The Lima-Callao area has a population of 9 million andan economy worth US$66 billion in 2014. The preliminary results of our research indicate that the total energy bill for the city was US$4.7 billion and that the bill for waste and water was US$50 billion - meaning that 8% of everything earned in the local economy was spent on energy, water and waste.
Climate Smart Cities
Our members have now completed studies in the UK for Leeds, Sheffield, the Humber and Birmingham. In 2013, the first international study in India was completed with an official report launch with the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata.The team have also completed reports on three further international studies conducted in Lima/Callao, Peru; Johor Baru, Malaysia and Palembang, Indonesia which were launched in June this year. Please see our reports section where you can download our most recent reports and see below for further details of our programme and academic teams.
Ten Climate Smart Cities
The Centre for Low Carbon Futures initially co-ordinated a three year programme of research, led by Professor Andrew Gouldson at the University of Leeds, supported by the Stockholm Environment Institute at the University of York, evaluating the potential economic returns of various low carbon measures at city scale. The ‘mini-Stern reviews’ were initially conducted for the Leeds City Region, Sheffield City Region, the Humber and Birmingham Wider Urban Area which convincingly demonstrated the potential social and economic benefits of low carbon investment at a local level. These studies have subsequently attracted international interest from other cities, development banks, national governments and the private sector. Following a launch at Rio+20, this programme has now been extended to India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Peru, where the team from the University of Leeds has been extending the scope of the study to include domestic building, commercial building, industry, transport and water. The research programme has consequently evolved into a global programme “10 Climate Smart Cities” (10CSC), a programme supported by CLCF and delivered by the University of Leeds.
Why Cities?
More than half of the world’s population lives in cities, more than half of the world’s economic output is produced in cities, and up to 70% of all carbon emissions can be attributed to urban consumption. Many cities want to do more to tackle climate change and pursue green growth opportunities but are constrained by uncertainties surrounding prioritisation, funding and understanding of how to act now.
Our goal is to better inform, at city scale, a range of cost-effective, low carbon interventions and to remove many of the uncertainties associated with private and public sector investments. Our approach moves energy management and climate change into the heart of city scale economic decision making. It reduces risk and uncertainty by reframing a threat as an opportunity, quantifying ways in which opportunities for intervention and investment at city scale can be exploited. The results are provided in a way that city leaders have a clear and understandable basis on which to act. The underlying research also highlights the very real economic potential and co-benefits of city scale actions, beyond meeting emission targets, that can help to both secure investment, reduce costs and impact local economic development.
In order to deliver effective projects, we work closely with a range of stakeholders in each city and develop a number of knowledge transfer and collaboration agreements with local universities and experts from development banks, without whom our programme would not have been possible.
We gratefully acknowledge the support and funding contributions from the university members of CLCF, UK FCO, the British High Commissions in Kolkata, Malaysia and Singapore, the British Embassy of Lima, Inter-American Development Bank and Jadavpur University.
To find out more, please contact:
alexandra.hooper@lowcarbonfutures.org telephone: +44 121 415 8301
Professor Andrew Gouldson Principle Investigator, University of Leeds
Dr Johan Kuylenstierna Deputy Director (Policy) of SEI
johan.kuylenstierna@york.ac.uk
Professor Joyashree Roy Professor of Economics, Jadavpur University
Dr David Boardman, University of Birmingham
Featured report
The Centre for Low Carbon Futures (CLCF) is a collaborative research centre that focuses on the evidence base and demonstration of low carbon innovations, formed by the Universities of Birmingham, Hull, Leeds, Sheffield and York.
