Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Notes
1
Much of the analysis reported in this chapter draws on work carried out in the Visioning and Backcasting
for Transport in Auckland study (VIBAT-Auckland). This was carried out by Robin Hickman, Olu Ashiru
and Catherine Seaborn at the Halcrow Group, David Banister at the Transport Studies Unit, University
of Oxford; and Tricia Austin, Megan Howell and Tanya Utley at the School of Architecture and Planning,
Auckland University.
2
The Kyoto Protocol includes 'flexibility mechanisms' to allow excess emissions. These are: International
Emissions Trading, Joint Implementation, and the Clean Development Mechanism. Developed countries
can purchase emissions units from other developed countries or from emissions reduction projects
implemented in other countries and use these for compliance with their Kyoto Protocol obligations. Hence
a country such as New Zealand can comply with its target even though its domestic emissions may exceed
its assigned levels. This is a typical fudge by the international community, and only seeks to allow the
industrialized countries to continue to emit more than their fair share of emissions, transferring the burden
(of not emitting) to the emerging countries. The qualifier, of course, is that there may be an income
stream for emerging countries to use in building sustainable transport options.
3
New Zealand's and Auckland's CO2 emissions tend to be calculated in terms of CO2e (carbon dioxide
equivalent), hence we use this metric in this chapter to be consistent with wider work in Auckland. This
is based on the Global Warming Potential (GWP) - the impact that a particular gas has on 'radiative
forcing' (the additional heat/energy which is retained in the Earth's ecosystem through the addition of
this gas to the atmosphere). The GWP varies by type of gas and the time period under consideration.
CO2e is a weighted measure of the collective GWP of a range of greenhouse gases expressed relative to
CO2. For example, comparisons are: CO2 = 379 ppm; CO2e(Total) = 375 ppm (Chamberlin, 2012).
4
There is some discussion over the level of transport CO2 emissions in Auckland, with varying estimates
(Utley et al., 2011).
5
Relative to ~22 per cent in London and ~33 per cent in Oxfordshire.
6
Mitchell celebrated life in New Zealand as 'heaven on earth': the 'quarter acre' referring to the ubiquitous
suburban plot of land on which most New Zealanders built their homes; and the 'pavlova' as the popular
meringue-based dessert (itself named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova).
