Realizing Low Carbon Emission in the University Campus towards Energy Sustainability

Abstract

Energy consumption increases with intensity of human activities. People consume energy for movement and other activities and the more fossil-fuel based energy used, the more carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. Since carbon dioxide is the major element of the greenhouse gases (GHG), this phenomenon has a serious implication for global warming and consequent climate change—a scenario that calls for sustainable development. This research considers the emission of CO2 from energy use within the campus of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. Two major sources of energy consumption were identified, namely: electricity and transport. The emission for electricity was estimated based on electricity meter reading and the conversion rate in accordance with the stand-ardized conversion factors for fuel mix of the purchased electric energy as given by PTM (Pusat Tenaga Malaysia), while the associated CO2 emission for transport was estimated based on the number of miles driven (VMT—Vehicle Miles Travel) within the campus, emissions produced per litre of gasoline, and fuel economy of vehicles plying the campus in line with the Code of Federal Regulations USEPA and consistent with the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines. It was observed that high CO2 emission resulted from electricity energy consumption, and the highest emission in the transport sector was produced by commuting vehicles while emission from service delivery for cooling, lighting and other equipment was similar to national average.