Decarbonising cities: Certifying carbon reduction in urban development

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Posted on: 12 February 2014
By: mackene
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Filed under: News

Although carbon certification is now widely adopted as a voluntary carbon market instrument for a variety of sectors, it has not yet been applied to urban development. This PhD thesis therefore examines the implications of certifying carbon reductions within this sector. A framework is proposed, which includes a standardised approach to quantifying emissions at the precinct-scale and five core elements that would need to be considered when certifying urban development.  It is argued that certification can help to acknowledge and reward progressive developers, increase the credibility of carbon claims within the built environment and help to provide benchmarks and baselines for the sector. Certification could also become a mechanism by which a variety of incentives can be offered to developers to encourage greater uptake of low carbon design. It is expected that a combination of factors, a standard approach to quantifying emissions, carbon certification and the provision of incentives, can help to mainstream this type of development, which will be essential in addressing many global challenges such as climate change and resource depletion. The first article in a series of three, based on this PhD thesis from Curtin University’s Dr Vanessa Rauland, looks at the myriad opportunities available for decarbonising our cities, demonstrating the potential for urban development to dramatically assist in tackling climate change.  Click here to read.

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