Download European Green City Index | Zurich Switzerland

European Green City Index | Zurich_Switzerland
European Green City Index | Zurich_Switzerland
to lead by example with its own vehicle fleet. All
new city buses that are diesel fuelled are
required to have particle filters, with older vehicles being retrofitted. Diesel-driven machines at
city building sites are also required to have particle filters.
The city has set up a warning and intervention regime on air pollution. When the particle
pollution level rises above a certain level, the
city warns citizens and advises low car use.
Other initiatives include lower speed limits,
bans on wood-burning furnaces without filters
and (from 2010) a ban on agricultural machines
without particle filters.
Air quality: Zurich ranks ninth for air quality,
not one of the city’s stronger categories, although its air is of reasonable quality. Zurich is
held back particularly by its ozone, nitrogen
dioxide and sulphur dioxide emissions,
although measures of particulate matter are
low.
In terms of air quality, Zurich suffers partly
from its location in the flat land in front of the
Alpine massif, where smog ceilings can build
up. Transport is also one of the main local air
polluters. The city is working hard to improve its
air quality, and gets full marks in the clean air
policies sub-category.
Initiatives: With regards to traffic-generated
air pollution, Zurich’s administration is aiming
Environmental governance: Zurich ranks
11th overall in the category for environmental
governance. The city is publicly committed to
pursuing an ambitious environmental programme, which is embodied by the Masterplan
Environment strategy paper. The approval by
popular referendum to embed the 2,000-WattSociety programme into city legislation suggests
that the council’s environmental drive is supported by the population.
However, the city faces an obstacle in
Switzerland’s federal structure, which divides
power among municipalities, cantons and the
federal government.
In particular, the canton of Zurich has some
environmental competencies that can overlap
with those of the city. The city has won a number of awards on energy and is a member of the
Covenant of Mayors.
Photography: Boris Adolf for Siemens
Initiatives: The city is investing heavily in district
heating technology, based in part on waste-toenergy technology, with a number of new furnaces built and connected to the network in
2007-08. The installation operators have formed
a society to leverage buying power and synergies,
and annually burn 870,000 tonnes of rubbish,
which includes 67,000 tonnes of sewage sludge.
Green City Zurich is the city department
responsible for all types of land from parks,
green fields and water edges to playgrounds and
graveyards, with an aim to preserve and extend
the city’s green spaces. In the past three years it
has redeveloped four streams in North Zurich to
provide greener and more accessible streams to
surrounding areas.
Zurich_Switzerland
Quantitative Indicators: Zurich
Average
Zurich
Year
Source
5.21
3.70
2004
Umweltbericht (CO2 emissions); Statistics Zurich (population)
356.12
25.46
2004
Umweltbericht (CO2 emissions); Statistics Zurich (GDP)
CO2 reduction target to 2020 (% pa, from yr in which target set)
14.48
15.00 1
2007
City of Zurich
Energy consumption per capita (GJ/inhabitant)
80.87
94.75
2004
Environment department Zurich (energy); Statistics Zurich (population)
Energy consumption per unit GDP (MJ/€ GDP)
5.25
0.65
2004
Environment department Zurich (energy); Statistics Zurich (GDP)
CO2 emissions per capita (tonnes/inhabitant)
CO2 emissions per unit GDP (g/€)
% of renewable energy consumed by the city (%)
Z
7.30
5.14
2004
Environment department Zurich
908.88
728.63
2004
Environment department Zurich (energy); Statistics Zurich (floor space)
Share of people walking or cycling to work (%)
20.94
18.50
2005
City of Zurich
Share of people taking public transport to work (%)
41.56
43.50
2005
City of Zurich
Length of cycle lanes (km/km2)
1.15
3.43
2006
City of Zurich
Select city data
Length of public transport network (km/km2)
2.33
3.14
2007
Statistics Zurich
Population:
377,000
105.43
114.84
2008
Statistics Zurich
GDP per head, PPP:
€ 32,455
Energy consumption of residential buildings (MJ/m2)
Annual water consumption per capita (m3/inhabitant)
Water system leakages (%)
22.63
11.67
2008
Statistics Zurich
CO2 emissions per head:
Dwellings connected to the sewage system (%)
95.02
100.00
2008
City of Zurich
Energy consumption per head:
Percentage of renewable energy
consumed by the city:
3.70 tonnes*
94.75 gigajoules
510.93
406.33
2006
Statistics Zurich
Share of waste recycled (%)
17.62
34.00
2007
Statistics Zurich
Average daily nitrogen dioxide emissions (ug/m3)
35.18
33.58
2007
EEA airbase
Average daily ozone emissions (ug/m3)
40.38
45.50
2007
EEA airbase
Total percentage of citizens walking,
cycling or taking public transport to work:
Average daily particulate matter (ug/m3)
34.86
21.37
2007
EEA airbase
Annual water consumption per head:
6.96
4.28
2005
EEA airbase
Share of waste recycled:
Municipal waste per capita (kg/inhabitant)
Average daily SO2 emissions (ug/m3)
1) The CO2 reduction target is set at a national level. Zurich has more ambitious targets defined in different terms, i.e. max 1mio t CO2 emissions per person
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5.14 %*
62 %
114.84 m3
34%
urich is Switzerland’s most cosmopolitan
city, with a population of nearly 400,000,
based at the northern end of Lake Zurich. The
most important industry in the city is the financial services sector, which includes banking,
insurance and other financial activities. Zurich
also acts as a hub for the Swiss-German media,
advertising and public-relations sector. Manufacturing makes a relatively low contribution to
the city’s economy, but tourism and business
travel bring in a substantial number of visitors.
Because of Switzerland’s federal structure,
Zurich’s environmental performance is regulated and influenced by the three levels of federal,
cantonal and city regulations.
Zurich ranks sixth overall in the index, with a
score of 82.31 out of 100. With the exception of a
rank of 11th place for environmental governance, the city is consistently placed in the top
ten for all of the index categories, making it a
strong overall performer. Particularly strong
scores are seen for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and waste and land use. Zurich’s main business activities, being service-oriented, have a relatively low environmental impact, giving the city
a comparative advantage from which to tackle
environmental issues. The high quality and reach
of local (and national) public transport is a further benefit. Like many other top performers in
the index, Zurich is also relatively small in size,
giving it an additional structural advantage.
CO2 emissions: Zurich ranks in third place in
the category for CO2 emissions, one of its best
scores in the index. The city’s estimated CO2
emissions per inhabitant is a comparatively low
3.7 tonnes (sixth-lowest of all cities), compared
with a 30-city average of 5 tonnes. Its CO2 emissions per unit of GDP are also among the lowest
at just 25.5 grams per euro of GDP (the 30-city
*Estimate
1
European Green City Index | Zurich_Switzerland
CO2
10
8
Environmental governance
Energy
6
4
2
Air Quality
0
Buildings
Waste and Land Use
Transport
Water
Zurich
Best
Average
Watt’s the story
In November 2008 the city electorate voted
to embed the goal of the 2,000-Watt-Society
in city legislation. This requires the city to
work towards the goal of energy use of 2,000
watts per person per year, in contrast with
the current 6,000 watts. This requires a longterm reorientation of thinking towards lower
energy use, building construction and renovation to achieve better insulation, a significant reduction in CO2 and other pollutant
emissions and a higher uptake of renewable
energies. The 2,000-Watt-Society is a longterm goal, which sets the tone for current
and upcoming programmes related to the environment. In this context, EnergieVision
2020 is intended as a stepping stone towards
the ultimate goal of a 2,000-watt society.
This sub-project focuses on the energy efficiency of buildings, renewable energies and
electricity efficiency, including the establishment of some flagship “lighthouse” projects
that show the city’s long-term goal and its
determination to achieve it. The theoretical
underpinnings of the 2,000-Watt-Society programme were drawn up by a team of researchers at the Zurich Federal Technology
average being far higher at 356 grams). The
city’s policy action on CO2 emissions reduction is
relatively limited, as this aim is pursued at a
national level, where the federal government
has agreed to reduce carbon emissions by 10%
from the 1990 level by 2010, as part of its Kyoto
protocol commitments. Since Switzerland is
outside the EU, the country is not involved in the
EU’s CO2 emissions-reduction schemes. However, Zurich’s good performance on CO2 emissions
is primarily attributable to the low incidence of
heavy industry and limited reliance on carbon
fossil fuels for electricity production, rather than
to policy measures.
Initiatives: The city’s electricity company, EWZ,
builds, runs and finances the energy supply of
third parties, as a form of „energy contracting“.
In comparison with conventional installations,
the newly built or renovated installations have
reduced CO2 emissions by 11,900 tonnes per
year as of 2009, through methods such as the
use of lake water or of wastewater from sewage
works as a source of heating.
The city’s district heating installations draw
their energy from the burning of rubbish and
waste. District heating in Zurich creates around
54% fewer CO2 emissions than heating oil,
which is the standard national heating method.
A new wood-burning plant, Aubrugg, will supply 10,000 households and cut the production
of CO2 emissions by around 25,000 tonnes per
year.
College.
Energy: Zurich ranks in sixth place in the category for energy. The city scores the highest of all
30 cities in the index for its energy consumption
per unit of GDP: at 0.7 megajoules per euro it is
far below the average of about 5 megajoules.
However, Zurich has a high energy use per head,
at 95 gigajoules per inhabitant (the average is
about 81 gigajoules). The city’s energy sources
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include oil products, nuclear and hydroelectric
power, natural gas, and waste and biomass.
About 5% of the city’s overall energy consumption is from renewable sources. Zurich gained a
European Energy Award in 2008 for its use of
energy and the deployment of renewable energy.
Initiative: Recognising the high energy consumption of buildings, particularly older ones,
Zurich has introduced energy-coaching facilities, with the intention of promoting competent
renovation and construction of buildings to
reduce energy use. Environmental professionals
provide advice and training to architects and
engineers, as well as households, including on
using renewable energy technologies, which
have fiscal incentives.
Buildings: Zurich ranks ninth in the buildings
category, one of its lowest scores. The city’s climate is cooler than most, meaning that buildings are required to have insulation to avoid
energy losses. There are fiscal incentives to renovate old buildings in a manner that increases
their energy efficiency, and these are provided
at the city, cantonal and federal level. The energy consumption of Zurich’s residential buildings
is better than the index average, at 729 megajoules per square metre, compared with 909
megajoules. The city is working to lower its energy consumption, and has adopted a range of
policies to encourage this, enabling Zurich to
rank in joint first place in the sub-category for
energy-efficient buildings incentives.
Initiatives: The „Seven-mile steps for environmentally friendly and energy-saving building“
programme aims to renovate city administration
buildings according to the Minergie standard, a
low-energy-consumption standard developed in
Switzerland, which will result in buildings consuming half the energy of other buildings in the
country. About 90% of new buildings now comply with this standard.
The construction of a new ward for the hospital in the Triemli quarter, started in late 2008, is
intended to be a flagship example of energyefficient construction according to the 2,000Watt-Society principles (targeting energy consumption of 2,000 watt per person, down from
the current 6,000 watt) and the stricter Minergie-P standard. This should reduce the building’s energy requirements by 70% and electricity
consumption by 5%. The estate’s energy supply
is to be redeveloped to reduce the reliance on
fossil fuels to almost zero.
Transport: Zurich is ranked in sixth place in the
transport category. There is a widespread, wellconnected public transport network, encompassing trams, buses, local trains and boats.
Zurich boasts the best non-car transport network of all 30 cities, but private car use is nonetheless heavy, especially outside the city centre. The city is working to reduce the impact and
incidence of this form of transport, but regulatory incentives are fairly light, especially when
compared with some of the more stringent initiatives in other cities, such as congestion
charging. The share of people taking public
transport to work is around 44%, slightly better
than the 42% average, with another 19% walking or cycling (marginally below the 21% average).
Initiatives: Zurich is seeking to take heavy traffic out of the city. In that context, the opening in
2009 of the western bypass motorway has been
a significant step towards getting heavy transit
traffic to avoid the city altogether.
Local train lines are being built (AlstettenZurich Central-Oerlikon) and extended (Knonaueramt and Furttal), as existing lines have
come close to their capacity limits.
Water: Zurich ranks in joint fifth place, with
Copenhagen, in the category for water. It is surrounded by natural water sources (two rivers
and a lake). The quality of water delivered by the
city is high and originates from Lake Zurich
(70%), spring water (15%) and ground water
(15%). The water sourced from the lake is purified in a process with several steps, while the
other two sources undergo almost no extra
treatment beyond the natural filtration process.
Zurich scores full marks for water treatment and
water efficiency, and has a level of water consumption per head of 115 cubic metres per year,
only slightly above the average of 105 cubic
metres. Leakage rates, at 12%, are well below
the average of 23%.
Initiatives: To guard against the danger of
flooding, which could contaminate drinking
water, city officials are drawing up a risk map of
the city identifying the areas that are most susceptible to flooding, and taking measures to
reinforce protection at those locations.
The city of Zurich is using the services of a
non-governmental organisation, Pusch (Practical Environmental Protection Switzerland), to
educate school children about the production
process and the importance of water.
Reusing sludge for
heating and power
Zurich is using one environmental process to
create a product for another environmentally
friendly outcome. The city’s wastewater is
cleaned in the sewage works, and after the
cleaned water is deposited into the river Limmat the remaining sludge is used to generate
heat and electricity. The sludge generates
biogas, which four heat-coupling systems
convert into energy. In 2008 this process produced 18 million kwh of heat for district
heating and over 16 million kwh of electricity. The sewage works now also accepts
sludge from other sewage works, at a cost,
thus providing a means for other regional
works to get rid of their sludge.
Waste and land use: Zurich ranks in second
place in the category for waste and land use, its
best individual ranking overall. Waste production per head is below the average (406 kg per
inhabitant, compared with 511 kg), whereas recycling rates are well above average (34%, compared with 18%). The city scores full marks for
waste reduction policies (reflecting a high interest in recycling waste) and for green land use.
The waste removal directorate of the city is the
largest energy producer in the city, using waste
rubbish and water to produce heat for district
heating networks and electricity.
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