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CAETS Energy Committee issues low carbon building and transportation study

If the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases remains unchecked, it could have large-scale humanitarian, environmental, political and economic consequences. The  International  Council  of  Academies of Engineering  and  Technological  Sciences  [CAETS] commissioned a  study on the technological and engineering issues related to transitioning to lower carbon energy in the  building   and  transportation   sectors, which together account for 50% of global energy consumption and 60+% of GHG emissions.  The Canadian Academy of Engineering is a major contributor to the CAETS energy committee.

The   CAETS Energy Committee has noted that a wide range of technological and engineering options  is available  for the building  sector  to become more energy-efficient with  lower GHG emissions and has called  for special attention  to develop new and retrofit building envelopes; heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and cooling (HVAC) systems; and advanced energy management systems and their upgrades. It has also stressed the need to achieve passive and net zero energy standards for residential and commercial buildings, respectively with onsite alternative renewable energy options by 2030 and to implement smart and solar envelope concepts for large building complexes.

Though the five major constituencies of the transportation sector viz., road, rail, air, sea and pipeline systems currently rely heavily on fossil fuels, there are positive  indications of their  moving  towards  lower  carbon energy regime.  The current regulatory framework is predominantly  emission reduction  driven and needs to be  reoriented  towards energy efficiency. The  CAETS Energy Committee has identified energy-efficient light vehicle engines, hybrid  electric-diesel  locomotives,  advanced aero and  marine  engines  and  switchover to  multimodal transport  options as  high  priority areas  for  technology  and  engineering interventions.

CAETS Energy Report-FINAL-2015

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