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Transition to Climate Neutrality at University Campus. Case Study in Europe, Riga

Authors :
Bumbiere Ketija
Barisa Aiga
Pubule Jelena
Blumberga Dagnija
Gomez-Navarro Tomas
Source :
Environmental and Climate Technologies, Vol 26, Iss 1, Pp 941-954 (2022)
Publication Year :
2022
Publisher :
Sciendo, 2022.

Abstract

100 cities in Europe have committed to being pioneers and achieving climate neutrality by 2030. It is crucial to start with the decarbonization of cities because, although they cover only 3 % of the Earth’s land, they produce 72 % of all greenhouse gas emissions. This paper contributes to the city decarbonization research but on a smaller scale. We study the decarbonization potential of a university campus. It is a unique part of a larger urban area. It represents a cross-section of the population of different socio-economic backgrounds and ages, generating irregular schedules and constant movements of people and goods throughout the day. Riga Technical University is one of the pioneer universities in Latvia that has decided to achieve climate neutrality by 2030. This study aims to provide a qualitative review of the potential for improvements and describe the preliminary CO2 simulation model that includes Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. A particular challenge is the Scope 3 emissions, which focus on changing user habits. A survey of Riga Technical University students and employees was developed and conducted to analyse the most effective solutions for this type of emission. Survey results and future work recommendations are presented together with the model outline.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22558837
Volume :
26
Issue :
1
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Environmental and Climate Technologies
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.f93cb14e68d84ab8848fb7bcfed1b406
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2022-0071