Energy
consumption
UP-1
Urban
Environmental Problems
Pressure
1 Indicator
definition and unit of measurement
The
amount of energy consumption per capita in urban areas by end-uses and sources
in tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) per year. NB: This indicator includes Energy
consumption and Emissions of CO
2.
2 Placement
in the framework
5EAP:
Chapter
4: Selected target sectors, section 4.2: Energy, establishes measures to reduce
energy consumption and increase energy efficiency up to 2000 including:
awareness building and incentives; energy efficiency programmes (PACE, SAVE);
technology programmes (Thermie, Joule); promotional programmes (Altener); and
nuclear safety programmes.
Agenda
21:
Chapter
7: Promoting sustainable human settlement development, section E. refers to
“Promoting sustainable energy and transport systems in human
settlements” through energy planning and management, promotion of
renewable and alternative energy sources, and evaluation of the costs of
current systems.
Chapter
9: Protection of the atmosphere, section B.1. refers to “Energy
development, efficiency and consumption”. To achieve development while
protecting the atmosphere, emphasis needs to be placed on energy efficiency and
on new and renewable sources of energy. Existing constraints to increasing
environmentally-sound energy supplies need to be removed.
International
conventions and agreements:
UNFCCC
(New York, 1992).
Ranking:
Core
ranking:
1
(78%)
Policy
Relevance:
2
(3.2)
Analytical
Soundness:
4
(3.0)
Responsiveness:
3
(2.7)
Most
appropriate related state indicator:
Concentrations
of SO
2
and
NO
x.
3 Significance
Purpose:
Energy
consumption has important impacts on the environment. The combustion of fossil
fuels is a major source of emissions of CO
2,
SO
2,
NO
x,
and particle emissions into the atmosphere. Most of the energy produced today
is consumed in urban areas. The purpose of this indicator is to monitor trends
in energy consumption by end-uses and sources and determine the related
pressure of atmospheric pollution emissions and concentration trends.
Relevance:
The
production of energy generates various impacts on the environment, particularly
atmospheric pollution at the local, regional and global scale.
Linkages
to other pressure indicators:
The
consumption of energy per capita in urban areas is linked to primary energy
consumption (AP-6), energy use per capita (RD-2), electricity production from
fossil fuels (RD-5), CO
2
emissions
(CC-1 and OD-4), SO
2
emissions
(AP-3 and UP-9), NO
x
emissions (AP-1, CC-5, OD-5 and UP-9), and particle emissions (AP-4 and CC-7).
Targets:
No
international targets. In the context of Local Agenda 21 initiatives, many
targets have been formulated at city level.
4 Methodological
description and underlying definitions
Underlying
definitions and concepts:
The
use of energy per capita by end-uses in urban areas is directly related to
consumption patterns in urban areas. A substantial percentage of energy use in
cities is for households heating and appliances. The use of energy for urban
transportation is increasing as a result of sub-urbanisation and increasing
vehicle/km/capita travelled.
Measurement
methods:
Statistics
on energy consumption by end-uses and sources are typically available at the
national level and are collected by the International Energy Agency and
Eurostat. However these statistics do not distinguish between urban and
non-urban energy use. Data on electricity consumption are available at the
municipal scale. A few cities have collected energy consumption by end-uses and
sources as part of ICLEI Climate Protection Campaign.
Limitations
of the indicator:
The
indicator is difficult to measure due to the problem of distinguishing between
urban and non-urban energy use.
Alternative
definitions:
Various
indicators have been proposed as substitute for energy consumption in different
sectors. Electricity consumption per capita is used as a partial indicator of
energy use. Vehicle/km/capita is used as an alternative to gasoline consumption.
