Editorial 1: How can we transition to a low-carbon city?
Context
- In 2020, cities dumped a whopping 29 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Therefore, given the significant impact that cities have on the environment, low-carbon cities are crucial to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Low carbon city
- A low-carbon city or decarbonised city is an city based on energy sources that produce low levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century.
- Transitioning to low-carbon or even net-zero cities requires us to integrate mitigation and adaptation options in multiple sectors. This is called the ‘sector-coupling approach’, and it is necessary to decarbonise urban systems.
Energy-system transitions
- An energy-system transition could reduce urban carbon dioxide emissions by around 74%.
- With rapid advancements in clean energy and related technologies and nosediving prices, we have also crossed the economic and technological barriers to implementing low-carbon solutions.
- The transition must be implemented both on the demand and the supply sides.
- Mitigation options on the supply side include phasing out fossil fuels and increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix, and using carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
- On the demand side, using the ‘avoid, shift, improve’ framework would entail reducing the demand for materials and energy, and substituting the demand for fossil fuels with renewables.
- Second, to address residual emissions in the energy sector, we must implement carbon-dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.
- Indeed, we have the appropriate technologies and knowledge base to build net-zero urban systems through energy transitions.
Strategies- No one size fit approach:
- The strategies to mitigate and adapt to low-carbon varies based on a city’s characteristics.
- This is a key consideration when we frame energy-transition policies that are socially and environmentally fair. These considerations are a city’s spatial form, land-use pattern, level of development, and the state of urbanisation.
- An established city can retrofit and repurpose its infrastructure to increase energy efficiency, and promote public as well as active transport like bicycling and walking.
- In fact, walkable cities designed around people can significantly reduce energy demand, as can electrifying public transport and setting up renewable-based district cooling and heating networks.
- A rapidly growing city can try to colocate housing and jobs — by planning the city in a way that brings places of work closer to residential complexes, thus reducing transport energy demand.
- New and emerging cities have the most potential to reduce emissions — using energy-efficient services and infrastructure, and a people-centric urban design.
- They can also implement building codes that mandate net-zero energy use and retrofit existing buildings, all while gradually shifting to low-emission construction material.
Just energy transition:
- Energy systems are directly and indirectly linked to livelihoods, local economic development, and the socio-economic well-being of people engaged in diverse sectors.
- So a one-size-fits-all approach is unlikely to ensure a socially and environmentally just transition.
- Broadly, the energy supply needs to be balanced against fast-growing energy demand (due to urbanisation, e.g.), the needs of energy security, and exports.
- Additional justice concerns include -land dispossession related to large-scale renewable energy projects, spatial concentration of poverty, the marginalisation of some communities, gendered impacts, and the reliance on coal for livelihoods.
Conclusion:
- Transitioning to low-carbon cities is essentially a commitment to social equity and justice. This is why we must account for the complex, multifaceted issues in different regions and contexts, and adopt a wholesome approach that is attentive to multiple voices and experiences.
Editorial 2: How KFON aims to bridge the digital divide in Kerala
Introduction
- On 2019, the Government in Kerala announced that access to the Internet would be a basic right in the State, becoming the first State in the country to do so. The declaration came three years after the UN had passed a resolution recognising Internet access as a basic human right. The announcement was accompanied by a detailed plan to ensure that it would become a ground reality, with the setting up of the Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON).
About Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON):
- Kerala Fibre Optic Network (KFON) is a radical public-funded project conceived to ensure high-speed Internet access to an entire state.
- KFON has received both the Infrastructure Provider and Internet Service Provider (ISP) licenses from the Central government.
- The ambitious flagship project was launched in February, 2021.
- It is aimed to provide Internet connections to 20 lakh below-poverty-line (BPL) households in the State, and ensure universal Internet access and address the problem of digital divide.
- KFON Ltd is primarily an infrastructure provider for other ISPs operating in the State.
Major objectives of KFON:
- Create a core network infrastructure (information highway) with non-discriminatory access to all service providers so as they can augment their connectivity gap.
- Provide a reliable, secure and scalable intranet connecting all government offices, educational institutions, hospitals, etc.
- Partner with MSOs, TSPs, ISPs for providing free internet to economically backward households.
Benefits of KFON
KFON will complement the existing telecom ecosystem in the state and will act as the perfect catalyst positioning Kerala as a Gigabit Economy. The following are some of the multiple benefits to be realized across the board.
- Bridge the digital divide by making internet access a basic right to citizens and enable the state government’s vision to provide free internet access to economically backward households.
- Deliver e-Governance to citizens through TSPs/ISPs/Cable operators by leveraging this network.
- Provide affordable and better broadband connectivity to households by the TSPs/ISPs/Cable operators due to a competitive market by leveraging this network.
- Boost economic growth by providing digital infrastructure support for local enterprises and SMEs and promoting Electronics and IT industry.
- Human capital development
- Deliver remote education
- Create job opportunities
- Enhance skills
- Provide remote healthcare access
- Infrastructure development
- Smart cities/ smart grids
- Transportation management
- Community Connect – Smart Village
- Infotainment
- Sharing information and best practices (financial services, e-governance, agricultural techniques)
- Entertainment (IPTV, OTT, etc.)
- Innovation
- Creating connected communities (researchers, product development, anytime anywhere/ anytime collaboration)
Need of K-Fon project at national level:
- Social Justice: Digital inequalities lead to gross social injustice and hinder development of the individuals. Thus, internet must be provided to reduce such inequalities.
- Access to services: In recent times, several government and private sector services have become digital. Thus, there is need to provide internet to poorest of poor.
- Digital economy: We are moving to a global digital economy where knowledge of digital processes will transform the way in which people work, collaborate, consume information, and entertain themselves. This has been acknowledged in the Sustainable Development Goals as well as by the Indian government and has led to the Digital India mission.
- Preventing exclusion: Services are now offered online with lesser cost and better efficiency. It also allows citizens to bypass lower-level government bureaucracy.
- Good governance: Moving governance and service delivery online without the requisite progress in Internet access and digital literacy do not make economic sense.
- Employment opportunities: Lack of internet access prevent many people from equal employment opportunities vis-à-vis available to one who have Internet access and digital knowledge.
- Women empowerment: Digital literacy and internet access help in furthering women rights and help them to be aware of their rights.
Conclusion
- The government has also begun a digital literacy campaign at the grassroot level through various local bodies to ensure that everyone is equipped to access basic services through the Internet. If the KFON project achieves what it has envisaged, it can bring about a change at the ground level as far as access and opportunities are concerned.