Climate Change

The urban energy system: technology choices, market structure, and system governance (Climate Change and Urban Energy Systems)

Because there are so many issues that relate to how a city obtains or uses energy – including land use and mobility policies and practices, waste management collection and disposal practices, and the type and level of local economic activity – urban energy systems can be defined in either broad or narrow terms. Issues such […]

Energy use in cities (Climate Change and Urban Energy Systems)

Cities play a central role in driving global energy demand, but historically there has been relatively little information published on energy use in individual cities or urban areas. The OECD (1995) was one of the first organizations to estimate total urban energy demand around the world (74 percent), although the methodology supporting this estimate is […]

Climate risks to urban energy systems (Climate Change and Urban Energy Systems) Part 1

While the contribution of energy use to global climate change has been extensively studied, the literature on the impacts of climate change on urban energy systems is still in its infancy. What is clear, however, is that because cities are so reliant on energy sources and system assets based outside of the city, any discussion […]

Climate risks to urban energy systems (Climate Change and Urban Energy Systems) Part 2

Energy supply chain and operations risks and vulnerabilities Climate change may affect the urban energy supply chain in three principal ways: through impacts on primary energy feedstock production or supply networks delivering these feedstocks to power plants; impacts on power generation operations; and via impacts on the energy transmission and distribution network. Our understanding of […]

Efforts by cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt local energy systems (Climate Change and Urban Energy Systems) Part 1

Local-level policy engagement on energy matters has historically ebbed and flowed, with most action resulting as a response to some tangible crisis or vulnerability. In many parts of the world, the 1970s were a period of heightened local energy policymaking activity, as cities sought to protect themselves from shortages and price increases brought on by […]

Efforts by cities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt local energy systems (Climate Change and Urban Energy Systems) Part 2

Climate change adaptation policies and programs Compared to efforts to mitigate the role of local energy systems in global climate change, efforts to adapt local energy systems to changing climatic conditions are much more difficult to identify. A scan of many local climate plans finds energy system adaptation rarely mentioned, or defined only in terms […]

Introduction (Climate Change, Water, and Wastewater in Cities)

While many previous studies have looked at the worldwide changes and impacts of climate change and related variability on water resources, few have focused on an assessment of the specific effects and needed adaptation and mitigation for water systems in cities across the globe. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the water […]

Description of sector (Climate Change, Water, and Wastewater in Cities)

Water and wastewater systems can be divided into two basic categories, those that are established formally in a city’s governance and management structure and those that are established and that function informally. The informal systems typically have developed with little central planning or organization and often with only scattered and limited resources supporting them. The […]

Urban climate risks: vulnerabilities and impacts (Climate Change, Water, and Wastewater in Cities) Part 1

Vulnerabilities Water and wastewater treatment services in urban areas are vulnerable to direct impacts of climate changes such as changes in the amount and intensity of precipitation, increased temperatures and related evapotranspiration rates, changes in the intensity and timing of storm runoff, changes in both indoor and outdoor water demands, and, in coastal cities, sea […]

Urban climate risks: vulnerabilities and impacts (Climate Change, Water, and Wastewater in Cities) Part 2

Precipitation More frequent intense rainfall leads to more street, basement, and sewer flooding and stormwater runoff to various disposal systems. In most parts of the world, whether average precipitation totals increase or decrease with climate change, more intense rainstorms are expected.More intense rainstorms will increase nutrient loads, eutrophica-tion, taste and odor problems, and loading of […]

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