Smart Cities: Sustainability with Low Carbon Economy

Humanity has been concerned in the last decades with the process of climate change to maintain life on the planet.

Although with diverse interpretations around the world, it is a constant discussion in scientific and governmental forums. According to climate experts, climate change is simplified in a cause-and-effect process in four phases:

1. Increased human activity in the planet’s regions as the main element of change in the overall greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pattern – mainly in the last decades.
2. Emissions on the planet and migration to the GHG stock in the atmosphere, increasing its concentration.
3. Higher concentration of GHG in the atmosphere increasing the physical effect of greenhouse gases with more heat retention and temperature increase.
4. Climate change due to changes in temperature and its impacts on mankind.

Thus, the low-carbon economy is a proposal that becomes necessary when an intensive human activity takes place. An economy would be called low carbon, because it would emit less GHG, not causing the negative consequences that impact humanity.
Otherwise, a low carbon economy is an economic model with low energy consumption.

The key to the low carbon economy is to realize the high efficiency in energy use; clean energy development mechanisms; sustainable production; and include technological innovation in energy production, and in their industries.

There are no conventions with emission limit values ​​to explicitly define whether an economy is low carbon.

However, it can be measured in the economic group to which it belongs (for example, measuring per capita carbon intensity of the economy analyzed in the G20 or in its geopolitical sphere).

This proposal must be managed by each nation, with programs of low carbon economies with multilateral integrations with other nations, and the internal management of its geo-political regions, that is, in the public management of macro-regions or  group of nations.

Countries with low carbon economies would thus typically be nations that have been able to introduce practices that are considered to be up-to-date and effective in reducing GHG emissions. To provide a low-carbon economy, it is necessary to know the country’s energy matrix. Here are some observations with respect to GHG producers:

– In the world, only the energy sector is responsible for more than 1 in 4 units of GHG emission volume. The main opportunities for reducing energy would come with the introduction of Carbon Capture and Storage, use of Nuclear Energy, and use of renewable sources
– The profile of the energy sector in each region strongly impacts its emissions volume and, in turn, the management of reduction policies.- – – – Countries with a weight in nuclear energy (eg France) or hydroelectric energy profile (eg Brazil) or non-renewable energy (such as China and the US) bring these differences

– The other 3 large groups would be: Industry (Oil, Gas, Cement, Metals, Chemical, etc.); Consumer Sectors (Transportation, Buildings and Garbage / Waste); and Sectors linked to land use (Agriculture and Forestry)
Contributions of typical reductions due to consumer behavior change would be:
– Smart buildings
– Transportation: Smaller cars with more efficient steering, less displacement; Less use of air transport; Greater use of rail, bus, walking and bicycle
– Agriculture: Decrease in meat consumption in developing regions; Change in the consumption of ruminant meat for other types of animals
– Transhipment effect in industrial sectors: Decrease in the use of cement (Buildings), Iron and Steel (Building and Transport) and Chemicals (Buildings and transport).

Thus, a low carbon economy must strongly consider its energy matrix, its current economy and the behavior of society to structure a successful public policy.