Taking a Page from the Europeans to Becoming More Sustainable in Australia

Introduction 

Conversations around sustainable changes have been around since the 1970s, prompted by the reports on acid rains. However, little has been achieved in comparison to the scale of the issue. At present, the frameworks and goals set by the COP26 need to be followed rigorously by the world leaders to expect stability. This article illustrates how European and some non-European countries have been engaging with these goals through various green projects. Furthermore, we explore how Australia could potentially benefit by looking at their construction industry and materials used, creating pedestrian-only zones and promoting lower carbon emissions transport in urban areas, and following suit after Melbourne’s promised net carbon emissions goal. 

These are some of the highest carbon emitting sectors, which also present opportunities to bring about changes. For example, the buildings in Australia contribute towards the total 14.7 million t emission, as reported in 2016. Furthermore, the existing methods produce approximately 20 million tons of waste from the construction activities. Transport is the third largest sector producing 96.1 million tons of CO2e, followed by manufacturing and construction (38.7 million t). 

Cop26: Experts pledges solutions to reach 2030 goal 

Effects of climate change are devastating and all-encompassing. Today each continent is facing intense repercussions in the form of storms, floods, wildfires, and declining air quality. Largely, human activities have driven these changes, resulting in a net increase of 1.09॰C in the past decade, as compared to the global surface level temperature in the late 19th century. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2021 consolidated a scientific review that implies climate emergency as ‘code red’. 

Graphics from IPCC 2021 Report:

The primary contribution to climate change is noted to be coal usage, which accounts for a whopping 40% of the world's carbon footprint. Therefore, the United Nations has, over the years, organized global climate summits, also known as the Conference of the Parties or COP to take key decisions towards phasing out carbon emission. This year, COP26, held in 2021 in Glasgow, UK, worked on four major goals-Securing global net-zero, promoting collaboration among nations, strategizing to protect communities and natural habitats, and mobilizing finance to deliver the aforementioned goals. The Glasgow Climate Pact was successful in keeping the 1.5C goal Alive by achieving the Paris Agreement Rulebook. The Paris Agreement is an international treaty primarily focusing on climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance, approved by 196 countries in 2015. Targets announced in this treaty was to limit the global rising temperature to 1.5C, to save the planet. 

This major feat requires countries to halve the carbon footprint by limiting deforestation, finding alternatives to coal, switching to sustainable technology which runs on renewable energy, and investing in such endeavours. Global leaders need to take severe actions in this and help fund it. The event witnessed the demands and views of 40,000 young climate leaders made to ministers and officials alongside the senior figures in Glasgow. YOUNGO, the official youth constituency has been working in tandem with the UK presidency and put forth the pivotal plan for the national curriculums. 

COP26 has been successful in bringing together world leaders from 200 countries to work on Nationally Determined Contributions. But this is going to be a long and intense journey requiring dedicated effort. 

Europe’s commitments to sustainability 

Each nation decides on its national plans which highlight climate actions. To incentivize urban cities and towns to come up with and apply innovative solutions, multiple EU Policy Initiatives have been introduced to recognize local efforts. For example, European Green Deal, Reference Framework for Sustainable European Cities (RFSC), Roadmap for a resource-efficient Europe, and A Sustainable Europe by 2030. One of the recent initiatives is the New European Bauhaus, which aims to provide sustainable, aesthetic solutions to today’s cosmopolitan needs. For instance, the Holmes Road Studios in London, providing hostels for the homeless, are sustainable, healthy, and safe spaces. 

The result of these initiatives has been interesting and varied. For example, London introduced ULEZ (ultra-low emission zones), the largest zone in Europe to encourage people to swap to lower-emission vehicles. In a similar vein, Paris is set out to test out ‘pedestrian-only’ streets. Emerging after lockdown, many Paris officials have realised the benefits of possibly closing many of the streets in the capital to tackle air pollution and traffic congestion. ‘15 minute city’ urban renewal design aims to bring people closer to places they care about, transform urban areas into multi-use spaces and reduce commute time within the city. The aim is to encourage more cyclists and pedestrians, and public transportation.  Paris is creating 650km of new cycling paths hoping to open the whole city for bicycles by 2026. Innovative solutions are needed to meet the ever-increasing demands. For example, a building in Ulm, Germany, is being run by natural processes to regulate heating and temperature. 38% of global energy-related CO2 emissions were generated from buildings alone (with most from after construction production). This building relies on underground canals around the building that suck in incoming hot air in winter and cool the system in summer with help from extended 100m probes underground. Earth’s natural temperature is used to cool/heat the air above. This system significantly reduces energy consumption by 75% than the average office building. 

How should Australia follow suit? 

Melbourne is among the top cities in the world pledging for reaching net Carbon neutrality by 2050. A 2019 report by Climate Analytics focused on the phase-out requirements for the 1.5C goal, laid out the following implication for Australia. At present, ~60% of Australia's total energy needs are being met through fossil fuels. Therefore, the need of the hour is to invest heavily in alternative solutions. Following are some of the possible solutions that have been inspired by Europe’s success: 

• Reconsidering construction materials and their emissions:  Emissions from the synthetic (concrete) and steel construction material contribute towards 11% of Australia’s carbon emission, which is estimated to reach 600 million tons a year by 2050. Earlier attempts in this sector have clearly shown success. For example, Australia’s Green-star certified buildings have reported to produce 62% less carbon essmisions and produce 51% less portal water. This certainly can be a feasible change, as indicated by a survey of construction contractors' attitude towards sustainable buildings, indicating a positive response by the majority (60%). 
• Using learning as a key leverage point: A case study based on the local government in Perth, found education and learning programmes to be highly effective in bringing about paradigmatic change in the approach taken by people in charge. UK has recently introduced the Education (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill [HL], which will incorporate these critical aspects in the school curriculum. 
• Hot climates and dense cities mean an ‘urban heat island effect’: hard materials absorb solar energy and pass it back into the city. This can be tackled by introducing nature-based solutions, like, green roofs and living walls to create biodiversity and cooling effect from the evaporation of vegetation and absorb air pollution particulates. A similar plan was implemented in Medellin, Columbia, wherein 30 green corridors were planted along 18 roads and 12 waterways with 8300 trees and 350,000 bushes reducing the local temperature by more than 2C. 
• Using local natural resources to promote circular energy with the collaborative relationship between public and private sector: 
• Greening high rises and buildings: Singapore, a highly-dense populated city in a hot and humid climate, relies heavily on air-conditioning in the majority of workplaces and public housing contributing to rising local temperature. Oasia hotel adorned its entire exterior facade with a wall of greenery to help cool the building. The temperature of the facade measures 28C compared to the surface temperature of a metal building which is 42C. 
• The private and public sector on a city level needs improvement: traditionally city sectors need to be seen as ‘neutral’ but we need the expertise in new technologies from private sectors for implementing best practices. 
• Have clear strategic plans (like NY and Paris) on how to go about sustainability. If you don’t have a clear plan, can’t find private investors to invest in cities, investments need predictability to achieve the ‘promised goal’. 
• Bring climate risks into your decision-making process: WEF reports that companies failing to adapt to the threat of climate change can potentially become the second-largest global risk. The need is to look for long-term solutions, by making use of advanced analytics and intelligent workflows to reimagine processes and better predict how the weather will impact your assets, employees and customers. Technology can play a huge role in making these decisions. Applications like IBM Environmental Intelligence Suite can help companies to define reliable paths in developing environmental resilience plans by replicating unique scenarios through geospatial analytics, weather data, custom weather alerts and dashboard visualisations. Industry insights such as renewable energy forecasting and outage predictions provide deeper insights for better planning and adjusting to changing conditions and achieving sustainability goals effectively. 

Conclusion 

The IPCC Report from August 2021 is a wake-up call for what is being called a climate emergency and needs immediate strategic steps by all the countries. Demands from younger generations and activists are pushing global leaders to step up in their game for reaching their 2030 goals in reducing carbon emissions as seen in COP26. Sustainability changes are seen in different industries both in the public and private sectors across many countries, not just in Europe. If Australia could start with the construction industry, it would make a bigger impact on the local (urban) carbon emissions as well as provide better energy-efficient housing and office buildings. Governments need to initiate clear strategic plans and pitch to private investors to start making changes for 2022. Working with private sector experts is the key to changing the future.

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