Low carbon infrastructure - an overview

The drive towards a low carbon society is based on three major principles:

• Avoidance of significant climate change
• Low carbon, secure energy supply
• A low carbon economy

In the short-term, a concerted effort is needed to realise quick wins through energy efficiency, demand management and the rolling out at scale of proven low carbon technologies.

In the longer-term, government and industry must use infrastructure to make low carbon behaviour as easy as possible and over time, the norm. The most obvious example is that a progressive decarbonisation of energy supply opens up the possibility of lower carbon public and private transport.

Individual pieces of low carbon infrastructure are not enough. We need to understand the carbon implications of interactions between assets and how they will be used by people and machines. This will require greater knowledge-sharing and joint working between engineering and built environment professionals of all disciplines.

The first deadlines for reducing emissions are drawing closer and the lead time for new infrastructure development can be long.

ICE's main recommendations

1. Government must create an environment in which the lifecycle carbon impact of infrastructure assets and networks is key to decision-making. The planning system, regulation, procurement, supply chain management, financing and fiscal policy should all be aligned to these goals. Financial modelling needs to change to consider the long-term impact of carbonreducing infrastructure when assessing the viability of major infrastructure projects.
2. Infrastructure owners and clients should focus on implementing efficiency and demand management measures and create clear plans for rolling out proven low carbon technologies.
3. Engineers and other built environment professionals must develop a systems approach to managing carbon impact across the UK´s interdependent energy, transport, waste and water networks. This means changing the way that engineers, clients and decision-makers think about designing and delivering infrastructure.