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Roma per Kyoto Group

The Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Science collaborate with the ‘Eternal City’ of Rome to fight climate change.

ITT Dublin has always encouraged collaboration with international partners on a wide range of projects.

One such partnership involves the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Science working with partners in Rome, Italy, to develop an action plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in that city, under the Rome for Kyoto project (http://www.romaperkyoto.org/).

The ITT Dublin project collaborators are

• Mr. John Vickery (Institute Registrar)
• Dr. Gloria Crispino-O’Connell (Lecturer in Mathematics and Statistics,  Department of Science)
• Mr. Robbie O’Connor (Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering ).

Contributions have also been made by other members of staff, including Ms. Fíona Cranley, and two Masters projects have recently started in partnership with this study.

The project started in 2004 and it will conclude in 2008. It is funded by the EU LIFE programme. The main objective is to identify the most effective GHG emission interventions to reach the Kyoto target in the city of Rome.  Any effort to significantly limit GHG emissions requires changes in the behaviour of the economy and investments in technology. These changes impose costs on society, but they also provide benefits for current and future generations. In this study, the cost and benefits of environmental interventions are analysed to provide estimates for the short term and long term effects on the market and non-market sectors of the society.  Comparing cost and benefits for different options allow to define sustainable progress indicators and to choose the best environmental policies.

What are Greenhouse Gas emissions (GHGs)?
Humans are contributing to the most serious and threatening global environmental problem through the emission of large amounts of GHG emissions through running cars, heating homes, businesses and industries.  The complete inventory of GHG emissions comprises carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) nitrous oxide (N2O) and flourinated or F-gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF6). All economic activities, as well as certain non-energy activities, in particular agriculture, require energy consumption which produces GHGs.

GHGs released into the atmosphere build up and trap extra heat in the atmosphere, resulting in a rise in the Earth’s temperature. Inevitably, this also leads to more extreme and unstable weather conditions, more storms, floods, droughts and coastal erosion, sometimes catastrophic.

What is the Kyoto protocol?
In April 2002, the EU approved the Kyoto Protocol. All member States have agreed to reduce total CO2 emissions by 8% by 2012. The percentage of reduction differs for each member State. Ireland has agreed to a target of limiting its greenhouse gas emissions to 13% above 1990 levels over a four-year period 2008-2012. Italy and the city of Rome have agreed to a target of limiting their greenhouse gas emissions to 6.5% above 1990 levels. The ITTDublin team is collaborating with the City Council of Rome, ENEA (Italian National Institute for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment), the Clinton Global Initiative (William J. Clinton Foundation) and other partners to define the best course of action to reach Kyoto targets within the agreed time-frame in the City of Rome.

The ‘Rome for Kyoto’ Project

Through the ‘Rome for Kyoto’ project, a set of guidelines has been developed to design, implement and evaluate effective action plans to reduce GHG emissions. It is hoped that such guidelines can be used by similar cities, such as Dublin, to effectively address the formidable challenges posed by climate change. The lessons learned so far provide great insight into opportunities and difficulties ahead. At socio-political level, there is the opportunity to evaluate not only the economic aspects of a policy, but also its social and ethical impacts on current and future generations. Such a global approach to environmental strategies promotes participation at all levels, developing communication channels and collaborative work in all the steps of the process and from a broad group of stakeholders. It has become clear that a multidisciplinary approach is the key to successfully address the climate change problem.  Scientists provide technical information and analytical skills, governmental officers offer an insight into the mechanisms by which an administration functions effectively and environmental organizations highlight the global context in which to operate. The ITTDublin team offers advice and technical knowledge at all levels of the process and provides an academic and independent forum for discussion and progress.