Search

The Sixth Assessment Report of Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted the urgency of accelerated climate actions harnessing synergies and minimizing trade-offs with various SDG. This calls for a clear understanding of linkages between climate goals and other SDGs at national level for formulating synergistic policies and strategies and developing different sectoral programs and coherent cross-sectoral policies. This is even more important for least developed countries such as Nepal where these linkages are less understood and development challenges are multifaceted. In this context, this paper aims to evaluate potential synergies and trade-offs among selected SDGs and their associated targets in Nepal in a linear pairwise comparison. Synergies and trade-offs related to climate action (SDG 13), access to energy (SDG 7), sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12), and life on land (SDG 15) have been evaluated using historical data for the period from 1990 to 2018 employing a mixed methods approach. Network analysis to map the conceptual linkages between the SDGs and their targets was combined with the advance sustainability analysis (ASA) to quantitatively evaluate the synergy and trade-offs between SDGs. The results illustrate the presences of a continual trade-off between emission reductions targets of SDG 13 with per capita energy consumption and share of renewable energy of SDG 7, land use for agricultural production target of SDG 12, and forest area target of SDG 15. This indicates that climate action is strongly interlinked with GHG emissions from economic activities and energy consumption. The results of the study represent a valuable input for the policy makers, supporting coherent and sustainable development planning as Nepal plans to graduate to a middle-income country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry is responsible for 40% of the energy consumption and 36% of the CO2 emissions, and buildings are responsible for a significant part of energy consumption in Europe. Thus, a growing concern regarding environmental impacts in the construction sector is in place. Reducing these impacts and optimise the design process is a major priority, and technology needs to be integrated along with the design to allow for better buildings performance. Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology is one of the technologies that is revolutionising how the supply chain delivers the construction projects, allowing for an overview of the whole life cycle, keeping track of the data along the process, and potentiating more advanced simulations and supported decisions. The tool proposed in this paper aims to integrate different types of sustainability analysis, namely Streamlined Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Carbon Footprint, Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and Level(s) framework with BIM. This involves defining adequate Product Data Templates (PDT) and a database structure for BIM objects, including the necessary parameters to enable designers to do holistic and dynamic assessments from early design stages to a complete LCA. Also, considering the importance of using BIM to visualise different scenarios, a graphical interface will be developed to show the key sustainability indicators and support decision-making for more sustainable buildings. The results achieved show that technology must be taken to meet Climate most ambition targets and reduce the impact of construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass use for energy and materials is, on the one hand, one of the key mitigation options to reach the 1.5 °C GMT target set in the Paris Agreement, as highlighted by the IPCC and many other key analyses. On the other hand, particularly in parts of the EU, a strong negative connotation has emerged in public debate and EC policy, with a particular emphasis on the (presumed) displacement effect in markets and land use. This is a remarkable contrast because the reasons to use sustainable biomass, on the one hand, and the possibilities and synergies for supplying sustainable biomass, on the other, are underpinned with strong evidence, also providing insights on how displacement issues can be avoided. Sustainable biomass supplies can contribute 20–30% of the future global and European energy supply, leading to reduced overall mitigation costs, including realizing the net CO2 removal from the atmosphere using BECCS concepts. This paper highlights which options, pathways and preconditions are key to achieving such a substantial contribution of sustainable biomass in future (2050) energy and material supply (with a focus on the European setting). By pinpointing how "biomass can be done right" and how important synergies can be achieved via better agricultural methods, the restoration of marginal and degraded lands and the adaptation of climate change, a different policy agenda emerges in sharp contrast to how a biobased economy has been framed in recent years. It is recommended that future policy priorities, particularly at the EU level, take a more integral view on the synergy between the role of biomass in the energy transition, climate adaptation and mitigation, better agriculture and the better use of land in general. Strategies to achieve such positive results typically require an alignment between renewable energy, and agricultural, environmental, mitigation and adaptation policies, which is a largely missing nexus in different policy arenas. Resolving this lack of alignment offers a major opportunity, globally, to contribute to the European Green deal and improve energy security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the significant energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with buildings, there is increasing interest in improving sustainability of building operations to reduce impact on climate change. A common goal is to operate buildings as "net-zero" energy users in which all energy consumed by the building is balanced against renewable energy purchased from the grid or produced on site. To achieve net-zero status, many buildings will require significant retrofit so as to both reduce energy consumption in the absolute sense and provide the remainder without consuming fossil fuels. Thus, multi-year planning is required to ensure that goals can be met on time. In addition, due to the inherent uncertainty associated with energy consumption and generation, actually achieving net-zero energy use may require discretionary curtailment actions to be taken, and deciding whether such actions are necessary can be challenging. To address these challenges, we propose in this paper a design optimization and operational planning strategy to make the decisions needed to achieve sustainability goals in buildings. The strategy can be applied to schedule design changes over a long horizon to meet annual targets, and it can also be applied in closed loop on a shorter horizon to determine whether curtailment is needed to stay on track. We discuss the formulation of the optimization problem, solution methods, and modeling approaches for key parameters. Application of the strategy is illustrated via examples. Overall, this approach will help automate planning that is often done manually, allowing buildings to take a significant leap forward toward achieving their sustainability goals. • Achieving sustainability goals in buildings requires multi-year planning. • The required design and operational decisions can be made via optimization. • Key problem parameters can be obtained from data-driven modeling. • The strategy allows sustainability goals to be met at minimum cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing awareness of climate change is constantly moving the attention of designers and policymakers from typical and current scenarios to future layouts. This new approach introduces a degree of uncertainty that should be accounted in the building design process. The multitude of possible scenarios suggests considering dynamic system that can adapt themselves to unpredicted operating conditions. The aim of this study is to test a new approach and a new flexibility metric analysing the behaviour of a high-performance dynamic internal curtain in current and future scenarios. The first part of the paper focuses on the optimization of the dynamic system in the current scenario; this preliminary analysis represents the traditional design approach and is considered the baseline for all the comparisons. Hence, defining a matrix of likely scenarios, this paper explores the behaviour of three different selected control strategies – always off (i.e., no curtain), fixed control, optimized control – in the different scenarios considering possible variations of i) climate, ii) urban context, iii) internal loads, and iv) building use. The main outcomes of the research are, on the one hand, the comparisons of the control strategies and the benefits of the dynamic system and, on the other hand, the definition of a new metric that can properly describe the flexibility of the building systems with reference to the future scenarios analysed. This metric is based on six classes – which describe the statistical distribution of the energy consumptions of all the scenarios simulated in the matrix – and an index called Energy Flexibility Index (EFI) that quantifies the flexibility of the technology considered. The case study analysed highlights how implementing a dynamic shading system, considering the same building use, can increase the EFI of nearly 21% for non-optimized control strategy and up to 23% when optimized. While changing the building use in residential reduces these values respectively, to 6% and 7%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issues of energy efficiency and climate change belong to a complex scenario to which contemporaneity is called upon to answer. Architecture can contribute by promoting practices that look at the environment with a view to building the future. As an architectural activity, restoration of heritage buildings can actively participate in this fundamental challenge within the perspective of a circular economy proposing a globally sustainable model. Starting from a state-of-the-art investigation, this paper aims to enucleate the BECK project’s contribution in this field, as well as to underline how careful strategies of conservation and contemporary use can have positive effects on sustainable future scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behaviour, practices and culture constitute a powerful human factor in the energy system; in particular the interactions between technologies, practices and norms lock individuals in to certain patterns of (often inefficient) energy use. Consequently, behaviour change has gained traction amongst policymakers as a key area of intervention given the impact energy-related behaviours have on climate change. Given the increasing emphasis within policy perspectives in the European Union, it is surprising that a gap in understanding of the success factors of behaviour change initiatives remains. This paper addresses this gap by identifying and characterising behaviour change initiatives across five European countries (the UK, Ireland, France, Italy, and Spain). The paper provides insights into the success factors and commonly encountered barriers to behaviour change initiatives. Initiatives are classified into 6 broad categories (community-based interventions; information and awareness based interventions; eco-districts; show-case events; energy switching; and smart-technology focused interventions). The results suggest that there are significant knowledge gaps between what is known to work to engage individuals in behavioural change and what is currently being applied in practice. An over-reliance on education and awareness-raising projects is evident, illustrating that such projects do not sufficiently aim for sustained behavioural changes. A dearth of projects incorporating fiscal measures, regulations or legislation to drive behaviour change reflects reluctance on behalf of decision-makers to engage widely with diverse approaches to foster lifestyle change. This paper contributes understandings of the different models and delivery tools employed to change energy-related behaviours; insights into the critical success factors that underpin best practice and the barriers to action; and a ‘what works in practice’ overview of the meaningful approaches to change behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities are mainly responsible for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the atmosphere and thus for climate change. The European Union (EU) set up a series of strategies and policies to facilitate the elaboration of climate change mitigation and adaptation of urban plans. To do this, it is necessary to measure the city's GHG emission level. The Urban Carbon Footprint (UCF) and its derivation, the Relative Carbon Footprint (RCF), represent the most appropriate tools for obtaining this important information. The present paper applies these indicators to a small city (150 000 inhabitants) located in Southern Italy, a novelty for academic studies, which usually concentrate on megacities. The study focuses only on CO 2 emissions, as these represent 90% of the total GHGs released in urban areas. The findings showed that in 2015 the total UCF was equal to 288 ktCO 2 , specifically deriving from electricity and natural gas consumption. Moreover, Residential, Industry and Tertiary are the most carbon-intensive economic sectors. The RCF was equal to 0.30; the city emission levels were lower than the national average. Therefore, the municipality represents a typical “net-consumer” community, dominated by homes with territorial emissions due to consumption and characterized by a low number of industries and an average income per capita that is 50% lower than the national one. Starting from these results, the study proposed an urban action plan according to the EU mitigation and adaptation policies. This plan could help the local government improve its environmental sustainability, even if more public city-level data is required for a more comprehensive analysis. Finally, it would be more appropriate for all actions to be aligned under a unique policy process to seize the opportunity to link the various local intervention policies from different fields, taking into account their existing funding, tools, processes, and resources. Capitalizing on the adaptation/mitigation connection will allow municipalities to leverage their climate change action efforts and accelerate progress toward their climate and energy goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last ten years have witnessed an increase in publications focusing on bioeconomy as a proposal to confront the global challenges of climate change, depletion of non-renewable resources and ecosystem degradation. This paper investigates the scientific literature on issues related agricultural bioeconomy by applying a bibliometric network analysis. Bibliometric analysis is applied to the publications of the Scopus database during the period 2010–2020 in order to provide an overview of the main aspects that characterize agricultural bioeconomy. The results showed that out of a total of 1100 scientific papers, only 2.45% were published in 2010, while the corresponding share in 2020 was 20.81%. In the five years of 2016–2020, cumulatively, 70.63% of the publications were made, showing the dynamic evolution of bioeconomy. In addition, out of 85 countries in total, Germany and Italy are the two countries with most publications, while the fragmentation of research is evident with the creation of two main nodes, the European and the American. Moreover, keyword analysis showed that biomass and sustainability are two main recurring concepts, confirming that, currently, bioeconomy operates at three different levels: energy demand, land demand, and governance. It is apparent that to boost the development of agricultural bioeconomy, the following aspects should be assessed: the effective use of resources, an understanding of the key drivers of agricultural bioeconomy, and a clear perception of their associations. There is still no consensus as to which are the key factors that will accelerate its sustainable development. Our pursuit is to use the tools of bibliometric analysis to reach more critical conclusions regarding the agricultural bioeconomy, rather than approach it in a static way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]