Chapter 5 - Smart city solutions and climate change mitigation: An overview

Abstract

Efforts aimed at addressing climate change have gained significant momentum in the past few years and following the Paris Climate Agreement. Recent data show that global temperatures are already about 1.1°C above preindustrial levels and the window to limit global warming to 1.5°C or 2°C is rapidly closing. Cities account for over 70% of global CO2 emissions, indicating their significance for achieving climate stabilization targets. Recognizing this, many cities around the world are increasingly developing plans and strategies to contribute to climate change mitigation. In the meantime, smart technologies are rapidly becoming ubiquitous in many cities around the world and governments and local authorities have used this as an opportunity to develop and implement smart city programs. While the impacts of smart city programs on urban CO2 emissions are not yet fully examined, it is hoped that they can contribute to meeting climate change mitigation targets. Through text mining of bibliometric data archived in the Web of Science, this chapter seeks to provide an overview of existing research at the intersection of climate change mitigation and smart city solutions and technologies. The chapter aims to discuss actual and potential contributions of smart city solutions, related to various urban systems, to climate change mitigation. Based on outputs of bibliometric analysis (term co-occurrence) obtained from the VOSviewer software tool, issues related to urban planning, buildings, transportation, waste management, energy and water resource, economy, urban infrastructure, and urban governance are discussed. It is argued that smart solutions and technologies have high potential to contribute to climate change mitigation. They can also provide co-benefits for climate change adaptation and sustainable development. However, appropriate planning and regulating measures are needed to avoid potential trade-offs and rebound effects. Such effects and trade-offs have also been discussed. Further, the need for integrated systems that accommodate different urban sectors is highlighted.