Reducing Emissions

Climate change is a global concern for all countries as carbon emission levels and global temperatures rapidly increase. Cities are deploying greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies that involve both the reduction of harmful emissions and introduction of clean energy. Large amounts of GHG emissions come from residential and commercial buildings through cooling, heating and lighting systems, and from personal and freight transportation. Sustainable technology can curb climate change by implementing low-carbon alternatives for new and existing infrastructure and power it with renewable energy sources. Municipalities can also foster a culture of sustainable energy use and awareness among its residents through intelligent energy monitoring systems and reduced utility bills. The data collected from monitoring emissions can be used to target emission hotspots, reduce energy waste, and provide more resilient and efficient utility services.

Technologies

Green roofs and facades – This solution addresses GHG emissions by utilizing nature to reduce electricity consumption, especially in the summers. Green roofs use soil and vegetation as living insulation that moderates building temperatures year-round. Vertical greenery systems also reduce energy demand through wind blockage effects in the winter. Green roof and facades have several components from top to bottom: vegetation, growing medium, filter, drainage material, root barrier, water proofing membrane, insulation layer, and structural layer (roof deck).

Eco-friendly building materials – A significant amount of energy-related GHG emissions come from the buildings and construction sector which can be reduced by using renewable, natural or plentiful materials (ex. bamboo, cork), locally available, recyclable (ex. metals), and sustainably manufactured products.

Low-carbon cement alternatives – Concrete if a very carbon-intensive construction material which can be mitigated using geopolymer cement which uses waste products from steel and burning coal, high blend cements which combine cement with other materials, mineral carbonation in which carbon dioxide reacts with calcium or magnesium to produce a cement that locks away emissions, and other patented cement technologies that absorb carbon or change the curing process.

Clean air zone – This is an area where targeted action is taken to improve air quality by reducing air borne pollutants. To reduce the use of heavily polluting vehicles, vehicle emission standards can be set and charge or ban dirty vehicles to reduce the use of cars and congestion and encourage use of low emission vehicles.

Smart meters for real-time metering of electricity use – Smart meters replace traditional meters show how much gas and electricity users consume which allows them to consciously change their behaviour to reduce energy consumptions and save money. Real-time data from the meter measuring energy consumption is displayed on an in-home display where users can take immediate action to lower their consumption. The meters can also automatically send this data to the energy provider.

Energy saving home energy management systems (HEMS) – HEMS is an integrated system that uses several sensor and control devices that facilitate the generation of power and energy storage for a home. Consumers can manage their home systems for lighting, HVAC, electronics, and smart appliances to decrease consumption rates through adaptive control techniques which adapt based on the feedback from the system. HEMS can be used with a web interface of mobile app for the user to control home devices and will require communication technology such as Wi-Fi.

Solar thermal collectors – This is a device that is an alternative to conventional hot water heaters that uses solar collectors to collect the heat energy from solar radiation to heat water or air. These collectors typically have an absorber plate or tube and its effectiveness will depend on the climate where it is used. Tube collectors are insulated and better for cold climates than flat plate collectors which are more prone to energy loss. Solar photovoltaic (PV) collectors – PV uses semi-conductor technology to directly convert sunlight into electricity using the silicon-based materials it is built with. PV has much more thermal power generation capacity and longer lifespan than solar thermal technology.

Energy efficient buildings – New constructions and renovated existing buildings can integrate designs to reduce energy consumption for heating and cooling through the use solar powered grids, high ceilings, natural ventilation, insulation and daylighting. The building design process begins with considerations for building material efficiency, bioclimatic architecture (shape and orientation of building), and the use of designs, materials and technology to prevent wasted energy and as little GHGs as possible.

Air quality monitoring network – Air quality sensing solutions use IoT devices to pinpoint air pollution and GHG emission hotspots. These devices can offer continuous real-time monitoring of harsh environments and can utilize existing light pole infrastructure. Some devices use optical-based technology to count fine particles in the air and send the data for analysis. The network can also be used with air filtration technologies that filter nanoparticles using atmospheric chemistry and airflow engineering.

Air pollution forecasting – Air pollution forecasting model makes predictions based on emission measurements and weather data collected from sensors over time with consideration for specific events such as weekends and sport events which impact traffic in different ways. Using neural networks, the forecasting tool can make forecasts in advance which allows cities to take temporary measures to reduce pollution and make recommended short notice measures. The data can also be provided to citizens using a mobile app using an air quality map and make contributions in real-time abut poor air quality areas.

Local Renewable Energy Production – Local governments can use a range of on-site renewable energy productions including that from wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, biogas, and hydropower. Municipalities can use local renewable energy to meet their own energy needs while reducing costs for volatile fossil fuel prices, anticipate future energy expenditures, and support local economic growth and job creation.

Smart grids – The smart grid is the modernization of an existing power grid infrastructure using information and communications technology (ICT) to monitor, control, and optimize the usage of electricity. Components of the smart grid includes advanced metering, distribution automation, analytics from meters and sensors, real-time demand response, and control systems to control and monitor the grid. A smart grid can also incorporate local renewable energy produced by consumers and can allow customers to feed excess power back to the grid.

Microgrids – A microgrids is a local energy grid that is connected to the regional grid as a backup or supplemental source of power as it can break off and operate on its own using local energy generation during power outages. Microgrids can also incorporate renewable energy sources such as solar and wind to be used for battery storage.

New Business Models for District Heating and Cooling – New district heating and cooling models use renewable energy through a single, central system to distribute heating and cooling through pipes that typically contain heated or chilled water, instead of individual systems or individual buildings. Different communities can use the renewable energy sources available to them in their area, thus reducing GHG emissions from burning fossil fuels from furnaces or power generation. The appropriate business models depend on the specific local context and public sector involvement can range from fully public owned systems to cooperative models and public-private partnerships. Although the most common model globally is the one where the public sector has full ownership of the system, more cities are using a hybrid public and private model. This can include the sharing of financial investments and risks in a joint venture, use a concession contract, or community-owned not-for-profit or cooperative.

Managing Liability Issues

Privacy

Issues.

⚠️ Privacy issues may arise where smart meters and HEMS gather personal information about the user’s energy usage, patterns, and daily schedules. Mobile apps in relation to a HEMS or air pollution can also have privacy implications where users must input more personal information or use interactive features such as posting about real-time updates about poor air quality areas.

Managing Issues.

✅ Count, don’t track. Record usage statistics and numerical data instead of tracking the identities within individual households. Numerical data about household size, energy usage, and peak times will not necessarily track identities.

✅ Inform users of privacy issues related to interactive features. A disclaimer can be provided to users about privacy implications when engaging with mobile apps that permit users to post in forums or discussion boards about poor air quality areas.

✅ Obtain consent. Mobile apps and HEMS will likely collect more sensitive and identifiable information. These software tools should obtain consent at the beginning of its use when it is downloaded and again when registering an account, and indicate the purpose of data collection, use and retention of data.

✅ De-identify as soon as possible. Data collected should de-identify persons captured in the process during the collection of information.

✅ Limit data collection to only that which is needed. This is the minimization of data collection to what is needed or required. Serious consideration and justification should be made for the collection of sensitive personal information.

✅ Follow good privacy practices.

Security

Issues.

⚠️ Privacy issues inherent to smart tourism technologies will include security issues, as data that does not initially identify individuals can do so in combination with other data. The software programs and hardware components will require security measures to prevent unauthorized access to the data. Smart grids will also face security challenges given the volume of data and devices with which a large utility communicates.

Managing Issues.

✅ Many of the same solutions to privacy issues will address security issues: e.g., de-identify at source if possible, or as soon as possible if otherwise. Where personal information is collected, it should be held in a secure location.

✅ Encryption. Encryption protects personal information by a process of scrambling data so that it can only be accessed with a unique decryption key which will translate the data back into its original readable form. There are several types of encryption algorithms to protect the actual personal information data as well as the channels of communication in which the data travels.

✅ Authentication. This prevents unauthorized access to the network control of these technologies using processes that verify their clearance to access the data. The level of authentication should commensurate with the risks. Two-factor authentication offers an extra layer of security by requiring two pieces of information, making it more difficult for someone to gain unauthorized access.

✅ Limit access to data. Physical, organization and technological measures to limit access to data should be in place to only allow access to those who need to handle the information.

✅ Regular audits and security patches. Where city data is stored on cloud-based servers, the cloud platform should be subject to consistent anomaly detection, audits and security patches, with a data recovery strategy in place.

✅ Regular software updates. Most technologies have routine software updates to prevent hackers and eavesdroppers from loading malicious software that disrupts network data. Security assessments for software should look for risks and vulnerabilities to ensure security approaches are up-to-date, appropriate, and effective.

✅ Maintenance of Hardware. This prevents a breach of the security parameters on hardware by hackers or thieves. Hardware devices can have an embedded real-time anomaly detector to find compromised devices and isolate them until maintenance is performed.

✅ Security platform. Establishing a security platform that analyzes data, searches for potential indicators of compromise with the capability of implementing security measures such as isolating affected devices. The system can be programmed to detect the threat or failure type, source, impact, possible solutions, and send an emergency alert to operating personnel for manual clearance or maintenance.

✅ Ensure that partners have adequate safeguards. All partners or contractors should have adequate safeguards depending on the sensitivity of the information in their control.

✅ Follow good security practices.

Procurement

Issues.

⚠️ Low-carbon solutions involves the procurement of hardware, software programs and developers, and construction projects from third parties. This will raise procurement issues of the risk of obsolescence or vendor lock-in, long-term costs of the technology, and choosing between high-tech and low-tech solutions. There will also need to be consideration for the modes of transportations as GHG emissions also flow from the transportation process.

Managing Issues.

✅ Procurement issues should be dealt with by following sound procurement practices .

✅ Intellectual property issues will arise over ownership and confidentiality of data. Access and other data entitlements should be addressed at the outset, as part of the conditions of procurement.

✅ A proactive approach to procurement prioritizes value for money across the life cycle of the product rather than the lowest bid. Request for Proposals (RFP) can specifically seek out low-embodied carbon materials and low-carbon infrastructure designs that will lower GHG emissions over the building life cycle. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a tool and criteria that can be used to prioritize infrastructure investments.

✅ Deciding between high-tech and low-tech solutions will depend on several factors: (a) What is the environmental context for its use? Municipalities must assess whether they have the appropriate environmental conditions for local renewable energy production to maximize return on investment. (b) Cost - low-tech solutions tend to be cheaper to acquire and maintain. Solutions that make use of existing infrastructure will also have lower costs. (c) Low-carbon building materials may be more expensive than conventional versions which can be negated be subsidy programs. (d) Scalability – Assess bid submissions on the risks of scalability and flexibility to deal with structured and unstructured data. Some considerations include use of consortium models for incremental expansions and non-relational databases. (e) Effectiveness – The RFP can be customized to include requirements to demonstrate effectiveness of the renewable energy production methods in the specific environment such as Canada’s cold winter climates.

✅ Follow sound procurement practices.