Discussion

Zero Carbon strategy fails to target transport

The list of indicators fails to specifically call for any actions to reduce carbon emitted from transport. This seems like a major oversight. It is probably because there are few good ideas about what to do, and many people believe that traffic congestion will never be beaten.

I believe the strategy needs to call for a significant contribution from the transport sector, especially in the area of reduced carbon.

Mobility will probably always use energy and produce carbon somewhere (even electricity generation generally creates emissions).

The challenge for transport is to get people to share rides, whether in buses, trains, trams, or in carpools and vanpools. Reducing vehicle counts will speed the traffic up. And both energy efficiency and emissions reductions are maximised when traffic is free-flowing at about 70kph.

Whatever means are used, the goal has to be to reduce vehicle counts. The most efficient from a carbon point of view will be a system that doesn't involve 'deadhead miles', the running of empty buses upstream to bring people downstream. Private cars and vans, if they ran 'full only', downstream in the morning and upstream in the evening, would produce much fewer emissions than buses brought in to move the same number of people.

What I believe is needed is the co-option of all drivers and their vehicles, to share rides (both as driver sometimes and as rider sometimes). I believe it is also important to make it easy for people to form fuller cars. Note that this will not be achieved by internet based ridematching, or any other form of traditional carpooling.

What is needed (and can be done) is something called 'flexible carpooling' that enables sharing rides when ready. An example of informal flexible carpooling can be seen in San Francisco. 8-10,000 people use this daily. See www.ridenow.org/carpool/. An example of more formal flexible carpooling can be seen at http://www.flexiblecarpooling.org/. The formal system is backed up by membership and pre-screening and technologies to ensure participant safety and reward.

In a recent paper we estimated the energy impacts of flexible carpooling. The emissions impacts would be of a similar magnitude because a 10% reduction in fossil fuel energy use will result in about a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. I will add a link to this paper.

-- PaulMinett - 18 May 2008 08:16

Renewable energy for data centres

One way to incorporate the needs for greater connection with the rest of the world as well as to one another within Melbourne is to disburse internet kiosks in many public places so that anyone anywhere can participate in cloud computing. The key to making this a goal is to be very efficient at data center energy efficiency. Melbourne has the opportunity to create a highly leveraged civil society with a small carbon footprint by designating state of the art standards for data centers and requiring a significant percentage (40%) of that utility power to be renewable. Currently, experts believe that 50% of the power delivered to the data center goes to cooling and reliability. However, using outside air in place of chillers or air conditions can raise that percentage of "useable" power to 80%. More efficient servers, virtualization, and DC power will also contribute to prudent use of electricity in commercial, educational, and research data centers. Rebates and incentives for prudent energy efficiency to consumers and businesses will accelerate this project. Please view: http://www.pge.com/mybusiness/energysavingsrebates/incentivesbyindustry/hightech/itfacility.shtml

provides several examples of incentives that have worked in northern California.We look forward to working with our peers in Melbourne to create liveable, breathable, connected cities.

-- DebGrove - 03 Jun 2008 10:43

Hi Deb, I've just moved your comments from the pathway to the discussion page for Zero Carbon City. This way they can be discussed by other users. Post back here if you have any questions. Thanks.

-- DaleBowerman - 03 Jun 2008 11:17

Embodied Energy

I'm just a little concerned that the issue of embodied energy may not be receiving sufficient attention in this document.

It is a no brainer that we all need to do whatever we can to reduce our resource consumption and therefore our carbon footprint.

It is often assumed that living closer together assists us to achieve this outcome.

However, where living closer together involves multistorey appartment living, the construction materials, i.e concrete, steel etc, contain massive amounts of embodied energy.

To be truly meaningful, any carbon footprint equations relating to the City of Melbourne must take into consideration this embodied energy.

It may be necessary for Melbourne to address the issue of embodied energy through a significant investment in carbon offsetting.

-- RobPedder - 10 Jun 2008 22:08

Embodied Greenhouse Gases and Diet

As for the previous writer, I am concerned that the strategy selectively fails to include the need to reduce 'embodied' use, in this case, embodied greenhouse gases.

It does in part. For example, it recognises that light bulbs and energy use do not in themselves create greenhouse gases, but because they use electrical energy that is generated elsewhere, and creates greenhouse gases, we should try and improve our energy efficiency...the better light bulbs strategy. However, it then fails to address the fact that for a normal city dweller, the contribution of the food they eat is much more than the energy they use, and their contribution to greenhouse emissions should also be minimised by changes in diet.

This is especially the case where the local government takes an almost interventionist approach to encouraging businesses to establish themselves within the city area, yet does not take into account the contribution of the business operations to environmental outcomes, in this case, greenhouse emissions.

By looking at the 'end use' reports associated with greenhouse gases, it can be seen that between 30 and 50% of all emissions are caused by industries creating animal products (meat and dairy). Further, because of the enormous and recently better understood impact of Methane on the atmosphere, and the land use of these industries, no change can most efficiently provide a chance of avoiding dangerous anthropomorphic climate change.

If the local government is going to be involved in legislation or encouragement of behaviour of its citizens, this would be the first area in which to focus.

References:

[1] “Balancing Act” A TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE ANALYSIS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY. VOLUME 2

http://www.isa.org.usyd.edu.au/publications/documents/balancingact2.pdf

[2] Climate Change - Re-examining the data from a Vegan Perspective. Bruce Poon, March 2007

http://www.earthsave.org/pdf/diet_and_the_atmosphere.pdf

[3] Livestock a major threat to environment

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html

[4] Livestock’s Long Shadow

http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm

[5] Lifestyle changes can curb climate change: IPCC chief

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/16/2139349.htm?section=world

[6] A New Global Warming Strategy – How Environmentalists are Overlooking Vegetarianism as

the Most Effective Tool Against Climate Change in Our Lifetimes by Noam Mohr, August 2005

http://www.earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm

-- BrucePoon - 13 Jun 2008 11:18

Water discussion on this page moved to next section (city as catchment)

It makes no sense to have water discussions on this page devoted to climate change. There is a page devoted to water, so I am moving it to there.

-- BrucePoon - 13 Jun 2008 11:35

Thanks Bruce. Agreed. -- DaleBowerman - 13 Jun 2008 11:53

Minor changes and responses

I have made a few minor edits (tightening up the intent and further incorporating embodied energy and food).

Thank you for the comments and suggestion above, they are great. Regarding transport, the update of Zero Net includes actions to reduce emissions from personal transport. The Connected Goal further outlines changes for personal and freight transport.

Regarding materials and food and their embodied energy/water. These are critical issues which are also touched on in Resource Efficient City and Living and Working Locally. We really looking forward to starting work on the City as an EcoSystem? work, which will provide a lot of the detail needed to develop practical and achievable action in this area.

-- AlexFearnside - 14 Jun 2008 13:51

University of Melbourne's Liveable Melbourne paper

Refer 3.4 - possible initiatives

Positive energy program

Planning regulations to encourage/enforce productivity

SueWilcox - 18 Jun 2008 15:15

This goal needed clarifying and elaborating - what is zero carbon, what are our targets etc - there was too much assumed knowledge

I have also incorporated CB comments:

• Include proactive planning scheme options in the goals on retrofit of existing buildings.
• Flag the need for better data on improving residential building efficiency
• Jargon -get a better term to replace “ de-carbonising”
• Note the value of ‘mining’ small opportunities to achieve the goals.
• Include options for using roof space through techniques such as a roof space rental scheme.

• New buildings go for 6 star
• Suggest a special high profile award to celebrate and promote this

-- DavidMayes - 06 Jul 2008 18:25

Do you have any suggested actions?

Please add them here.