CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION
1.3 Disposition
The current research has been structured as follows:
• Chapter 1 introduces the motivation to pursue the research topic and presents research questions.
• Chapter 2 is to describe about the background of the study. The local factors and conditions are presented to make a foundation for the conceptual model in Chapter 3.
• Chapter 3 will introduce the conceptual model of installed sensors to measure real-time CO2 emissions in Stavanger Municipality. Descriptions of the mechanism of the proposed system is also illustrated.
8
• Chapter 4 elaborates on the literature review of smart city. Details on how the academia and literature defines the smart city definitions and dimensions. As such, the connection between smart city and the CO2 mitigation goal is theoretically made. Besides, the summary of smart city research is also presented.
• Chapter 5 explains the methodology and research strategy. It will also present the research design, data collection and data analysis.
• Chapter 6 introduces the results from the data analysis by theme and sub-themes.
• Chapter 7 discusses the findings of the study.
• Chapter 8 visualizes the findings in Chapter 7.
• Chapter 9 examines the methodological rigor by multiple validation criteria.
• Finally, a conclusion is given; theoretical implications, recommendations, limitations of the research, and suggestions for future research are made.
The connections among chapters are illustrated in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1 Thesis structure
Source: Own illustration
9 CHAPTER 2: BACKGROUND
2.1 Stavanger smart city roadmap towards the CO2 emissions target
The main direction of the smart city development in Stavanger is to develop and apply technological solutions that provide real contributions to the objectives adopted for emissions cuts.
The solutions will also make it easier for citizens, industry and commerce to make choices that contribute to a climate neutral city.
According to Stavanger City Council (2018), the objective in the plan is to cut greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2030 compared with 2015, and to be a fossil-free city by 2040. As shared by the same report of the municipality, around 52 percent of CO2 emissions in Stavanger come from road traffic. The most serious challenges Stavanger faces from transport are:
• the high proportion of transport carried out using cars
• GHG emissions from cars, buses and goods transport
• airborne dust and hazardous gases from road traffic
• noise, especially from road traffic, but also from airplanes and ships
• emissions from air and ship traffic The main objectives are:
• 70 percent of passenger transport takes place by bike, foot and public transport in 2030
• making it easier to carry out everyday chores without a car in Stavanger
• meeting any increased need for transport through cycling, walking and public transport The municipality is also contributing other measures that support climate policy regarding transport such as parking standards, toll charges, low emission zones, facilitating cycling, walking and public transport. By setting high environmental standards for procurements and stipulating requirements for the municipality’s units, the municipality can help to mature markets, e.g. for zero-emission vehicles. Car sharing schemes such as Nabobil, Bilkollektivet, electric car sharing schemes, e.g. through priority parking have also been facilitated. Stavanger Municipality will support and become a HjemJobbHjem (“the Home-Work-Home commute”) company. By involving companies to sign a contract and pay a certain fee per month, the employees can purchase a mobility card to use the bus and train system and even electrical bicycles to commute to work (Polis, 2016).
The municipality will not be able to do everything required to achieve its climate and environmental objectives alone. Residents, the business sector, organizations and others will be
10 important partners. Hard-hitting, professional and targeted climate and environmental communication is required to invite residents to get actively engaged and to work systematically with others. Good communication is important to ensure that the municipality’s climate and environmental goals are achieved. Stavanger Municipality currently provides information about climate and environmentally-friendly everyday actions on the municipality’s website and in social media, through the media and regular campaigns such as Environment Sundays and European Mobility Week (Stavanger City Council, 2018).
2.2 Status of CO2 emissions in Stavanger
According to the Norwegian Emission Inventory (2016), Norway’s emissions totaled 52.4 million tons CO2 equivalents in 2017. This amounts to 9.89 tons per resident. According to Miliø-Direktoratet (2017), in the same year the total emissions of GHG in Stavanger Municipality were 243,888 tons of CO2 equivalents, accounting for 0.5 percent of Norway's total emissions. This translates to 1.99 tons per resident in Stavanger for 2017, which is approximately 20 percent of the CO2 emissions per capita on a national level. Overall in percentage terms, Stavanger has much lower emissions in comparison with that for Norway as a whole.
Graph 2.1 shows the development of GHG emissions in Stavanger from 2009 to 2017. Compared to 2015, there was a steady reduction of 9 and 17 percent in the total emissions of GHG in Stavanger Municipality in 2016 and 2017, respectively. The road transport sector accounts for the clearly largest share of CO2 emissions with roughly 47 percent of CO2 emissions in Stavanger.
11 Graph 2.1 CO2 emissions in Stavanger by source – Mostly from road transport
Source: Own illustration with reference from (Miliø-Direktoratet, 2017)
Two scenarios for CO2 from road traffic in Stavanger in the lead up to 2050 are projected as can be seen from Graph 2.2. This is based on the assumption that the development in Stavanger Municipality mirrors the development expected for Norway as a whole. There are two types of paths estimated for light and heavy vehicles, namely the trend path and the “ultra-low emissions”
path. The trend path is constructed based on the rate of development that the vehicle fleet in Norway has experienced over the period of 2010-2015. The “ultra-low emissions path” can be achieved by taking the objectives of the National Transport Plan (NTP) for 2018-2029 into account. According to the Ministry of Transport and Communications (2016), after 2025 all new private cars should be emission-free. Until that time, they should be plug-in hybrids and should be able to use biofuels. Undoubtedly, the significant difference between the two scenarios indicates that the aspirations of reducing emissions from the transport sector in local targets are no less ambitious than the national ones.
2009 2011 2013 2015 2016 2017
Waste and drainage 199 191 188 181 178 176
Agriculture 7,664 7,358 7,027 6,897 6,907 6,825 Other mobile combustion 8,688 6,044 7,402 10,668 10,424 8,875
Aviation 1 0 0 1 1 3
Maritime 64,058 64,058 64,058 87,584 65,045 68,547 Road traffic 143,302 142,858 141,935 136,259 126,983 113,088 Heating 22,947 20,761 20,471 22,910 22,111 18,270
Energy - - 104 77 217 252
Industry, oil and gas 11,767 24,972 22,768 28,242 34,052 27,854
50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000 300,000 350,000
tonns CO2 equivalents
12 Graph 2.2 Projected emissions from road traffic in Stavanger Municipality – Trend-path and ultra-low-emission path
Source: (Stavanger City Council, 2018) 2.3 Distribution of emissions from road traffic
Graph 2.3 CO2 Emissions from road transport within the municipality – Mostly from passenger cars
Source: Own illustration with Reference: (Miliø-Direktoratet, 2017)
Graph 2.3 shows that there was a notable reduction of 6 percent in CO2 emissions in Stavanger from 2013 to 2017. One of the reasons was that the oil and offshore industry seriously started
8,411 8,427 8,930 9,064 8,608 7,345
106,126 105,936 105,421 100,727 93,975
85,168 6,404 6,616 6,834 6,899
6,591
5,695 22,361 21,844 20,749 19,569
17,808
14,881
20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000 120,000 140,000 160,000
2009 2011 2013 2015 2016 2017
tonns CO2 equivalents
Buses Passenger cars Heavy vehicle Van
13 slashing jobs due to the oil price crash, causing less traffic on the road. However, the transport sector still strongly dominates the mobile emissions in Stavanger Municipality. The municipality of Stavanger has a huge challenge with private transportation; about 75% of all CO2 emission comes from private transportation driving both inside and outside the municipality’s boundary as shown in Graph 2.4
Graph 2.4 CO2 Emissions from road transport within and outside the municipality – 75% from passenger cars
Source: Own illustration with Reference: (Miliø-Direktoratet, 2017)
Regarding the driving with passenger car and van divided by fuel type, vehicles run by diesel is 1.5 times higher than those run by gasoline. A study by Transport & Environment (T&E, 2017) shows that diesel cars not only pollute the air but also emit more climate-change emissions (CO2) than petrol cars. The proportion of electric cars is still very negligible but there was a significant increase from merely 0.1 percent in 2011 to 4.8 percent in 2017 as shown in Graph 2.5.
8,760 8,882 9,530 9,873 9,438 8,059
157,326 157,328 156,778 152,850 143,423
130,590
15,304 15,655 16,060 16,515
15,869
13,736
37,252 35,322 31,684 29,648
26,523
22,050
50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000 250,000
2009 2011 2013 2015 2016 2017
tonns CO2 equivalents
Buses Passenger cars Heavy vehicle Van
14 Graph 2.5 Driving passenger car and van divided by fuel type – Mostly diesel cars
Source: Own illustration with Reference: (Miliø-Direktoratet, 2017)
According to Stavanger City Council (2018), the population growth in the Stavanger region in recent decades has led to an increased need for both passenger and commercial transport.
Approximately 500,000 journeys were made per working day in Stavanger in 2017, almost 120,000 more than in 1998. Consequently, the number of passenger cars kept increasing in the last two decades.
Graph 2.6 Number of passenger cars in Stavanger Municipality – increasing trend
Source: (Municipal Profile, 2018)
15 The car ownership obviously exhibits a clear upward trend in Graph 2.6. The changes in travelling habits include an increase in work journeys as a result of the rising labor market after the Norwegian economy went into crisis mode. Oil and krone fuel thousands of jobs in Stavanger, the traditional heart of Norway’s oil industry (Berglund, 2018). That in turns has ripple effects and boost demand for everything including personal travelling convenience.
16 CHAPTER 3: CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF REMOTE SENSING OF MOTOR VEHICLE EXHAUST EMISSIONS
3.1 The context of the model
3.1.1 Citizens are the vocal stakeholders of the smart city
In recent years smart city trend is developing faster and wider to mitigate the urban city problem using ICT as technology innovation. The modern infrastructures are not sufficient to assess a city performance It also needs to be supported by the availability of smart interventions to improve social communication. Therefore, transformation from a non-smart city to a smart city entails the interaction of governments and citizens with technology as the smart city innovation
(Mayangsari & Novani, 2015).
Thus, in order to socially address the CO2 target, the application of smart city innovation in Stavanger Municipality should implement ICT to increase the inter-connection of its citizens and the effectiveness of governance for the city government. Since road transport generates the most CO2 emissions in Stavanger, the open innovation of ICT in Stavanger smart city is expected to encourage the citizens to take advantage of information for the most efficient driving. This in turns translates to less CO2 footprint on the environment. Meanwhile, the collaboration between citizens and government on a platform created by ICT fulfils their social needs and at last co-create better values for the smart city itself.
City government would perform two basic functions which are general governance function and service delivery function (Mayangsari & Novani, 2015). Public policy making, public policy performing, and public policy monitoring and evaluating could be seen in the tasks of Stavanger city government to serve citizens. This is also reflected in Stavanger smart city’s master plan that citizens are one of the most important stakeholders to make a city even “smarter” (Stavanger City Council, 2018).
3.1.2 Road toll system in Norway
Norway is one of the pioneers in the world to lead the most cost-effective and customer-friendly road tolling when replacing manual toll booths on highways and at toll gates into central urban with an automatic system (Berglund N. , 2012). These fully automatic tolls can scan license plate numbers of cars when they go past the toll booths. Also, most Norwegian car drivers have toll tags from AutoPASS, the Norwegian system for collection of tolls, on their front windshields to interact with scanners.
17 Automatic toll collection points are marked with the symbol:
The AutoPASS tag in a car is pictured:
There are approximately 245 toll collection points in Norway where drivers can pay using an AutoPASS tag (AutoPASS, 2014). The AutoPASS tag in vehicles is linked to the registration number of the vehicle and offers a discount of 20% on the road tolls as illustrated in Table 3.1.
With the aim of reducing CO2 emissions, relieving traffic congestion and noise and providing new transport options, several toll booths have been strategically placed to discourage driving into the downtown areas of Stavanger and into the Forus area that’s home to many oil companies including Equinor (formerly Statoil) (Garza, 2017). Also, toll price counts double for driving in rush hours between 07:00-09:00 and 15:00-17:00.
Table 3.1 Toll rates for passenger cars
Full price AutoPASS price
Outside rush-hours 22 kroner 17.6 kroner (-20%)
Inside rush-hours 44 kroner 35.2 kroner (-20%)
Source: (Ferde, 2018)
The one-hour rule is applied to vehicles with a valid AutoPASS agreement in which drivers pay for only one passage if they pass more than one toll station or toll rings with the same vehicle.
Besides, the monthly-ceiling rate also favors those who have AutoPASS by charging maximum 75 passages per calendar month for each vehicle in the agreement.
With regard to payment methods, generally there are two types of contract: pre-paid and post-paid.
This varies among toll road companies: some might offer both forms whereas others offer only one. In Stavanger, the payment method used to be pre-paid, which means that all registered car owners would make a prepayment of a certain amount. When that amount of tolls tied to their license plate number approaches zero, they will receive a new invoice for payment. However recently it has changed into post-paid contract which records all passes within a set time frame, then a bill will be sent out in the mail for payment.
18 3.1.3 Open data of Stavanger Municipality
Open government data initiatives have exploded around the world together with the trend of smart cities. Open data are defined as non-privacy-restricted and non-confidential data, produced with public money and made available without any restrictions on their usage or distribution (Janssen, Charalabidis, & Zuijderwijk, 2012). Openness is also considered a good governance principle to enhance transparency and participation (Ruijer, Grimmelikhuijsen, Berg, & Meijer, 2018).
Stavanger is one of the leading cites in Norway in terms of open data (Nordic Smart City Network, 2019). 234 open datasets have been made available to the public on the open portal of the municipality (https://open.stavanger.kommune.no/dataset) since 2016. Range and variety of data generated and collected have increased over time, including Stavanger parking, phone list, bathing water temperature, city bikes, air measurement, municipality events, alert of errors, etc. Even though the abundant datasets look promising, their full potential has not yet been reached since people normally do not love reading raw data but they are willing to use the services built on top of open data. In this light, two examples of applications that have been developed from the open data in Stavanger are a map over the nearest public toilet and an app that lets the citizens locate the nearest defibrillator (Nordic Smart City Network, 2019).
The question revolves around whether open datasets can help Stavanger Municipality “enhance transparency and participation” as said by Ruijer et al. (2018). The free access to these data is a
“nominal” transparency since there are still few people who can make use of it. “Nominal”
transparency can be transformed to “effective” transparency if receptors are capable of processing, digesting and using the information (Heald, 2006). Therefore, the open data platform is not established for the richness of data itself but should be seen as a social construction from practice lens of citizens. Regarding transportation, there are 6 datasets for biking, 4 datasets for parking, 1 dataset for speed limit, 1 dataset for traffic, 2 data set for air measurement and air quality made available on the municipality’s open portal up to May 2019.
3.1.4 EU Control in Norway
EU control is a mandatory roadworthiness test that was introduced in Norway in 1988. More than 2 million vehicles go through EU controls in Norway every year (Vegvesen, 2019). A third of these are post-controls in 2018 (Motor editors, 2018), which means that vehicles were not approved on the first attempt. It is the responsibility of owners to get their vehicle tested for roadworthiness at regular intervals and approved within the deadline. The control needs to be
19 conducted within four years of the first registration date and then within two years of the last EU check (Røed, 2019).
The EU inspection comprises two parts: traffic safety part and environmental part. As the content of the control implies, the aim of EU control is to guarantee a safer and environmentally-friendly car fleet (Vegvesen, 2019). The exhaust gases are measured in the environmental part but are not deeply captured by the control (Vegvesen, 2019). This situation is also true in Europe when air pollutant emissions from light-duty vehicles has not been effectively controlled by regulatory requirements (Borken-Kleefeld & Dallmann, 2018). Consequently, deficiencies in the regulatory approach might lead to the excess emissions of CO2, which in turns exacerbates urban air quality problems in smart cities, especially when it comes to the ambitious CO2 reduction target of Stavanger Municipality. Thus, there is a need to have a surveillance framework for managing and reducing CO2 emission from road transport.
3.2 Suggested remote sensing of on-road vehicle emissions in Stavanger
Measurement of exhaust emissions from vehicles on road is necessary for an effective system of controlling air pollution in the transportation sector (Dallmann, 2018). Two widely known techniques are portable emissions measurement system (PEMS) and remote sensing (RS), which differ mainly on which/how many vehicles are selected and how their emissions are measured (Sjödin, et al., 2018). PEMS uses sensors mounted on an individual vehicle to analyze tailpipe exhaust and produce a detailed, second-by-second record of emissions on a single basis (Dallmann, 2018). On the other hand, remote sensing can measure emissions from thousands of vehicles per day as they pass by sensors on the road by absorption spectroscopy without interference with the vehicle, its driver, or the driving (Borken-Kleefeld & Dallmann, 2018). In this way, CO2 ratios (expressed in g per kg or litter fuel burned) can be measured directly through the raw vehicle exhaust and the fuel combustion equation (Sjödin, et al., 2018). Compared to PEMS testing, remote sensing is argued as less time consuming and less expensive (Dallmann, 2018).
Additionally, the “remote” nature of sensors makes remote-sensing technique well-suited to fleet monitoring and surveillance since it can scan a potentially very large number of vehicles. For these reasons on-road remote sensing is inherently an effective, economical and socially acceptable tool for automobile emission control.
The remote sensing instrument was first developed in the late 1980s (Bishop, Schuchmann, Stedman, & Lawson, 2012). The recent remote sensing system is Emission Detection And
20 Reporting (EDAR), which has been developed since 2009 with laser light usage (Borken-Kleefeld
& Dallmann, 2018). This allows to determine gas pollutants with much higher accuracy. Besides CO2, a variety of other environmental critical gases such as CO, NO, NO2, HC and PM coming out of moving vehicles can be measured by EDAR with infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) beam sources and detector (Hager, 2017). Each gas has a specific wavelength attenuation to be detected in the IR and UV regions when the beam passes through the exhaust plume (Huang, et al., 2018).
Table 3.1 lists the beam wavelengths covered by EDAR.
Table 3.2 Wavelengths of the IR and UV beams used in remote sensing – CO2 is covered in IR beam
Pollutant IR beam wavelength UV beam wavelength
CO2 4.3 µm N/A
CO 4.6 µm N/A
HC 3.4 µm N/A
NO N/A 227 nm
NO2 N/A 438 nm
PM 3.9 µm and 240 nm 3.9 µm and 240 nm
Source: (Huang, et al., 2018)
As shown in Table 3.2, CO2, CO and HC emissions are measured in the IR spectrum whereas NO and NO2 emissions are measured in the UV region. PM belongs to both IR and UV region.
Although remote sensing can measure a wide range of emissions in the vehicle exhaust, in this thesis, we focus only on CO2 emissions as the main source of pollution from road transport in Stavanger Municipality. Therefore, only IR beam source is included in the EDAR system as illustrated in Figure 3.1