IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v83y2012icp97-107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Comparison of energy flow accounting, energy flow metabolism ratio analysis and ecological footprinting as tools for measuring urban sustainability: A case-study of an Irish city-region

Author

Listed:
  • Browne, David
  • O'Regan, Bernadette
  • Moles, Richard

Abstract

This paper seeks to apply a number of biophysical sustainability metrics to an Irish city-region in order to evaluate the effect of methodological pluralism when measuring urban sustainability and to determine the outcome of using more than one method when measuring the sustainability of the same system boundary at a city-region level. It is concluded that a ‘toolkit’ approach can be useful in highlighting commonalities and differences between different metrics as well as capturing some of the deficiencies inherent in using a single biophysical metric. In addition, this paper develops an approach to measuring energy metabolism by outlining and applying the ‘energy flow metabolism ratio analysis’ methodology, which is used to measure the ratio of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as a function of energy material inputs.

Suggested Citation

  • Browne, David & O'Regan, Bernadette & Moles, Richard, 2012. "Comparison of energy flow accounting, energy flow metabolism ratio analysis and ecological footprinting as tools for measuring urban sustainability: A case-study of an Irish city-region," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 97-107.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:83:y:2012:i:c:p:97-107
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.08.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800912003114
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.08.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ivan Muñiz & Anna Galindo, 2001. "Ecological sustainability and urban form," Working Papers wp0120, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    2. Sneddon, Chris & Howarth, Richard B. & Norgaard, Richard B., 2006. "Sustainable development in a post-Brundtland world," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 253-268, May.
    3. Ruth, Matthias, 1995. "Information, order and knowledge in economic and ecological systems: implications for material and energy use," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 99-114, May.
    4. David Browne & Bernadette O'Regan & Richard Moles, 2008. "Use of embodied energy and ecological footprinting to assess the global environmental impact of consumption in an Irish city-region," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(3), pages 447-470.
    5. Funtowicz, Silvio O. & Ravetz, Jerome R., 1994. "The worth of a songbird: ecological economics as a post-normal science," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 197-207, August.
    6. Browne, David & O'Regan, Bernadette & Moles, Richard, 2009. "Use of ecological footprinting to explore alternative domestic energy and electricity policy scenarios in an Irish city-region," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2205-2213, June.
    7. van Vuuren, D. P. & Smeets, E. M. W., 2000. "Ecological footprints of Benin, Bhutan, Costa Rica and the Netherlands," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 115-130, July.
    8. Ramos-Martin, Jesus, 2003. "Empiricism in ecological economics: a perspective from complex systems theory," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 387-398, October.
    9. McDonald, Garry W. & Patterson, Murray G., 2004. "Ecological Footprints and interdependencies of New Zealand regions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1-2), pages 49-67, September.
    10. Hezri, Adnan A. & Dovers, Stephen R., 2006. "Sustainability indicators, policy and governance: Issues for ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 86-99, November.
    11. van den Bergh, Jeroen C. J. M. & Verbruggen, Harmen, 1999. "Spatial sustainability, trade and indicators: an evaluation of the 'ecological footprint'," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 61-72, April.
    12. Wiedmann, Thomas & Minx, Jan & Barrett, John & Wackernagel, Mathis, 2006. "Allocating ecological footprints to final consumption categories with input-output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 28-48, January.
    13. Spangenberg, Joachim H. & Bonniot, Odile, 1998. "Sustainability indicators: A compass on the road towards sustainability," Wuppertal Papers 81, Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy.
    14. Christopher Kennedy & John Cuddihy & Joshua Engel‐Yan, 2007. "The Changing Metabolism of Cities," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 11(2), pages 43-59, April.
    15. Nishimura, Kazuhiko & Hondo, Hiroki & Uchiyama, Yohji, 1996. "Derivation of energy-embodiment functions to estimate the embodied energy from the material content," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 21(12), pages 1247-1256.
    16. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808, Decembrie.
    17. Norgaard, Richard B., 1989. "The case for methodological pluralism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 37-57, February.
    18. Ayres, Robert U., 1998. "Eco-thermodynamics: economics and the second law," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 189-209, August.
    19. Muniz, Ivan & Galindo, Anna, 2005. "Urban form and the ecological footprint of commuting. The case of Barcelona," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 499-514, December.
    20. Martinez-Alier, Joan & Munda, Giuseppe & O'Neill, John, 1998. "Weak comparability of values as a foundation for ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 277-286, September.
    21. Dodds, Steve, 1997. "Towards a 'science of sustainability': Improving the way ecological economics understands human well-being," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(2), pages 95-111, November.
    22. Ayres, Robert U & Kneese, Allen V, 1969. "Production , Consumption, and Externalities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(3), pages 282-297, June.
    23. Weston, Roy F. & Ruth, Matthias, 1997. "A dynamic, hierarchical approach to understanding and managing natural economic systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1-17, April.
    24. Jin, Wei & Xu, Linyu & Yang, Zhifeng, 2009. "Modeling a policy making framework for urban sustainability: Incorporating system dynamics into the Ecological Footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2938-2949, October.
    25. Costanza, Robert & King, Janis, 1999. "The first decade of Ecological Economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-9, January.
    26. Wackernagel, Mathis & Onisto, Larry & Bello, Patricia & Callejas Linares, Alejandro & Susana Lopez Falfan, Ina & Mendez Garcia, Jesus & Isabel Suarez Guerrero, Ana & Guadalupe Suarez Guerrero, Ma., 1999. "National natural capital accounting with the ecological footprint concept," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 375-390, June.
    27. Warren-Rhodes, Kimberley & Koenig, Albert, 2001. "Ecosystem appropriation by Hong Kong and its implications for sustainable development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 347-359, December.
    28. Rebane, Karl K., 1995. "Energy, entropy, environment: why is protection of the environment objectively difficult?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 89-92, May.
    29. Brown, M. T. & Herendeen, R. A., 1996. "Embodied energy analysis and EMERGY analysis: a comparative view," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 219-235, December.
    30. Bullard, Clark W. & Penner, Peter S. & Pilati, David A., 1978. "Net energy analysis : Handbook for combining process and input-output analysis," Resources and Energy, Elsevier, vol. 1(3), pages 267-313, November.
    31. Costanza, Robert & Patten, Bernard C., 1995. "Defining and predicting sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 193-196, December.
    32. Haberl, Helmut & Erb, Karl-Heinz & Krausmann, Fridolin, 2001. "How to calculate and interpret ecological footprints for long periods of time: the case of Austria 1926-1995," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 25-45, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Liu, Xiuli & Guo, Pibin & Yue, Xiaohang & Qi, Xiaoyan & Guo, Shufeng & Zhou, Xijun, 2021. "Measuring metabolic efficiency of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomeration: A slacks-based measures method," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Wang, Zhenshuang & Xie, Wanchen & Zhang, Chengyi, 2023. "Towards COP26 targets: Characteristics and influencing factors of spatial correlation network structure on U.S. carbon emission," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Helen W Zheng & Geoffrey QP Shen & Yan Song & Bingxia Sun & Jingke Hong, 2017. "Neighborhood sustainability in urban renewal: An assessment framework," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 44(5), pages 903-924, September.
    4. Zhang, Yan & Li, Yanxian & Zheng, Hongmei, 2017. "Ecological network analysis of energy metabolism in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) urban agglomeration," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 351(C), pages 51-62.
    5. Cosmi, Carmelina & Dvarionenė, Jolanta & Marques, Isabel & Di Leo, Senatro & Gecevičius, Giedrius & Gurauskienė, Inga & Mendes, Gisela & Selada, Catarina, 2015. "A holistic approach to sustainable energy development at regional level: The RENERGY self-assessment methodology," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 693-707.
    6. Jeffrey Wilson & Peter Tyedmers, 2013. "Rethinking What Counts. Perspectives on Wellbeing and Genuine Progress Indicator Metrics from a Canadian Viewpoint," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-16, January.
    7. Gu, Qiwei & Wang, Hongqi & Zheng, Yinan & Zhu, Jingwen & Li, Xiaoke, 2015. "Ecological footprint analysis for urban agglomeration sustainability in the middle stream of the Yangtze River," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 318(C), pages 86-99.
    8. Michiel C. Zijp & Reinout Heijungs & Ester Van der Voet & Dik Van de Meent & Mark A. J. Huijbregts & Anne Hollander & Leo Posthuma, 2015. "An Identification Key for Selecting Methods for Sustainability Assessments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-23, March.
    9. Hörisch, Jacob & Ortas, Eduardo & Schaltegger, Stefan & Álvarez, Igor, 2015. "Environmental effects of sustainability management tools: An empirical analysis of large companies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 241-249.
    10. Zhu, Xueting & Mu, Xianzhong & Hu, Guangwen, 2019. "Ecological network analysis of urban energy metabolic system—A case study of Beijing," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 404(C), pages 36-45.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. White, Thomas J., 2007. "Sharing resources: The global distribution of the Ecological Footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 402-410, December.
    2. Thomas Wiedmann & John Barrett, 2010. "A Review of the Ecological Footprint Indicator—Perceptions and Methods," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(6), pages 1-49, June.
    3. Yue, Dongxia & Xu, Xiaofeng & Hui, Cang & Xiong, Youcai & Han, Xuemei & Ma, Jinhui, 2011. "Biocapacity supply and demand in Northwestern China: A spatial appraisal of sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 988-994, March.
    4. Ferng, Jiun-Jiun, 2014. "Nested open systems: An important concept for applying ecological footprint analysis to sustainable development assessment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 105-111.
    5. Jóhannesson, S.E. & Davíðsdóttir, B. & Heinonen, J.T., 2018. "Standard Ecological Footprint Method for Small, Highly Specialized Economies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 370-380.
    6. Chen, B. & Chen, G.Q., 2007. "Modified ecological footprint accounting and analysis based on embodied exergy--a case study of the Chinese society 1981-2001," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2-3), pages 355-376, March.
    7. Stern, David I., 1997. "Limits to substitution and irreversibility in production and consumption: A neoclassical interpretation of ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(3), pages 197-215, June.
    8. Gasparatos, Alexandros & El-Haram, Mohamed & Horner, Malcolm, 2009. "The argument against a reductionist approach for measuring sustainable development performance and the need for methodological pluralism," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 245-256.
    9. Hoekstra, A.Y., 2009. "Human appropriation of natural capital: A comparison of ecological footprint and water footprint analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1963-1974, May.
    10. Jin, Wei & Xu, Linyu & Yang, Zhifeng, 2009. "Modeling a policy making framework for urban sustainability: Incorporating system dynamics into the Ecological Footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2938-2949, October.
    11. Castro e Silva, Manuela & Teixeira, Aurora A.C., 2011. "A bibliometric account of the evolution of EE in the last two decades: Is ecological economics (becoming) a post-normal science?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 849-862, March.
    12. Chen, B. & Chen, G.Q. & Yang, Z.F. & Jiang, M.M., 2007. "Ecological footprint accounting for energy and resource in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 1599-1609, March.
    13. Ferng, Jiun-Jiun, 2005. "Local sustainable yield and embodied resources in ecological footprint analysis--a case study on the required paddy field in Taiwan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 415-430, May.
    14. Kitzes, Justin & Galli, Alessandro & Bagliani, Marco & Barrett, John & Dige, Gorm & Ede, Sharon & Erb, Karlheinz & Giljum, Stefan & Haberl, Helmut & Hails, Chris & Jolia-Ferrier, Laurent & Jungwirth, , 2009. "A research agenda for improving national Ecological Footprint accounts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(7), pages 1991-2007, May.
    15. Li Hong & Pei Dong, Zhang & Chunyu, He & Wang Gang, 2007. "Evaluating the effects of embodied energy in international trade on ecological footprint in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 136-148, April.
    16. Gowdy, John M. & Ferreri Carbonell, Ada, 1999. "Toward consilience between biology and economics: the contribution of Ecological Economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 337-348, June.
    17. Farrell, Katharine N., 2011. "Framing the Valuation of Ecosystem Services: A Theoretical Discussion of the Challenges and Opportunities Associated with Articulating Values that Reflect the Economic Contributions of Ecological Phen," 2011 International Congress, August 30-September 2, 2011, Zurich, Switzerland 114362, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    18. Lundgren, Jakob, 2022. "Unity through disunity: Strengths, values, and tensions in the disciplinary discourse of ecological economics," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    19. Liu, Xinyu & Liu, Gengyuan & Yang, Zhifeng & Chen, Bin & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "Comparing national environmental and economic performances through emergy sustainability indicators: Moving environmental ethics beyond anthropocentrism toward ecocentrism," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1532-1542.
    20. Schiller, Frank, 2009. "Linking material and energy flow analyses and social theory," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(6), pages 1676-1686, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:83:y:2012:i:c:p:97-107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.