Search Climate Insights Directory

The briefing outlines a strategy for the U.S. to 'build back better' after COVID-19 by investing in public transit, 'Complete Streets', electric vehicle infrastructure, and low-carbon concrete. It highlights a critical budget shortfall for transit agencies and a significant maintenance backlog, arguing that prioritizing repairs over expansion creates more jobs and reduces emissions.

The report argues that current LCAs for building materials often lack transparency and omit critical data, particularly regarding biogenic carbon in wood and operational emissions. It concludes that for energy-efficient, long-lived buildings in Canada, the choice of structural material has a negligible impact compared to operational efficiency, and recommends prioritizing building longevity and energy efficiency over material substitution.

The report argues that current LCAs often produce variable results due to undisclosed assumptions and omissions, particularly regarding biogenic carbon in wood products. It emphasizes that building energy efficiency and longevity are the primary drivers of decarbonization, as operational emissions typically dominate the total life-cycle impact. The authors recommend greater transparency in LCA data, the development of a regionalized national life-cycle inventory for Canada, and a balanced policy approach that incentivizes decarbonization across all material manufacturing sectors rather than favoring one material over others.

The document argues that South Africa must shift from a carbon-intensive export model to low-carbon manufacturing to avoid international trade barriers and leverage a global market for low-carbon products estimated at US$5 trillion. It details several technical approaches to achieve this, including eco-design, material substitution, additive manufacturing, and remanufacturing, while highlighting the systemic challenges of R&D, cost, and technological lock-in.

The Carbon-CAP project assesses the effectiveness and feasibility of consumption-based carbon accounting (CBCA) and demand-side policies to address emissions embodied in trade. By analyzing sectors such as food, buildings, and transport, the report identifies a suite of promising policy instruments—ranging from regulatory standards to carbon-intensive material charges—that could potentially reduce the EU's carbon footprint by up to 48% theoretically, or 4-10% when accounting for realistic behavioral responses by 2050. The study emphasizes that while production-based policies are standard, CBCA provides a critical macro-level indicator of an economy's carbon intensity and the responsibility of consuming nations for global emissions.

The Transformation to Zero Summit, convened by RMI, NBI, and Architecture 2030, identified key strategies to transition the building sector to zero carbon by 2050. The group prioritized generating demand across specific real estate sectors, driving national models for reach codes and standards, and addressing embodied carbon and workforce training. The organizers plan to conduct a gap analysis of their respective activities to operationalize these goals and develop a comprehensive aligned strategy.

The document argues that production-based emissions accounting allows the EU to outsource manufacturing and claim emissions reductions while domestic consumption drives emissions elsewhere. It introduces the Carbon-CAP project, which evaluates over 30 policy instruments across sectors like transport and food to complement existing production-focused policies. These instruments are assessed based on effectiveness, scope, economic equity, and political/legal acceptance to avoid rebound effects and emissions shifting within the global economy.

The report argues that while India has robust legal frameworks for environmental and social safeguards in infrastructure procurement, poor implementation and a narrow definition of 'value for money' (VfM) lead to significant ecological losses and financial risks. It examines four key safeguards—Environmental, Forest, Wildlife, and Land Acquisition clearances—finding a disconnect between pre-concession approvals and post-signing monitoring. The authors propose shifting to a 'whole-life value' approach to VfM, integrating sustainability criteria into tender documents, and reforming financial risk models like the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) to better account for long-term green infrastructure gains.

The report examines the potential for reducing global GHG emissions by relocating production of carbon-intensive goods to regions with lower emissions intensities. It finds significant variation in GHG intensity across countries for products like clothing and steel, suggesting that shifting production could yield benefits that outweigh increased transport emissions. A case study on steel identifies the Americas as well-positioned for low-GHG production due to biomass and natural gas availability. The report also evaluates trade policies, noting that while border carbon adjustments and preferential tariffs are options, they face significant legal, political, and administrative hurdles, particularly regarding WTO compatibility and the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

The study finds that potential BCAs by the US and EU would capture only a small fraction of China's total exported emissions, though certain energy-intensive sectors like iron and steel would face significant charges. The impact varies greatly depending on whether charges are based on direct or embodied emissions, with embodied emissions resulting in significantly higher costs. Overall, the authors conclude that such measures would have limited impact on incentivizing total carbon reductions as exporters might divert production to other regions.

The report finds that King County's 2008 Geographic-plus emissions were 23.4 million MTCO2e, with transportation as the primary source. However, a Consumption-based inventory reveals a much larger footprint of 55 million MTCO2e, driven by the production of imported goods and services. To better manage these emissions, the report recommends a tracking framework focused on a 'core' scope of buildings, transportation, and waste.

The report finds that King County's 2008 emissions were 23.4 million MTCO2e via geographic accounting and 55 million MTCO2e via consumption accounting. Transportation and buildings are the primary local sources, while consumption-based emissions are driven by imported goods and services. The report recommends a 'Core' tracking framework focusing on buildings, transportation, and waste.

The document assesses how different BCA designs—specifically direct versus life-cycle emissions and varying carbon prices—would affect Chinese exports. It finds that while certain sectors like iron and steel are highly exposed, the overall economic impact on China's total exports would be limited, potentially reducing the incentive for exporters to lower emissions rather than divert trade.

The document explains the methodology of the Green Footstep tool, which calculates the net carbon flow of building projects by analyzing site development, construction, and operation. It defines carbon neutrality as achieving a net carbon storage level equal to or greater than the site's native state. The paper provides specific formulas for calculating native site carbon storage, emissions from site development, and operational emissions. For construction emissions, it details an Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO LCA) approach based on 1997 US economic data, offering coefficients for residential, multifamily, manufacturing/industrial, and commercial/institutional sectors. It also includes a historical validation comparing 1997 energy intensity coefficients with 1967 data, noting a general decrease in energy intensity for most sectors except commercial and institutional buildings.

The Global Ecology Center (GEC) at Stanford University is an 11,000-square-foot laboratory building designed using RMI's '10xE' whole-system thinking. By challenging conventional design assumptions and employing an interdisciplinary process, the project achieved a 72 percent reduction in electricity for HVAC and lighting compared to a 2001 California Title 24-compliant building. Key innovations include a night-sky cooling system that uses roof sprays to chill water, radiant floor cooling, and a 'cascading' ventilation system that reduces outside air needs by 20 percent. The building also reduced its concrete carbon footprint by 31 percent through the use of high-volume fly-ash concrete and decreased water usage by 33 percent. Despite challenges with standard energy-modeling software and some valve leaks, the GEC demonstrated that high efficiency can be achieved with a modest capital cost premium, resulting in operating costs approximately 56 percent lower than a comparable existing building.

The document examines the tension between adopting low-GHG consumption lifestyles in wealthy nations and the economic stability of developing countries that rely on international trade. Using a scenario developed for the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the analysis finds that while shifting spending from imported goods to domestic services can increase the GDP of a high-income country like the U.K., it can lead to significant GDP declines in LDCs, primarily due to reduced demand for clothing and manufactured goods. The authors argue for the need to identify trade strategies that simultaneously achieve climate mitigation and poverty alleviation, such as preferentially sourcing from low-GHG, low-income regions.

The document details the construction of an MRIO model to track the UK's carbon footprint between 1992 and 2004, finding a significant increase in consumer emissions and a growing gap between producer and consumer emissions. By 2004, the total UK carbon footprint reached 730 Mt for CO2 and 934 Mt CO2 equivalents for all greenhouse gases.

The 3C-SEI Partnership Programme (March 2010 – February 2012) is a collaboration between the business leaders' initiative 3C – Combat Climate Change and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). The programme conducts research at the intersection of climate policy and business across three thematic areas: technology development for a low-carbon economy, the impact of resource scarcity, and the analysis of global trade and financial flows related to emissions mitigation.

The REAP (Resources and Energy Analysis Programme) tool uses environmentally extended input-output analysis to calculate the carbon, greenhouse gas (GHG), and ecological footprints of residents across UK local authorities and regions. Unlike territorial accounting, which measures emissions where they occur, REAP allocates emissions to the consumers of products and services. The tool allows policy makers to model future scenarios by adjusting variables such as household energy demand, food consumption, and production efficiency. The 2006 data release includes a historical time series from 1992 to 2006 and introduces GHG footprints as a new indicator. The document also compares SEI's input-output methodology with the Global Footprint Network's (GFN) trade-volume and life-cycle coefficient approach, noting that while GFN estimates for the UK are typically 5% to 15% higher, the SEI approach provides more detailed supply chain analysis for manufactured goods and services.

The document describes an extension to the 'Embedded Carbon Emissions Indicator' project, specifically focusing on the uncertainty analysis of a UK-MRIO model. The study employs a Monte-Carlo analysis to determine error margins for direct and indirect carbon dioxide emissions associated with UK economic activities and trade. The process involved reviewing standard deviations of constraints, estimating input-output (IO) table uncertainties from constraints and matrix balancing, and calculating error propagation for embedded emissions. The report notes that such a thorough uncertainty analysis is rare in environmental MRIO studies.