Low carbon city physical energy storage

How much carbon is stored in cities?

While 13–33% of the carbon appropriated by cities is immediately combusted and released as CO2, between 8 and 24% is stored in durable household goods or becomes part of other urban stocks. Inventorying carbon consumed and stored for urban metabolism should be given more credit for the role it can play in stabilizing future global climate.

What are the physical carbon inputs to cities?

The physical carbon inputs to cities have different metabolic fates, ending up as gaseous emissions (GE), solid waste (SW), household storage (HS), changes in stocks of urban economic sectors (SC), and physcial export in goods (EX).

How much carbon is stored in a household?

The carbon stored in households as durable products (such as wooden furniture, textile, plastics, rubber, papers, and paperboard, but excluding fuels for cooking and driving) amounts to between 3 and 13% (or 0.2–0.8 t C/capita) of cities’ total carbon.

Does urban consumption outsource carbon?

Research has shown that much of the carbon emissions associated with consumption in urban areas are outsourced via global supply chains, and frequently to less-developed areas 15, 16. Here, we find that a dominant part of physical carbon used in urban production and consumption is also outsourced.

Why is household storage a significant carbon stock?

In almost all study cities, household storage is found to be a significant carbon stock across different levels of income and stages of development, mostly because these carbon-containing products are essential for all societies (for housing, transport and other important aspects of living).

How much carbon is imported from outside cities?

We find that over 88% of the physical carbon in 16 global cities is imported from outside their urban boundaries, and this outsourcing of carbon is notably amplified by virtual emissions from upstream activities that contribute 33–68% to their total carbon inflows.