The Key Approaches to Planning for Climate Change for Cities in Australia - Case Study Example

The key approaches to planning for climate change for cities in Australia Name Professor Institution Course Date The key approaches to planning for climate change for cities in Australia Introduction Today, most cities and towns planners across need to understand the importance of planning and how it influence climate change (Betsill & Bulkeley 2007, p.448). However, majority cities are still lagging behind in effective and efficient urban planning on climate change mitigation. After Kyoto protocal, several forums and conferences have been held to discuss and provide information and ideas concerning planning for climate change in countries and cities. Blakely (2007, p.11) contends that these have been disregarded by some of urban planners and policy makers, and is now facing uphill task of re-drawing new plans to reduce climate change. Some of the notable changes in the recent past in Australia in the incidence and severity of weather including surged rainfall levels resulting in flooding. Australian Government (2010) claims that the situation might change in Australian urban areas in the near future because of increasing acceptance of urban planning and its endeavors to mitigate climate change. As such, this essay discusses the key approaches to planning for climate change for cities in Australia. Some of the approaches or adaptations that will be discussed to planning for climate change comprise of greenhouse gases reduction, proper planning of housing, mitigation of vegetation clearance, green roofing, proper waste management and urban heat island reduction. Climate change in Australia Hunt & Watkiss (2011, p.14) define climate change as a major and long-term change in the weather patterns distribution over a longer period of time. Climate change has had widespread impacts on urban places. D'Cruz & Satterthwaite (2005) pines that cities and urban areas are characterized by high density and mass of people and built infrastructure. The recipe of these combinations poses an exceptional risk of climate change. Australian such as including Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra have experienced influx of people and buildings in the 21st century; a situation has resulted to increase in temperature rates, rainfall, floods and natural hazards which have posted potential risks on the same infrastructures, residential houses, and offices and on the general ecosystem. Climate change generate risks to the urban and cities where over 90 percent of the Australians live (Condon, Caven & Miller 2009). The climate change issue has generated a serious debate on the actions of government. however, there are few signs which suggest actions by individual Australian society in the fight and staving off a disastrous climate change (McAlpine et al. 2007). While others refute the threats, a few have started to make few adjustments at a household scale by using energy saving bulbs, green power, recycling, solar panels and public transportation. This shows that individual Australians are gradually moving from the delusion of unlimited knowledge to experience the realism of environmental limits. When the Rudd national government was elected in 2007, they re-examined the national urban policy, focusing on challenges caused by energy infrastructure and urban transport (Byrne et al 2009). In Australia, urban environmental planning and policy remains mostly undeveloped. Different governments have designed numerous intervention mechanisms but most remain unimplemented, they cannot hinder economic growth, but stimulates more efficient and environmental industries and homes. The government has been urging city planners to encourage industry managers to adopt use technology to manage pollution and waste (Aldy et al. 2009, p.12). As such, they are likely to reduce operation and also promote good health of their workers and general nation. This has been evident in Canberra and Melbourne. Governments also continue with their regulatory function on the industry for a sustainable energy and friendly environment. Even though the process of policy-making has been open to public inquiry and widespread, the capability of the environmental groups to successfully influence the last stage has been restrained by inadequate knowledge of the citizens (COM 2014). Key approaches to planning for climate change for cities in Australia Climate change is frequently depicted as one of the greatest problem the human race is facing today. According to Gleeson (2008, p.2654), this aspect is projected to have the potential to damage each human and natural system within the planet. It’s obvious that critical work plan is required and scale of such critical plan should massively differ. Due to its importance in 2014, UN Assistant Secretary-General Aisa Kirabo Kacyira claimed that the battle for climate change and sustainable development can mainly be won or lost in cities (ESDD 2014). Green house gases and its Reduction Greenhouse gas emission is considered as the primary basis for climate change and a considerable rise in GHGs are from the human activities from the time of industrial revolution (DCCEE, 2011d). The temperature of Australian cities averagely went up by up to 0.7°C in the recent years. In fact, UN predicts that if measures are not put to curb catastrophe, climate change is likely to increase tremendously because more than 60% of the human beings in the globe will be residing in the urban centers the year 2030. Annual temperatures on average of Australia are expected to rise up to 2.0°C by 2030 and up to 6°C by the year 2070 (Australian Government 2010). DCCEE, (2011d) postulates that the energy industry is the largest contributor of GHG emissions in Australia representing for 76.6 percent in 2010. While individuals report to their work places in the morning and leave in the evening, they drive cars or board buses which smoke and emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere resulting to climate change. In urban areas, several industrial plants have been built in the last decade, majority which smokes into the atmosphere. Transport activities contribute of up to 15% of the Australia’s total emissions. The situation has improved in this sector quite a great deal because in 1990 it was up to 32% compared to 2010. Australia contributes nearly 1.5 percent of world greenhouse gases emission (Cosgrove et al 2012). Australia is considered among the leading polluters in the world based on per capita coming mainly from Indusries, energy sector and transport . Australia rank behind Bahrain, Brunei, Bolivia, Qatar and Kuwait. According to DCCEE (2011d), the agriculture industry discharges largest number of nitrous oxide and methane gas in Australia. The sector produced a proximate 79.6% or 14.6% of total national emission in 2010. The situation has prompted city planners to implement green house emission standards which aim at minimizing the level of emission into the atmosphere (COM 2014). Green house gas emissions are a helpful yardstick for measuring attempts in tackling the climate change problem in Australia. Whilst several institutions have supported Green house gas stabilisation levels, no single factor can do it. Through Australian State, Council for the Australian Federation and urban planners are reacting to the effects of the change of climate on the economy of Australia with adaptation and innovation. City planners are have made a policy where Australians who own cars are required adopt cycling to work to minimize the number of vehicle that pollutes the air (Blakely 2007, p.7). Also, people who work in Melbourne to use public transport instead of private to reduce the number of vehicles on the road that emit green house gases into the environment. The policy also urges Austrlains to buy environemtal friendly cars such as Toyota Prius. As stated earlier, energy activities contribute the largest share of Australia GHG. In residential perspective, the state governments are now using the approach of the distributing energy saving and efficient bulbs in mitigating climate change (Gleeson 2008, p.2661). Car manufacturers have started making car efficiently and friendly cars. Melbourne, Sydney and other cities have a policy where people building new homes have to install solar panels as an alternative source of renewable energy (COM 2014). The ACT Government has initiated the community solar plan in 2014 which will continue for the next 20 years. The scope of this strategy should make sure that the city uses 25 renewable energy by 2018 as planned the local government (ESDD 2014). Proper planning of housing Several people have influx urban areas in search of job opportunities. Condon, Caven & Miller (2009) argue that the real estate dealers have taken advantage of the increased population and have built many houses for residential. Most of the house owners have not conformed to the standard set by the state governments. Some of these houses have poor drainage system which drains waste products and greenhouse gases to water sources such as river, lake and oceans (Blakely 2007, p.12). Building and structures are not only about residential house, but also the factory plants. Planning of the industrial plants is mostly important in designing and executing infrastructure standards. Design and infrastructure has a function in implementing the system and enhancing its flexibility on climatic change (Aldy et al. 2009, p.31). In building and infrastructure, poor planning has not only resulted to poor drainage, but also floods. Normally, climatic change raises the occurrence and degree of rainfall which result in flash flooding (Aldy et al. 2009, p.31). Several building in urban areas are often built closely hence preventing the rainfall from natural infiltrating into the soil, a situation which exacerbates the risk. Therefore, flooding sweeps poorly disposed waste products. Usual solid surfacing seen in city centers such as asphalt, paving slabs and concrete is impermeable, averting water on the surface from infiltration into the soil (Betsill & Bulkeley 2007, p.450). Heavy and lasting rainfall makes huge amount of water that easily overpower the systems in several urban centers. Nonetheless, such case does not generate a concern to well managed cities and urban areas since they normally have better drainage systems alongside parks and corresponding policies to protect the area from flooding. However, in inappropriately managed cities in which drainage systems does not go up to all neighborhoods, the impacts of excess run off could be overwhelming (Tol 2009, p.29). The insufficiency and ineffectiveness of the drainage system are additionally added by poor management of solid waste; with improperly organized of solid waste frequently blocking any drainage. There is also the reality that buildings and infrastructure which are constructed closely actually hinder natural flow of drainage systems. City centers have two options to deal with such situations. First is to prevent the future incidence of floods by proper management, i.e. Setting standards of building infrastructure and building and implementing them. Another resolution is not to act; a situation in where climate change will increase the amount of water in the already flooding area (Aldy et al. 2009, p.28). Some constructors argue that they provide alternative to conventional piped drainage planning approaches to controlling runoff from the buildings, copying natural drainage systems and easing water runoff on the surface. This is advantageous for the developers since the required number of drainage systems on one building is reduced. Gleeson (2008, p. 2657) posits that urban planners have forged a responsibility in improving urban adaptation practices by setting up design and infrastructure standards which prioritize on porous surfaces. Adapting the urban drainage systems to climate change impacts needs several responses. Porous surface has the edge of being integrated into a majority of the urban drainage systems. Porous surfacing is now installed using technology in many places in urban centers such as in residential streets, urban plazas and outdoor car parks (Blakely 2007, p.21). By changing the surfacing stuffs from impermeable to permeable, large surfaces within the systems could increase soakage. With such tasks like developing, managing and coordinating city built systems, planners and policy makers are well placed to manage making of porous surfaces successfully the new advances and redeveloping the already in place urban spaces. According to Hunt & Watkiss (2011, p.24), adaptation is general plan and can be included in infrastructure design to play a significant task in adjusting urban framework and enhancing its flexibility to stand the impacts climate change. Cases of adaptation steps consist of using inadequate water resources efficiently, implementing building codes and standards to future climatic situations and severe weather actions. COM (2014) argues that the strategy of implementing Adaptation to climate change is an inclusive evaluation of climate change risk in Melbourne for 2010 to 2070. Clearance of vegetation and reduction Another reason why urban planning should respond to climate change is because increased encroaching in urban has increased clearance of vegetation. A recent study in Australia claims that clearing of vegetation in the past 20 years has resulted to drought and general climatic change in Melbourne thus raising gas emissions to the air e.g. carbon II oxide (McAlpine et al. 2007). The outcome demonstrated that the duration and intensity of the droughts could have gone up in Melbourne because of the extensive the vegetation clearance, intensifying the impacts of droughts that normally come after El-Niño. Research carried out in 1998 points out that clearing of land is a key source of greenhouse gas emission in Australian cities, contributing roughly 12% of the total emissions (Cosgrove et al 2012). It has been established that previous clearing of the native vegetation led to high temperatures, reduced precipitation and much more severe droughts. The clearing of vegetation dents microclimate by getting rid of shade and decreasing humidity. Due to its problems, urban planners and central government have come up with legislation and policies to mitigate the situation. Cities in Australia such as Berth, Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne have drafted law to control land clearing and minimize the impacts of heat (Cosgrove et al 2012). However, clearing of land controls vary considerably between one jurisdiction to another, and in spite of raising awareness of the impact of land destructions, controls and policy on land clearing have been opposed by mostly land owners who intend to build new houses for sell. In another perspective, land clearing is has been restricted indirectly by the federal law on the basis of Environment Biodiversity and protection Conservation Act of 1999, which could also used if the environment is federally threatened or endangered by the communities living on that land under consideration (ESDD 2014). Green roofing Since water management in most urban areas have become stressful due to poorly constructed drainage systems, urban planners have adopted new approach of using green roofing. The system can be installed in almost all forms of buildings such as commercial, industrial and residential. Usual roofing stuffs like tile, lead and slate are developed to enable water to flow over the roofing and into the sewer systems. This has the tendency of adding further devastation to water management; especially during powerful rainfall while some is immersed by the given roof. Berkooz (2007) state that this then slows down runoff of water causing pollution of the drainage system since the surface offer retention and attenuation of rain. Green roofs offer a system where this threat can begin to be tackled and are regarded as a Sustainable Urban Drainage System method (Aldy et al. 2009, 37). Other advantages of the green roofs that urban planning is targeting consist of making natural green spaces in the cities, advantages for the biodiversity and decreased air pollution. The extended roof lifespan is another benefit because a green roof guards the waterproofing membrane of the roof, nearly doubling-up its life span. The treatment and dumping of waste are capable of producing emissions of numerous greenhouse gases (GHGs) that contribute to climatic change in urban centers in Australia (Aldy et al. 2009, p.29). The most important GHG generated from the waste products is the methane gas. Many of Australia cities including Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney as well as Melbourne have understood the adaptive benefits of the green roofs and have adopted standards that enable local planners to make sure that urban and city development comprise this technology. For instance, because of new standards newly introduced in Melbourne (Blakely 2007, p.17), the system of planning can now utilize development process to make sure that the new buildings and structures having between 26 and 51 percent of the green roof cover. According to Berkooz (2007) the city planners of the other cities including Boston and Chicago and Minneapolis in the US have also adopted the same standards. These cases show that city planning regimes plays a significant function in providing urban adaptation by means of establishment of design and infrastructure standards regarding green roofs (Aldy et al. 2009, p.34). Proper waste management Poor Waste management has been one of the contributors of climate change through greenhouse gas emission (Tol 2009, p.36). The most recognized green house gas generated from the waste is methane. It is discharged at the time of the breaking of organic matter in the landfills. Other basis of waste dumping also generates GHGs although these are majorly in form of carbon II oxide. Even waste products recycling generate some emissions. In most countries of the world, land filling of organic waste is the major method of disposal. The emissions methane from landfill remains the biggest basis of greenhouse gas emissions from waste industry, contributing approximately 700 Mt CO2-e (Hunt & Watkiss 2011, p.25). Additionally, several stuffs from the landfills do not decay fully, and the carbon II oxide which remains is discharged from the landfill and not freed the atmosphere. Many people have moved to urban areas, making the population to rise quite a great deal. The increase of population makes it difficult for city councils to properly manage waste product coming from both residential and industry (Condon, Cavens & Miller 2009). City dwellers have resorted to burning, decomposing and landfilling waste by themselves. Majority of these do not understand the role of waste in climate change. All these three forms of waste management lead to climate change which then result to global warming. Australians today find themselves in a dilemma because burning waste products results to greenhouse gas emission to air while leaving them to decompose expose them to health risks. Furthermore, after rotting, the waste products still emit methane gas into the atmosphere. Poor waste management has been observed many Australian urban centers because the government in these jurisdictions is also overwhelmed by the increasing population. Urban planners are encouraging recycling of waste product especially the polythene bags (Betsill & Bulkeley 2007, p.449). Urban heat island reduction Another climate change aspect that has become a concern for the Australian city residents is an urban heat island. As recent as 2014, urban heat island has been reported in the cities of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney (COM 2014). The situation has been on the increase due to several activities such road construction and residential and industrial construction going on in these places. The effect of urban heat island happens since urban structures stores additional heat more than the open ground. This heat which was accumulated is then is discharged at night; the reason why temperatures rise at night compared to temperatures during the day. Similarly, urban surfaces hamper the evaporation and the cooling effects, contributing an additional layer of heat to urban centers. According to the national report of 2009, Melbourne City is leading Australian urban areas with heat-linked deaths (COM 2014). The City Council of Melbourne has established temperature variants of nearly 5°C between suburbs and the city center due to the effect of urban heat-island. The research has also established that by the year 2050, the temperature of Sydney could rise up to 3.7°C due to urban heat island (Australian Government 2010). The vice has potential to negatively affect air quality, energy use and public health. Programs and policy which tackle the causes of the effect of Urban Heat Island have a measurable and real influence in reducing temperatures at these cities (Blakely 2007). Urban planners have adopted the approach of tree planting, green spaces and green roofing which have design characteristics for the future development of both Melbourne and Sydney. Conclusion Climate change provides a considerable concern for the urban systems globally. Its impact is likely increase in the coming years. Whereas human beings may be capable of combined action to reduce the strength of these impacts, scientific proof demonstrates that part of it is already taking place and will keep on occurring, regardless of any continuing mitigation. Climate change effects like the increased precipitation intensity, high storms, urban heat island and flooding are likely to affect many Australian cities if both individual and collective measures are not taken. Adaptation and mitigation will definitely be needed so as to deal with the impacts of climate change. Therefore, urban or city planning bears the opportunity of becoming a major factor in designing and executing mitigation reactions to the urban structures. The most outstanding benefit of planning is that this process is universal and its tools of operation are readily available for planners. Such tools like stakeholder engagement, plan-making, development design standards and management are available to be used by the Australian urban planners all over the country. All these are critical for creating and offering urban and city adaptation within various scales. 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