Colenbrander, S, Gouldson, A orcid.org/0000-0002-1464-6465, Sudmant, AH orcid.org/0000-0001-8650-8419 et al. (3 more authors) (2016) Exploring the Economic Case for Early Investment in Climate Change Mitigation in Middle-income Countries: A case study of Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Climate and Development, 8 (4). pp. 351-364. ISSN 1756-5529
Abstract
The assumption that climate mitigation can only be afforded at a particular level of income is implicit in global climate negotiations. This suggests that middle-income countries may reach a tipping point in their development process where low-carbon investment becomes more viable. In order to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, this tipping point needs to be brought forward in time: upper-middle-income countries are already responsible for 37.8% of global CO<inf>2</inf> emissions. We explore the scope for large-scale investment in climate mitigation in Johor Bahru, a fast-growing industrial city in Malaysia. We find that the city could reduce per capita emissions by 10.0% by 2025, relative to 2014 levels, through cost-effective investments. If the returns could be recovered and reinvested in low-carbon measures, Johor Bahru could reduce per capita emissions by 35.2% by 2025, relative to 2014 levels. This result suggests that the tipping point may be a function of political will and institutional capacity as well as income. This has substantial implications for global climate policy discussions, particularly the opportunities and responsibilities of middle-income countries. If comparable savings can be delivered across cities in middle-income countries, this would equate to a reduction in global emissions of 6.3% with the exploitation of cost-effective options and 11.3% with the exploitation of cost-neutral options. Investing in economically attractive low-carbon measures could also provide cities in middle-income countries with an opportunity to build the political momentum and institutional capacities necessary for deeper decarbonization.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015 The Author(s). Published by Taylor & Francis. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricteduse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | energy, climate policy, cities, carbon Kuznets curve, low-carbon investment |
Dates: |
|
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: | 03 Nov 2015 14:40 |
Last Modified: | 12 Feb 2019 13:56 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2015.1040367 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/17565529.2015.1040367 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:90728 |