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Zero-carbon City
A zero-carbon city is a goal of city planners that describes a significant reduction in carbon use by a city. The term describes a range of carbon reduction, ranging from a city that generates as much or more carbon-free Sustainable Energy for All, sustainable energy as it uses, to a city that manages greenhouse gas emissions and reduces its carbon footprint to a minimum (ideally 0 or negative) by using renewable energy sources, by reducing carbon emissions through efficient urban design, technology use and lifestyle changes, and balancing any remaining emissions through carbon sequestration. Since the supply chains of a city stretch far beyond its borders, Princeton University's High Meadows Environmental Institute suggests using a transboundary definition of a net-zero carbon city as "one that has net-zero carbon infrastructure and food provisioning systems". Most cities throughout the world burn coal, oil or gas as a source of energy, resulting in the release of Carbon dioxide i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Energy For All
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is an international organization working in partnership with the United Nations, leaders in government, the private sector, financial institutions and civil society with as goal to drive further, faster action toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7, which calls for universal access to sustainable energy by 2030, and the Paris Agreement, which calls for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to limit climate warming to below 2 °C. Launched by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2011, SEforALL is now an independent organization based in Vienna, Austria with a satellite office in Washington, DC. Damilola Ogunbiyi took office in January 2020 as CEO and as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All as well as Co-Chair of UN-Energy. She is the former Managing Director of Nigeria's Rural Electrification Agency. See also * Global warming * Renewable energy * Sustainable Develo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linear Equation
In mathematics, a linear equation is an equation that may be put in the form a_1x_1+\ldots+a_nx_n+b=0, where x_1,\ldots,x_n are the variables (or unknowns), and b,a_1,\ldots,a_n are the coefficients, which are often real numbers. The coefficients may be considered as parameters of the equation and may be arbitrary expressions, provided they do not contain any of the variables. To yield a meaningful equation, the coefficients a_1, \ldots, a_n are required to not all be zero. Alternatively, a linear equation can be obtained by equating to zero a linear polynomial over some field, from which the coefficients are taken. The solutions of such an equation are the values that, when substituted for the unknowns, make the equality true. In the case of just one variable, there is exactly one solution (provided that a_1\ne 0). Often, the term ''linear equation'' refers implicitly to this particular case, in which the variable is sensibly called the ''unknown''. In the case of two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Land Use
Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: forest land, cropland ( agricultural land), grassland, wetlands, settlements and other lands. The way humans use land, and how land use is changing, has many impacts on the environment. Effects of land use choices and changes by humans include, for example, urban sprawl, soil erosion, soil degradation, land degradation and desertification. Land use and land management practices have a major impact on natural resources including water, soil, nutrients, plants and animals. ''Land use change'' is "the change from one land-use category to another". Land-use change, together with use of fossil fuels, are the major anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide, a dominant greenhouse gas. Human activity is the most significant cause of land c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Neutrality
Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net zero is necessary to stop further global warming. It requires deep cuts in emissions, for example by shifting from fossil fuels to sustainable energy, improving energy efficiency and halting deforestation. A small remaining fraction of emissions can then be offset using carbon dioxide removal. People often use the terms ''net-zero emissions'', ''carbon neutrality,'' and ''climate neutrality'' with the same meaning. However, in some cases, these terms have different meanings. For example, some standards for ''carbon neutral certification'' allow a lot of carbon offsetting. But ''net zero standards'' require reducing emissions to more than 90% and then only offsetting the remaining 10% or less to fall in line with 1.5 °C targets. Organ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Monitoring
Carbon monitoring as part of greenhouse gas monitoring refers to tracking how much carbon dioxide or methane is produced by a particular activity at a particular time. For example, it may refer to tracking methane emissions from agriculture, or carbon dioxide emissions from land use changes, such as deforestation, or from burning fossil fuels, whether in a power plant, automobile, or other device. Because carbon dioxide is the greenhouse gas emitted in the largest quantities, and methane is an even more potent greenhouse gas, monitoring carbon emissions is widely seen as crucial to any effort to reduce emissions and thereby slow climate change. Monitoring carbon emissions is key to the cap-and-trade program currently being used in Europe, as well as the one in California, and will be necessary for any such program in the future, like the Paris Agreement. The lack of reliable sources of consistent data on carbon emissions is a significant barrier to efforts to reduce emissions. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eco-cities
An eco-city or ecocity is "a human settlement modeled on the Self-sustainability, self-sustaining resilient structure and function of natural ecosystems", as defined by Ecocity Builders (a non-profit organization started by Richard Register, who first coined the term). Simply put, an eco-city is an ecologically healthy city. The World Bank defines eco-cities as "cities that enhance the well-being of citizens and society through integrated urban planning and management that harness the benefits of ecological systems and protect and nurture these assets for future generations". Although there is no universally accepted definition of an 'eco-city', among available definitions, there is some consensus on the basic features of an eco-city. The world's population is continuously increasing, which puts a tremendous amount of pressure on cities due to the need for new urban development. There is an urgent need for cities around the world to adapt ecologically based urban development to wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainability
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): environmental, economic, and social. Many definitions emphasize the environmental dimension. This can include addressing key environmental problems, including climate change and biodiversity loss. The idea of sustainability can guide decisions at the global, national, organizational, and individual levels. A related concept is that of sustainable development, and the terms are often used to mean the same thing. UNESCO distinguishes the two like this: "''Sustainability'' is often thought of as a long-term goal (i.e. a more sustainable world), while ''sustainable development'' refers to the many processes and pathways to achieve it." Details around the economic dimension of sustainability are controversial. Scholars have discussed this under ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General Assembly (1987)''Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future''. Transmitted to the General Assembly as an Annex to document A/42/427 – Development and International Co-operation: Environment. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity. Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the Economic development, economy, Environmental protection, environment, and society. The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make the concept of sustainable development better known. Sustainable development overlaps with the idea of sustainability which is a Normativity, normative concept. Text was copied from this source, which is av ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsetting is a carbon trading mechanism that enables entities to compensate for offset greenhouse gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce, avoid, or remove emissions elsewhere. When an entity invests in a carbon offsetting program, it receives carbon credit or offset credit, which account for the net climate benefits that one entity brings to another. After certification by a government or independent certification body, credits can be traded between entities. One carbon credit represents a reduction, avoidance or removal of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or its carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e). A variety of greenhouse gas reduction projects can qualify for offsets and credits depending on the scheme. Some include forestry projects that avoid logging and plant saplings, renewable energy projects such as wind farms, biomass energy, biogas digesters, hydroelectric dams, as well as energy efficiency projects. Further projects include carbon dioxide remov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Removal
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is a process in which carbon dioxide () is removed from the atmosphere by deliberate human activities and durably stored in geological, terrestrial, or ocean reservoirs, or in products.IPCC, 2021:Annex VII: Glossary. Matthews, J.B.R., V. Möller, R. van Diemen, J.S. Fuglestvedt, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, A. Reisinger (eds.). InClimate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Masson-Delmotte, V., P. Zhai, A. Pirani, S.L. Connors, C. Péan, S. Berger, N. Caud, Y. Chen, L. Goldfarb, M.I. Gomis, M. Huang, K. Leitzell, E. Lonnoy, J.B.R. Matthews, T.K. Maycock, T. Waterfield, O. Yelekçi, R. Yu, and B. Zhou (eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA, pp. 2215–2256, This process is also known as carbon removal, greenhouse gas removal or negative emissions. CDR is more and more often in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shifting Baseline
A shifting baseline (also known as a sliding baseline) is a type of change to how a system is measured, usually against previous reference points (baselines), which themselves may represent significant changes from an even earlier state of the system that fails to be considered or remembered. The concept arose in landscape architect Ian McHarg's 1969 manifesto ''Design With Nature'' in which the modern landscape is compared to that on which ancient people once lived. The concept was then considered by the fisheries scientist Daniel Pauly in his paper ''"Anecdotes and the shifting baseline syndrome of fisheries"''. Pauly developed the concept in reference to fisheries management where fisheries scientists sometimes fail to identify the correct " baseline" population size (e.g. how abundant a fish species population was ''before'' human exploitation) and thus, wind up working with a ''shifted baseline''. He describes the way that radically depleted fisheries were evaluated by ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Disclosure Project
The CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) is an international non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom, Japan, India, China, Germany, Brazil and the United States that helps companies, cities, states, regions and public authorities disclose their environmental impact. It aims to make environmental reporting and risk management a business norm, driving disclosure, insight, and action towards a sustainable economy. In 2022, nearly 18,700 organizations disclosed their environmental information through CDP. Background CDP piggybacked on GRI's concept of environmental disclosure in 2002, focusing on individual companies rather than on nations. At the time CDP had just 35 investors signing its request for climate information and 245 companies responding. According to the organization, as of 2022, companies worth half of global market capitalization disclose through CDP. Mechanism CDP works with corporations, cities, states, and regions to help develop carbon e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
