Abstract
The primary barriers preventing greater uptake of low-carbon land development within cities are analysed in this chapter. The barriers are related to information, high capital costs, split incentives, longer approvals processes, first-mover disadvantage, policy and pricing uncertainty, lock-in, credibility of carbon claims, multiple stakeholders and regulatory issues for utilities. Various opportunities are highlighted which could assist in overcoming some of these barriers, many of which are underpinned by the need for a reliable system for determining eligibility for the incentives. The opportunities are government leadership and facilitation, information campaigns, knowledge sharing (both success and failure), creating baselines, Environmental Upgrade Agreements (EUA), business improvement districts for precinct development (i.e. GRIDs), Energy Service Companies (ESCos), energy market reform, and mechanisms for incentivising precinct-scale carbon reduction. A brief investigation is undertaken on whether certification could be used, not only as a way to acknowledge the carbon reduction potential of urban development, but also as a mechanism to determine a development’s eligibility to receive incentives.
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Notes
- 1.
For example, if developers use prefabricated materials, which can be cheaper to produce and reduce the construction time, as discussed in Chap. 12.
- 2.
- 3.
It is acknowledged that this is not always the case. For example, studies of prefabricated wooden panels used in construction of low-carbon buildings have usually shown reduced costs compared to BAU, but not easily adopted (Lehmann 2013).
- 4.
- 5.
The report titled “How Australia’s carbon price is working—one year on,” was released by Australia’s Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education and used in Australia’s communication to the UNFCCC on how Australia is meeting its target.
- 6.
Unlike other cities around the world, particularly Scandinavian ones, Australia has no precedent or experience in providing district heating as a service.
- 7.
Previous requirements were 1–2 car parks per dwelling.
- 8.
Smoking is an example of an information campaign that has been very successful in demonstrating the effects smoking can have on your health.
- 9.
Living Smart was initially developed through collaboration between a local community, a university and council. The community continues to play a large role in the ongoing running of the program.
- 10.
It is worth acknowledging that developers may also be reluctant to share some learnings or strategies, if these have given them a commercial edge or advantage. Strategies should be sought to overcome this issue.
- 11.
These include financial costs (e.g., upfront equipment costs, access to market and energy prices), decision-making, energy market structure (e.g., utilities, service provides, distribution companies), information and technical barriers.
- 12.
- 13.
Brisbane City Council introduced a BID-like programme (Hoyt 2004) in Australia in 1996, called Suburban Centre Improvement Projects (SCIPs). This program funded various infrastructure capital works within certain areas, which were paid off using a levy introduced to those areas over a 10-year period (Brisbane City Council 2013).
- 14.
A new not-for-profit organisation out of the USA, EcoDistricts, has also been calling for the establishment of sustainability management associations within eco-districts or precincts, which would be responsible for the ongoing management of the areas (see http://ecodistricts.org/).
- 15.
Stamp duty is a fee levied on properties at the time of purchase or lease, which is paid to the State.
- 16.
The term ‘Green Door’ has been applied to this concept in Australia.
- 17.
That is, developments that demonstrate key sustainability, low-carbon or green features.
- 18.
Also known as ‘Energy Efficient Mortgage’ (EEM) or an ‘Energy Improvement Mortgage’ (EIM).
- 19.
Baselines could be set during two phases: over the construction period and during operation.
- 20.
It should be noted that the ERF and the Direct Action Plan is not a trading scheme. It is purely crediting projects that demonstrate carbon abatement, using government money.
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Rauland, V., Newman, P. (2015). Making It Work. In: Decarbonising Cities. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15506-7_13
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