Modelling & Spatial Mapping of Residential-Sector Emissions for Sub-National & Urban Areas
Lily Purcell,
Anna C. O'Regan,
Connor McGookin,
Marguerite M. Nyhan
Affiliations
Lily Purcell
School of Engineering & Architecture, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate & Marine, University College Cork, Ringaskiddy, Cork, P43 C573, Ireland; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Lee Rd, Sunday's Well, Cork, T23 XE10, Ireland; Corresponding author at: School of Engineering & Architecture, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
Anna C. O'Regan
School of Engineering & Architecture, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate & Marine, University College Cork, Ringaskiddy, Cork, P43 C573, Ireland; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Lee Rd, Sunday's Well, Cork, T23 XE10, Ireland
Connor McGookin
School of Engineering & Architecture, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate & Marine, University College Cork, Ringaskiddy, Cork, P43 C573, Ireland; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Lee Rd, Sunday's Well, Cork, T23 XE10, Ireland; Delta E+ Research Group, Sustainable Energy Engineering, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Marguerite M. Nyhan
School of Engineering & Architecture, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; MaREI, the SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate & Marine, University College Cork, Ringaskiddy, Cork, P43 C573, Ireland; Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Lee Rd, Sunday's Well, Cork, T23 XE10, Ireland
The residential sector accounts for 33% of energy-related Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions globally and must undergo rapid emissions reductions in order to support broader society-wide sustainability and net-zero transitions. Additionally, urban areas account for approximately 70% of global GHG emissions. To provide a baseline for urban climate action plans and mitigation strategies, sub-national municipalities must quantify their sectoral baseline emissions in detail and develop strategies for reducing emissions relative to these baselines. Therefore, it is important to establish clear methodologies for computing these baselines in accordance with the best available science. This paper establishes a novel methodology for developing a residential sector emissions model using a data-driven and spatial mapping approach. This would form an important component of future multi-sectoral baseline emissions inventories. • The residential sector emissions model combines publicly available census and building energy performance datasets in order to model and visualize the distribution of energy demand and resultant emissions across an urban study domain in Ireland. • The methodology presented was developed in line with the approaches and requirements of the Global Covenant of Mayors and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. • It is envisioned that this residential sector emissions model methodology could be applied in any urban area worldwide.
