Colenbrander, S, Gouldson, A orcid.org/0000-0002-1464-6465, Roy, J et al. (8 more authors) (2017) Can low-carbon urban development be pro-poor? The case of Kolkata, India. Environment and Urbanization, 29 (1). pp. 139-158. ISSN 0956-2478
Abstract
Fast-growing cities in the Global South have an important role to play in climate change mitigation. However, city governments typically focus on more pressing socio-economic needs, such as reducing urban poverty. To what extent can social, economic and climate objectives be aligned? Focusing on Kolkata in India, we consider the economic case for low-carbon urban development, and assess whether these this pathway could support wider social goals. We find that Kolkata could reduce its energy bill by 8.5% and greenhouse gas emissions by 20.7% by 2025, relative to business-as-usual trends, by exploiting readily available, economically attractive mitigation options. Some of these measures offer significant social benefits, particularly in terms of public health; others jeopardise low-income urban residents’ livelihoods, housing and access to affordable services. Our findings demonstrate that municipal mitigation strategies need to be designed and delivered in collaboration with affected communities in order to minimise social costs and – possibly – achieve transformative change.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Author(s). This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution- 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page(https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage). |
Keywords: | climate change; co-benefits; energy; health; mitigation; pro-poor; urban development |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ESRC ES/LK006576/1 Centre for Low Carbon Futures N/A |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Oct 2016 14:01 |
Last Modified: | 05 Oct 2017 21:49 |
Published Version: | https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956247816677775 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/0956247816677775 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:105982 |