Melbourne and Sydney Climate Change Planning Response - Case Study Example

Climate Change Name Course Lecture Date Introduction Australia is now faced with the problem of a fast changing climate. It is now foregone that climate change will change the world forever and at a numbing scale. While some people continue to ignore climate change, some are making small changes like using low voltage lighting and electrical appliances. Some household have also adopted solar heating and recycling. However, at the city level the approach to climate change remains polarized with each city taking a different path. Australia, the world’s driest continent is likely to be hit catastrophically by climate changes. Changes like episodic rainfall, prolonged drought, flooding, high intensity rainfall, severe coastal erosion, heat waves, and failed crops may lead to the ultimate abandonment of some regions. Australians have been asleep as the threat of climate change continues to creep upon their unlimited prosperity. Some Australian cities are awakening from this slumber and guiding their citizens on how best to respond to climate change through climate change planning. Australian cities need to adapt their infrastructure, housing and agricultural systems to the coming effects of climate change. Any Climate change adaptation planning in Australia should start in the cities where 90 per cent of Australia’s population is concentrated (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2008). Most Australian cities are located in coastal areas which are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, storm damage and flooding. While Australian cities have started to plan for climate change the question of whether they are doing enough remain. Also it is questionable whether the spatial planning adopted by the cities with each having its own planning will work (Bulkeley, 2006) The National Response Following the election of the Rudd government in 2007, Australia became a member of the Kyoto protocol (Byrne et al 2009). Subsequently Australia started to engage in planning an emission trading system. The Garnaut report established Australia’s climate change planning at the national level. This report acts as a point of reference in climate change initiatives. The Gaurnaut report committed Australia to (Bryne et al 2009): A 5-15 per cent cut in greenhouse emission (GHG) by the year 2020 and a further 60 per cent by 2050 It also established the national emission trading scheme to cover Australia’s 1000 top polluters. $250 million kitty to fund carbon capture and storage research. Providing $100 million for a forest initiative to capture more carbon. Providing finance to fund domestic subsidies for use of solar heated water were also included The commonwealth also works with urban councils in ensuring economical usage of water (Bryne et al 2009). Under the Community water grant, urban councils are able to access funding for installing water tanks, low flow shower heads and residential dual flush toilets (Australian Government 2012). Households that install solar water heating systems and photovoltaic power can also access rebates of up to $4000 (Bryne et al 2009. The Gold Coast City’s Approach Gold Coast City (GCC) is located in south East Queensland region the fastest growing region in Australia (Gold Coast City Council 2001). Most parts of the Gold Coasts built environment are vulnerable to flooding and beach erosion and have sustained heavy damage in the past (Godber, 2005). In responses the Gold Coast city Council is adopting a number of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. The Council announced that it plans to be carbon neutral by the year 2020 as part of its commitment to the Cities for Climate protection (Gold Coast City Council 2007). As a coastal city, Gold Coast has always had pre-existing plans to deal with climate change. It already had a beach re-nourishment program for beaches threatened by erosion (Gold Coast City Council 2007). Flood protection and management plans had also been in place for a long time. Gold coast houses have always been designed to reflect their continuous interaction with water. Gold Coast beach front house were required to have protective walls between development and the beach to protect against high tides. Sustainable housing remains a key pillar in the GCC planning for climate change. Other initiatives include use of light emitting diodes in the City’s traffic lights aiming for a reduction in the consumption of electricity (Bryne et al 2009). GCC has also started heating its swimming pool with solar power and the barbeque joints in the city now use energy efficient appliances. With a fast rising population the GCC council (2007) has also had to raise the wall of the Hinze dam to reduce downstream flooding and increase storage capacity. GCC also require buildings to have an additional 27 cm clearance above the ground (Gold Coast City Council 2001). The GCC is also in the process of establishing as sustainable housing code which will apply to all GCC buildings. The Gold Coast Desalination Plant is another key initiative aimed at tackling the problem of water shortage caused by climate change. The GCC plant in Tugan is the biggest of its kind on the Australian east coast (Rygaard, Binning and Albrechtsen 2011). The plant which became operational in 2009 can produce up to 133ML of water everyday supplying the water need of over 665,000 people (Willis et al 2011). However, the plant is coal-fired bringing into disrepute its climate change adaptation commitment (Bryne et al 2009). However, the plants is also said to be among the most energy efficient desalination plants in the world. Gold Coast efforts to combat climate change are commendable but a lot still needs to be done. The efforts of the Gold Coast City are limited by a policy that dictates that climate change initiatives should not disrupt economic activity (Bryne et al 2009). The Gold Coast City allows resorts that use hundreds of Megawatts of electricity in redundancy lighting to continue operating. Furthermore, GCC does not put a limit to beach activity which increases the likelihood of beach erosion due to high ocean tides. Melbourne’s response The city of Melbourne has also committed to being carbon neutral by the year 2050 (City of Melbourne 2008). Melbourne will soon become Australia’s largest city with it 4.1 million inhabitants expected to double by 2050 (Wales et al 2013). It has been reported that Melbourne’s main vulnerability to climate change include water shortage due to drought, intense heat, intense rainfall and flood events and also rising sea levels (City of Melbourne 2009). To mitigate and adapt to this climate change consequences, Melbourne has taken a number of initiatives as discussed below. The Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) is one of Melbourne’s climate change adaptation strategy (City of Melbourne 2009). The Melbourne city authorities have been advised to develop designs that enable easier for the reuse and treatment of water. WSUD targets to minimize the amount of water taken from natural water bodies to cater for Melbourne’s water demand (Bryne et al 2009). The WSUD guidelines provide a response to the water scarcity problem caused by the climate change problem. Already Melbourne is suffering from a scarcity of water as a result of reducing rainfall levels. The Melbourne city council has initiated an initiative to cut down its own greenhouse emission. The Council is one of the top users of energy in it water and sewerage services (Melbourne Water 2010). Originally, Melbourne water used coal-fired power for its energy needs but has since moved to more renewable sources of energy. Melborne Water announced its commitment to source 100 per cent of its power needs from renewable source in line with Melbourne’s goals of reducing net greenhouse gas emission to zero by 2018 (Melbourne Water 2010). Melbourne water now sources electricity from AGL under a 15-year agreement which is generated from renewable sources. Melbourne water (2010) also uses biogas from its sewerage plants and hydro-electricity from it water supply system for some of its energy demand. By saving and generating its own electricity in provision of Water to its citizens Melbourne city has signalled to its citizens the need to adapt and mitigate for climate change. Melbourne Water has also committed to decreasing its energy consumption by becoming more energy efficient. Melbourne Water cites the Western and Eastern sewage treatment plants, and the Water treatment plant in Winneke as the main energy users (Melbourne Water 2010). The city undertook studies in the three plants to investigate how they can become more energy efficient. Melbourne water will have completed overall energy audit of its sewage and water station by 2010. Melbourne water has been able to save 160 MWh of electricity each year by making efficiency improvements in the water and sewerage treatment plants (Melbourne Water 2010). At the yering Gorge pump station efficiency improvement enables Melbourne Water save 550MWh each year. In 2011, Melbourne launched the Cool Roof initiative a response to the rising temperatures caused by climate change (Wales et al 2013). Cool Roof products are developed under research funding by the University of Melbourne. The Cool roof initiative will enable Melbourne’s buildings stay cool in case an intense temperature events occurs in Melbourne. Melbourne has also adopted an Urban Forestry strategy with an aim of enhancing the city’s liveability. Melbourne plans to have a canopy cover of 40 per cent by 2040 up from the present 22 per cent. It also plans to increase the biodiversity of Melbourne’s Urban Forest cover (Wales et al 2013). The initiative is also aimed at mitigating the expected rise in temperature in Melbourne city. Urban forestry will also provide shade which is crucial to comfort and cooling in intense temperature events. Melbourne susceptibility to flooding has also seen the city upgrade sections of its drainage infrastructure. In 2013, $73 million project to upgrade the Frankston area Drainage system was completed (Utility Magazine 2013). Frankston is among the lowest areas in Melbourne and had on many occurrences been hit by flooding during intense rainfalls and storms. However, other areas of Melbourne like Elwood remain susceptible to flooding as the drainage is not ready to handle flash floods that may occur in the case of intense rainfall caused by climate change. In recent years, cases of flooding in the Elwood area of Melbourne have gone up significantly (Wales et al 2013). Melbourne’s also runs other initiatives to mitigate and adapt to climate change (Wales et al 2013). Melbourne city gave away a million compact fluorescent light-bubs as part of it campaign to conserve energy (Bryne et al 2009). Melbourne city has also come up with a Sustainable Housing Code that requires efficient lighting and hot water systems and water conserving technology (Bryne et al 2009). Melbourne city also encourages its citizens to leave their cars at home and make more use of public transport. It has also outlined a plan to have every resident ride a bicycle to work. Melbourne also completed the construction of a six star-green building with sustainable solar power, passive cooling and ventilation and natural lighting as a model of sustainable housing (Bryne et al 2009). Melbourne Climate change policy seems to be the most comprehensive and covers almost all aspects of life affected by climate change. However, Melbourne’s efforts are affected by the lack of funding to undertake critical projects. Partly due to funding difficulties the drainage systems have not been upgraded and some areas remain prone to flooding. Sydney Climate change planning response Sydney has an estimated population of 4.3 million people making it Australia’s largest city. The population is expected to hit 5.8 million by the year 2013. At the same time, Sydney is faced with a mounting climate change challenge. These challenges include intense heat waves, rising sea levels, frequent and intense bushfires, flooding among others. Lee et al 2013 details the possible changes to the Sydney Climate by the year 2050: The higher average annual rainfall will increase with intense rainfall experienced in Autumn An increase in surface flow and recharge in autumn months are projected making. The surface flow will be larger than recharge. Sydney is will be hotter with both minimum and maximum temperatures rising in all seasons. The South and western parts of Sydney are projected to bear the most of the temperature increases. The numbers of intense heat waves days with temperature above 35 degree Celsius are expected to rise. In spring the number of Forest Fire danger Index days is also projected to increase in spring in the Blue mountain region. Exposure to coastal hazards will rise as sea levels rise, beach erosion reaches further inland and storm occurrences occur. With many developments on the seafront some might have to be abandoned as Coastal hazards increase. Sydney is responding to the challenge of climate change by using scenario based planning (Lee et al 2013). Research has shown that the climate change storyline indicated above is very likely to occur. Therefore, Sydney has no choice than to come up with fitting adaptations to the changes in its climate. Sydney has adopted it planning to four key levels: Metropolitan Planning Sub regional planning Local Planning Precinct Planning Metropolitan planning is aimed at making use of land in ways that will minimize the rise in temperatures (Lee et al 2013). It also aims at introducing vegetation that will have a cooling effect on the land. Sydney also approaches metropolitan planning in a way that ensures regional vegetation connectivity, park and waterway conservation (Lee et al 2013). On the sub regional planning level, Sydney authorities ensure that specific regional parks and waterways are maintained as they play a significant role in the cooling of Sydney’s built environment. Sub regional planning also aims at ensuring regional vegetation connectivity, park and waterway conservation. At the Local level the Sydney city tries to control thermal generation from various areas (Lee et al 2013). A cost benefit analysis to investigate the effectiveness of cooling strategies for local buildings is used. Sydney city calls for residents to use green walls and roofs, sustainable colours, building material and water sensitive building designs. At the precinct planning level, colour and materials that reflect heat are recommended. The building design, material and orientation should reflect the concern over rising temperatures. Precinct owner are also required to plant diverse plants within their buildings which will enable the city achieves it’s cooling targets. With CSIRO projections estimating that Sydney will experience 12 days of extreme heat days of over 35 degree Celsius, Sydney needs a response plan to heat waves (Lee et al 2013). More people are likely to be affected by the excess heat with the elderly being particularly vulnerable. The New South Wales Department of Health issued guidelines to enable people survive the intense heat days. It also pointed out the symptoms of heat related illnesses and how to treat them. Sydney Water is charged with the responsibility of managing Sydney’s water resources (Lee et al 2013). Projected drought and an increasing population will increase the pressure on Sydney’s water supply. Sydney Water under guidance of the 2010 NSW Metropolitan Water Plan has started several initiatives to ensure continued water supply to Sydney residents despite the challenge of water scarcity brought about by climate change (Lee et al 2010). The Metropolitan Water plan includes upgrades of dams, recycling of water, desalination and increased water efficiency. Unlike Melbourne Sydney’s effort to combat climate change have very low impact. For example, Sydney appears to have done little about the smog problem which is caused by emission from motor vehicles and industries. It seems like Sydney does to appreciate the role of reducing carbon emissions in fighting the intense heat problems facing Sydney. Climate Change Adaptation in Adelaide CSIRO projects the following climate change impacts in the Adelaide city region of Australia (Bardsley D 2006): Increase in Intense storm events and flooding. Rising Sea-levels. “Higher coastal storm surges”. Increase in intensity and frequency of bush fires. Reduced rainfall and lower rates of ground water recharge Reduced flows in rivers and streams including the Murray River. Adelaide’s response to the flood and intense storm events include Urban and peri-urban design which consider the impact of intense wet weather (Bardsley 2006). Adelaide also aims to engage in Water-Sensitive Urban design that also includes calming technique and establishment or areas to divert excess storm water. Adelaide also aims to reduce water usage and improve efficiency through water trading and efficient domestic usage of water. Adelaide is also engaged in initiatives to improve the city’s ability to store and transport water. It also aims to increase the reuse and recycling of waste and storm water. Adelaide city has also started an initiative to improve drainage infrastructure in the low-lying suburbs of Adelaide. Coastal hazards are also a cause of concern in the low lying areas of Adelaide (Bardsley 2006). Adelaide is exploring ways to defend the coastline from rising beach erosion and higher sea levels. Adelaide also discourages the disturbance of beaches and dunes to enhance the in-built resilience to climate change. The Adelaide authorities have also been advised to allow mangroves and salt marsh to advance inland where possible. Conclusion Gold Coast city, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide appear to be taking different approaches in adopting and mitigating the effects of Climate change. However, the challenges of Climate change are the same; Changes like episodic rainfall, prolonged drought, flooding, high intensity rainfall, severe coastal erosion, heat waves affect all the four cities. The initiatives taken by Melbourne and the Gold Coast City seem to be very effective in handling all the possible scenario of climate change events. Therefore Sydney, Adelaide and other Australian cities should emulate Melbourne. Adopting a uniform Sustainable housing codes as applied in Melbourne and Gold Coast city should be a first priority across all Australian cities. Australian cities should also ensure efficient use of energy and water resources following the good example of Melbourne. Thirdly, use of sustainable energy sources should be adopted as much as possible. Desalination plants across all cities would also ease the burden on Australia’s water resources which are dwindling due to droughts and episodic rains. Australia would be better placed to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change if an effective uniform approach to the problem of climate change was adopted by all Australian cites. Reference Australian Bureau of Statistics 2008, ‘Australian social trends, 2008’, accessed 24 July 2014, www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Chapter3002008 Australian Government 2012, Clean Energy Future – our Plan, in Clean Energy Future, 2012, retrieved 24 July 2014, . Bardsley D 2006, There’s a change on the way – An initial integrated assessment of projected climate change impacts and adaptation options for Natural Resource Management in the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges Region. DWLBC Report 2006/06, Government of South Australia, Adelaide. Bulkeley, H 2006, ‘A changing climate for spatial planning’, Planning Theory and Byrne, J., Gleeson, B., Howes, M., & Steele, W 2009, The Limits of Ecological Modernization as an Adaptive Strategy. Planning for Climate Change: Strategies for Mitigation and Adaptation for Spatial Planners, 136. City of Melbourne 2008, Zero Net Emissions by 2020 - Update 2008, City of Melbourne, Melbourne, City of Melbourne 2009, City of Melbourne Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Melbourne. 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Utility magazine 2013, $73 million drainage upgrade complete in VIC, December 2, Utility magazine, Accessed 24 July 2014, http://www.utilitymagazine.com.au/73-million-drainage-upgrade-complete-in-vic/ Wales, N, Khanjanasthiti, I, Savage, S., & Earl, G 2012, Climate change resilience of Melbourne, Bond University Willis, RM , Stewart, RA., Williams, PR., Hacker, CH., Emmonds, SC., & Capati, G 2011, Residential potable and recycled water end uses in a dual reticulated supply system. Desalination, 272(1), 201-211. Read More