Using policy instruments to drive optimal living and sustainable consumption in the built and natural environment

Abstract

In order to drive optimal living and sustainable consumption in the built and natural environment, there is the need to develop more sustainable, less energyintensive systems and approaches that offer economic advantages, better operational performance, environmental merits and social acceptability. Measures to achieve these objectives including low-carbon technologies such as renewable energy generation technologies and energy efficiency measures are widely available today. Current focus on these technologies to reduce operational energy requirements has led to the neglect of embodied energy. This may result in obscuring the actual or net environmental gain for a given technology. Understanding the actual life cycle environmental gains is therefore necessary if a holistic effort in achieving sustainable built environment is to be attained. Furthermore, these environmental measures (operational and embodied) must be considered within an economic context. Against this backdrop, this chapter illustrates how policy instrument such as Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) can be used as a mechanism for evaluating low-carbon technologies taking into account both operational and embodied emissions and financial cost. The implication of emissions embodied in international trade flows within a MACC framework is also discussed.