Energy Efficient Cities : Assessment Tools and Benchmarking Practices
With cities accounting for half the world's population today, and two-thirds of global energy demand, urbanization is exacting a serious toll on the environment. As rapid urban growth continues, energy use in cities and associated levels of gr...
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| Format: | Publication |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank
2012
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| Online Access: | http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000333038_20100511020247 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/2449 |
| Summary: | With cities accounting for half the
world's population today, and two-thirds of global
energy demand, urbanization is exacting a serious toll on
the environment. As rapid urban growth continues, energy use
in cities and associated levels of greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions are projected to continue unabated; current
projections indicate that approximately 70 percent of the
world's population will live in cities by 2050,
producing some 80 percent of the world's GHG emissions.
Unfortunately, most of this urban growth will take place in
developing countries, where the vast majority of people
remain underserved by basic infrastructure service and where
city authorities are under-resourced to shift current
trajectories. Further, the developing regions of Africa and
Asia are where the most rapid urbanization is taking place,
and they are least able to cope with the uncertainties and
extremities of climate impacts. The development and
mainstreaming of energy-efficient and low-carbon urban
pathways that curtail climate impacts without hampering the
urban development agenda thus are essential to meeting such
challenges. Reducing long-term energy use through efficiency
also enhances energy security by decreasing dependence on
imported and fossil fuel. In addition, lower energy costs
free up a city's resources to improve or expand
services while providing important local co-benefits,
creating new jobs, enhancing competitiveness, improving air
quality and health, and providing a better quality of life.
The scope of the papers encapsulates all three urban
contexts: new cities, expanding cities, and retrofitting
existing cities. The range of policy-relevant conceptual
tools and practices discussed during the sessions, and
subsequently built upon in this volume, helps achieve a
better understanding of leverage points for
energy-efficiency interventions and helps catalyze solutions
that will delink high levels of carbon-intensive energy use
from urban growth without compromising local development priorities. |
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