Energy Efficiency measurements guided tu reduced carbon emisions in the urban residential sector from Argentinal

ROSENFELD ELÍAS; SAN JUAN GUSTAVO; DISCOLI CARLOS

Low carbon cities

ISoCaRP

Lugar: Porto, Portugal; Año: 2010; p. 18 - 22

Currently, there is a scientific consensus related to world-wide climate change, which is pronounced significantly in this century. This change is the result of the increasing green house effect gases concentrations such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides and chlorine fluor carbon. These gases are retaining a big portion of terrestrial infrared radiation increasing the planetary temperature between 1.5°C and 4.5°C to the end of the XXI century. Because of this, it is possible that the global precipitation patterns can also be altered. Associated to these temperature and precipitations increases, alterations in the global ecosystems are foreseen, generating world-wide economic imbalances. These conclusions led to a world-wide governmental reaction, resulting in the meeting of 165 countries in the Marco Convention on Climate Change (New York, 1992). They began to make themselves responsible for “stabilizing green house gases concentration in the atmosphere at levels that avoid entropic interferences with the climatic system" with the objective to obtain for the year 2000 an emissions reduction so as to reach 1990 levels. Afterwards, and being aware of the low involvement of the industrialized nations, measurements were taken in the Kyoto protocol (1998) based on a reduction of the green house effect gasses for the period between 2008 and 2012. This meant a reduction of not less than 5% of the ones emitted in 1990. As part of the policies applied for the proposed goals, the promotion of the energy efficiency has been considered by introducing appropriate reforms in the different sectors of the national economy with the purpose of promoting policies and measurements that limit or reduce the emissions of green house effect gases. In this context, and in the occasion of the elaboration of Second National CommunicationSecond National Communication from our country to the Marco Convention on Climatic Change, programs and projects of energy efficiency promotion were analyzed, as well as the energy behaviour of the residential, public and industry sectors from Argentina. This study allowed proposing some measurements, to implement in some cases and to deepen and to continue with its development in others, that made possible a reduction of energy consumption and green house effect gasses emissions. The obtained results showed an interesting possibility of energy and emissions savings with variable investment costs based on the measurements and application sectors. Table 1 shows the measurements implemented for the efficient use of energy discriminated by source and application sector. To make it possible, it should be adapted to the legal and normative framework. Consequently, the present work summarizes the aspects relative to the energy saving in the residential sector. In this context the urban residential sector was characterized in relation to its buildings type diversity and to its geographic regions. According to the 2001 Census (INDEC 2001), the total population of the country was 35,923,907 inhabitants in 10,075,814 homes. Of the total homes, houses represented 77.8% and 15.8% were flats and 3.8% farms and huts. As expected, only houses and flats have complete domestic energy equipment (air conditioning, cooking, hot water, illumination, etc.) Regarding the analysis of the population by regions, it must be considered that the Metropolitan Region of Buenos Aires (RMBA) concentrated the 31.3% of the population; the rest of the Buenos Aires province the 13.9%; the Argentinean North East 11%; the Argentinean North West 9.2%; the Patagonia 4.7%; the Centre region 19.5%; and Cuyo the 7.8%. (INDEC 2001).