INLSA
Durban, with its impressive skyline, could be a world leader in showing the rest of humanity how to live in harmony with nature
Leon Marshall
leon.marshall@inl.co.za
A major study done by two leading British universities has found that cities could take a leading role in guiding the world to a more climate-friendly future. What’s more, say the scientists, it could be done within a surprisingly short period and at practically no extra cost. They even found it could save money.
They confidently state that investing just two percent of a modern city’s gross domestic product (GDP) in low-carbon and energy-efficient opportunities for 10 years would reduce such a city’s carbon emission levels by 40 percent at no net cost.
The report, dubbed the “City-scale Mini Stern Review”, was presented this week at COP17. The research was carried out over 18 months by a team from the University of Leeds and the University of York which was headed by Professor Andy Gouldson of Leeds’ School of Earth and Environment.
Collaborative
The investigation was commissioned by the Centre for Low-Carbon Futures, a collaborative membership organisation that focuses on what it calls sustainability for competitive advantage. Founded by the universities of Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York, it brings together multidisciplinary and evidence-based research to inform policy-making and to demonstrate low-carbon innovations. It says its activities are focused on energy systems, smart infrastructure and the circular economy
The project focused on the importance of decarbonising cities as part of a strategy to tackle global climate change. It evaluated the cost and carbon-effectiveness of a wide range of low-carbon options that could be applied to households, industry, commerce and transport at the city scale.
A statement on the findings says that the top-line results from the research showed that investments of two percent of city-scale GDP each year for 10 years would generate direct annual savings of 2.2 percent of GDP a year. Furthermore, every £1 billion (R12.79 billion) of investment in low-carbon options would generate £220 million of energy cost savings each year in the form of reduced energy bills for households, firms and the public sector. As a result, such investments would be able to be repaid in just over four years.
Investment on this scale would result in numerous benefits for cities, including meeting carbon reduction targets, stimulating economic growth, reducing exposure to energy costs and creating jobs.
Commenting on the research, Jon Price, director of the Centre for Low-Carbon Futures, says: “Finding financially viable solutions to decarbonise our cities should be central to our global climate change strategy. After all, more than half of economic output is generated in cities, and more than half of all people live in cities – leading to between 40 percent and 70 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse emissions being produced in cities. This research demonstrates that investing in low-carbon solutions now is not only financially possible, but also makes absolute economic sense.”
Professor Gouldson says: “This research demonstrates that investing in low-carbon measures is not only cost-effective, but also can result in a commercially attractive return on investment. More importantly, it can deliver numerous benefits for the huge number of people around the world who live in cities. It won’t be possible with financial capital alone; we need political and social buy-in to make it happen.”
The statement says the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise showed the University of Leeds to be the UK’s eighth biggest research powerhouse. The university is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK and is a member of the Russell Group of universities. Its vision is to secure a place among the world’s top 50 universities by 2015.
