New York City can eliminate the carbon footprint of its buildings by 2050

Autor: Jonah 'Cecil' Scheib, Jamie Kleinberg, Daniel Wright, Richard Leigh, Katie Abbott
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Energy for Sustainable Development. 23:46-58
ISSN: 0973-0826
DOI: 10.1016/j.esd.2014.06.006
Popis: Climate scientists agree that a drastic reduction in carbon emissions in the coming decades is necessary to avoid major disasters due to global warming. Using computer modeling, citywide data sets, and insights from experts in the building community, we show how New York City (NYC) can lead the way toward climate change mitigation by improving the efficiency of its building sector (which is currently responsible for 75% of its greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050 using technologies available today. Though the total elimination of greenhouse gas emissions is possible only with the use of carbon-free energy sources, emissions can be reduced by over 60% from energy efficiency measures alone. After eliminating fuel combustion, carbon-free electric energy roughly equal to total electric energy used in 2010 would be consumed, but with a peak demand 60% higher than today's, establishing requirements for generation capacity and storage. Our economic analysis of the building measures shows them to be essentially cost-neutral over time.
Databáze: OpenAIRE