Waternet Climate Neutral - mitigation measures for the reduction of GHG emissions

Abstract

Amsterdam’s public water utility Waternet set the ambitious goal to become climate neutral in 2020 – i.e. zero net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020 – thereby acknowledging the necessity of mitigating climate change. To become climate neutral, Waternet will need to achieve a reduction of GHG-emissions of approximately 97.2 kton/year. Setting this goal puts them at the forefront of public utilities moving towards more sustainable practices. In order to reach the ambitions, a mitigation policy plan up to 2020 will be devised. The aim of this research was to explore mitigation measures for GHG-emission reduction. The main focus of mitigation measures is on the Amsterdam watercycle, since it offers much potential for innovative GHG mitigation, such as thermal energy, chemical energy and resource recovery. Out of twenty-six available measures, four reduction measures and six compensation measures were evaluated. By means of a multi-criteria analysis and marginal abatement cost curves, insights were gained on climate impact, cost-effectiveness, service delivery, and Waternet’s influence and autonomy in realization of the mitigation measures. Of the evaluated measures, wind energy production and shower water heat recovery have the highest potential for the reduction of GHG-emissions, respectively 37.3 kton/yr and 28.7 kton/yr. The total package of ten mitigation options could lead to a GHG-emission reduction of 88.1 kton/yr. The remaining 9.1 kton/year can be compensated by other watercycle reduction and compensation measures which requires further research, or by the purchase of green electricity and/or carbon credits. In conclusion, Waternet can achieve its goal of climate neutrality in 2020 by implementing the package of researched mitigation measures with a minimal procurement of carbon credits and/or green electricity.