do we prioritise our actions towards mitigating climate change? Different sectors and stakeholders have a different priority list which they need to address: Policy makers:

Establish national level regulations that make energy efficiency mandatory for all new buildings and in renovation of existing buildings

Conduct inventories of energy consumption, efficiency and emissions of the building stock to establish base-lines & set performance goals to reduce emissions

Retrofit all publicly owned buildings for high-level energy efficiency and deep GHG emission reducions

Establish an energy efficiency investment fund to be used to promote initial investments and renovations in buildings, meeting the minimum energy use benchmark

Support to capacity building to enable and increase energy efficiency in existing and new buildings

(Ref: Buildings and Climate Change, UNEP Report)

Local corporations:

Support climate adaptive measures and goals through twinning programmes between cities and towns in developed and developing countries

Develop climate change strategies and action-plans with strategic goals to be achieved by 2020

Make all publicly owned buildings climate neutral, and all new buildings energy positive by 2020

Agree on a common assessment and evaluation process to monitor progress on tackling climate change

(Ref: Buildings and Climate Change, UNEP Report)

NGOs & Society: Train professionals currently working in the building sector and educate the next generation of professionals to implement sustainable building principles and practices

Advocate, communicate and share information

Help communities adopt climate friendly behaviours and lifestyles

Facilitate leadership and bridging efforts

(Ref: Buildings and Climate Change, UNEP Report)

Private Sector/Developers:

Work with governments to develop policies that make a difference & act as agents of change

Work to introduce a carbon trade mechanism for buildings

Renovate buildings to maximize the reduction in their emissions and improve climate adaptability

Demonstrate technology and know-how frontiers on their own buildings and rented offices

Dedicate Research & Development to climate neutral, zero net buildings

(Ref: Buildings and Climate Change, UNEP Report)

Educational Institutes:

Renovate and build schools to reduce greenhouse emissions and foster long term responsible lifestyles

Implement interdisciplinary curriculum and research on energy, greenhouse emissions and social performance

Collaborate to provide a data repository and ongoing analysis of the climate impact of buildings

Develop curriculum and tools for building energy efficiency and environmental responsibility

Develop regional and subregional centers of excellence, focusing on buildings role in climate change mitigation & adaptation

(Ref: Buildings and Climate Change, UNEP Report)

Working towards a climate neutral global scenario will shape up with every nation looking at its individual climate, cultural traditions, economic systems and availability of resources. Each one has to address these issues at their own level depending upon their intensity of threat to climate change.

Its now or never!!