Abstract
Local climate action, sustainable energy and urban planning are closely interconnected, focusing on action in the (municipal) government and whole community area. Change is needed to improve existing policies or develop new policies, raise peoples’ awareness on the need for change and how to do so, apply existing effective technologies and measures, and, last but not least, sustaining this over the longer term to achieve the required results. Three streams of local climate action are presented in this article, namely: strategy and policy; technology and measures; people and lifestyle – all closely inter-related, and linked to urban planning and sustainable energy. When addressing these issues, typical questions asked by local decision-makers and municipal staff revolve around aspects such as how to determine the right strategies and policies to guide the implementation of a Local Action Plan (LAP), where processes need to change, which key steps should form part of a LAP, how to select the right technologies, and how to engage people. The ‘people stream’ remains the largest challenge, in part also as it implies a redefinition of quality of life for all citizens – engaging them, retaining their interest, encouraging them to take responsibility for their choices, and radically changing the way they live.
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Notes
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The difference between a ‘good’ practice and a ‘best’ practice is essentially that the former is an example that is recommended for consideration but also depends on a particular context, while a best practice is highly recommended for replication in most cases (truly exemplary and highly recommended for replication). The term ‘best’ practice tends to be over-used, and should probably rather be referred to as ‘good’ in the majority of cases
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The first part of the ManagEnergy practical guide on passive houses is available at: http://managenergy.net/themes/downloads/TG_Buildings_final_20_10.pdf More information on passive houses can be found in the RICS website: http://www.rics.org/Newsroom/Keyissues/Energy/chng_behv_pasv_houses_f_171008.htm
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The Swedish data comes from Energikontor Sydost/Energy Agency for Southeast Sweden.
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These numbers were based on an oil price of $48/barrel and therefore considerably underestimate job creation in Europe.
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Renewable Energy Roadmap impact assessment.
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The 2006/32/EC Directive defines the Energy Service Company (ESCO) as a natural or legal person that delivers energy services and/or other energy efficiency improvement measures in a user’s facility or premises, and accepts some degree of financial risk in so doing. The payment for the services delivered is based (either wholly or in part) on the achievement of energy efficiency improvements and on the meeting of the other agreed performance criteria.
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In the 2006, Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, the first ‘bank of the poor’ received the Peace Noble Prize for the accomplishments in the development of a culture of peace through innovative financial mechanisms.
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© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
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van Staden, M., Musco, F. (2009). Local Action – Planning and Implementation. In: van Staden, M., Musco, F. (eds) Local Governments and Climate Change. Advances in Global Change Research, vol 39. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9531-3_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9531-3_4
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