Realizing GHG Emissions Reductions for Large-Scale Infrastructure Projects in Ontario

为了避免气候变化最灾难性的影响，并实现安大略省2020-2030年温室气体(GHG)减排目标，必须在基础设施设计和建设方面做出根本性改变。基础设施部门为加拿大国内生产总值贡献了800亿美元；其温室气体影响在整个加拿大社会引起共鸣。然而，在解释和减少这些排放方面，几乎没有什么努力。为了应对这一挑战，该项目将开发一种最先进的温室气体核算和决策支持工具--Infra-Clean。它将通过推进设计和施工实践来减少温室气体排放，减少材料和能源的使用，并增加对低温室气体材料和燃料的采用。红外清洁将允许用户在整个项目生命周期内跟踪实际排放，提供关于现状排放的信息，并确保实际实现预期的减排。目前，市场上没有一款工具能达到预期的广度和复杂性。为了发展红外清洁，将进行基础研究，以填补有关材料和建筑活动温室气体排放的知识空白。将对现实世界的案例研究进行评估，以使最先进的研究立足于基础设施建设的现实。该项目团队是加拿大顶尖研究型大学多伦多大学和碳影响倡议组织的合作伙伴，由加拿大第二大总承包商、该国一些最知名项目的建设者EllisDon领导。EllisDon处于有利地位，通过在其加拿大投资组合中推出Infra-Clean，并在整个行业推广该工具，从而引领基础设施设计和施工的关键转型。这个令人兴奋的项目的结果有可能显著影响基础设施的建设方式。因此，通过将具有成本效益的温室气体减排战略纳入项目开发决策的前沿，为工业和更广泛的安大略省和加拿大经济提供好处。

To avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change, and meet Ontario's 2020-2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals, fundamental changes must be made in infrastructure design and construction. The infrastructure sector contributes $80 billion to Canada's GDP; its GHG impacts resonate throughout Canadian society. However, there has been little effort to account for and reduce these emissions. To address this challenge, this project will develop Infra-Clean, a state-of-the-art GHG accounting and decision support tool. It will reduce GHG emissions by advancing design and construction practices that decrease material and energy use, and increase adoption of low GHG materials and fuels. Infra-Clean will allow users to track actual emissions throughout the project life, providing information on status-quo emissions and ensuring that expected emission reductions are actually realized. Currently, no tool on the market incorporates the breadth and complexity envisioned. To develop Infra-Clean, fundamental research will be conducted to fill knowledge gaps about the GHG emissions from materials and construction activities. Real world case studies will be evaluated to ground the state-of-the-art research in the realities of infrastructure construction. The project team is a partnership between the University of Toronto, Canada's top research university, and the Carbon Impact Initiative, led by EllisDon, Canada's second largest general contractor and builder of some of the nation's highest profile projects. EllisDon is well positioned to lead a critical transformation of infrastructure design and construction by rolling out Infra-Clean across its Canadian portfolio, and marketing the tool across the industry. The outcomes of this exciting project have the potential to significantly influence how infrastructure is built. Thus, providing benefits to industry and more generally, the Ontario and Canadian economies, by incorporating cost-effective GHG emissions reduction strategies at the forefront of project development decisions.