Towards a climate-friendly Amsterdam
Radically improving the carbon footprint of Amsterdam to help mitigate climate change is the thrust of a new campaign recently launched by the municipal government.
Lofty goals
By 2025, Amsterdam aims to have cut 60% of its current CO2 emissions. Utopian? Not if the municipality of Amsterdam has anything to do with it. While various climate-oriented initiatives have started up in recent years, the city has decided to bring them all under the umbrella of a single campaign, Nieuw Amsterdam Klimaat (New Amsterdam Climate - currently only in Dutch).
As part of the programme, the city is launching an energy service desk, the EnergieLoket, which is oriented towards small- and medium-sized enterprises, of which there are some eighteen thousand in Amsterdam. Business owners who want to implement energy-saving measures, but lack the know-how, time, or means, can get advice from the EnergieLoket on how to lower their carbon footprint - and save money doing so.
Tackling energy
Many of the goals the city wants to achieve in terms of its carbon footprint are achievable by not only replacing traditional energy sources but also using energy more economically.
There are various energy-saving and energy-generating techniques available now to help residents and small businesses reduce dependency on fossil fuels, including heat storage, solar panels, wind and biomass. An important aspect of this is modifying existing networks so that energy can not only be taken from the grid but contributed to it as well.
The Amsterdam Afval Energy Bedrijf (Waste and Energy Company) is a good example of the city's ambitions, supplying green energy to all the trams, traffic lights, and municipal lighting in Amsterdam. By making the most of waste - and the heat generated in disposing it - this city-owned enterprise is currently responsible for a reduction of 350 kilotonnes of CO2 per year, with a projection of 550 kilotonnes per year in the near future.
Transportation and clean air
To improve the quality of the city's air, not only is Amsterdam encouraging public transport and more accessible cycling but promoting reduction of vehicles powered by fossil fuels while actively encouraging the adoption of the electric vehicle.
The city is rewarding Amsterdammers who get rid of their cars and turn in their parking permits by giving them a free three-month public transportation pass. Those that do so by the end of the year will also receive a coupon worth €300 at any of the city's car-sharing groups.
Homes and offices
Amsterdam households are responsible for some 34% of the city's total CO2 emissions. In our homes, nearly half the CO2 emissions are caused by heating and hot water; the remaining half is caused by the generation of the electricity we use. There are some 380,000 homes in Amsterdam, and that figure increases annually by 1%. From 2015 onwards, new dwellings must be climate neutral. To set a good example, Amsterdam has decreed that all municipal buildings - both new and old - must be carbon neutral from 2015 onwards. This is already being undertaken at various locations, such as the City Archives, the public libraries, and the borough council office in Oost-Watergraafsmeer.
Green internet
Amsterdam serves as an important junction for global internet traffic, especially transatlantic traffic. Everyday, a huge volume of data passes through communication hubs and data centres in Amsterdam on its way to other destinations. Because of their hefty energy appetites, data centres are responsible for 6% of the city's CO2 emissions. This figure will only increase in the future as the number of ICT organisations in the city is increasing, as is worldwide use of the Internet. For this reason, the city and the major Amsterdam Internet companies have joined forces to look for ways of decreasing the latter's energy requirements.
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