Kick the Habit: A UN Guide to Climate Neutrality

CITIES

In their governance role cities can be careful to get their own house in order, greening every aspect of the administration. When renovating public build- ings, for example, insulation should always be completed to high energy-ef- ficiency standards. Renewable energy should be sought for heating systems (about 70 per cent of London’s CO 2 emissions come from powering the city’s buildings, domestic, commercial and public). The maintenance of parks can help to achieve GHG emission reductions, for instance through minimal fertilizer use and the planting of low-maintenance plant species. London hopes to become the world’s first city to use light-emitting diodes (LED) for all its street lighting by 2013. LED lighting uses up to 40 per cent less energy than conventional street lights, while providing improved vision. Geneva’s new public lighting scheme expects to reduce CO 2 emis- sions just by replacing inefficient street lamps with ones which will give better light. An investment of around €3 million is expected to save 21–30 per cent of the electricity used, and a corresponding percentage of CO 2 . The Climate Alliance of European Cities with Indigenous Rainforest Peoples ( www.klimabuendnis.org/start.htm ) works with local authorities to reduce their GHG emissions. It says an obvious starting point is their own energy consumption, which represents between 3 and 10 per cent of total energy use in a city or municipality. This includes heat and electricity used in municipal offices or for street lighting, sewage treatment, water pumping, municipal car fleets, swimming pools, etc. Schools and housing may also be a municipal responsibility. Many local authorities have reduced their energy demand by up to 15 per cent, without major investment, simply through energy manage- ment techniques like monitoring consumption, improving control, and early recognition and elimination of weak points. Steps that involve building users can be highly successful, for example awareness-raising and motivation, and sometimes cities offer incentives by sharing the savings with building users. Local authorities can systematically plan for energy efficiency by retrofitting buildings and heating systems, installing efficient lighting systems, and build- ing combined heat and power units in large public buildings. They can also have a considerable influence on energy demand in the private sector. Many munici- pal energy utilities apply demand-side policies, offering advice and incentives for efficient devices and integrated energy services in the heating sector.

THE CYCLE – REDUCE KICK THE HABIT

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