Application of LCZ to Energy Consumption and Carbon Emission Modeling

Linking the urban contextual form with urban energy efficiency and carbon emissions can support urban planning and urban morphological design strategies towards energy saving and carbon emission reduction. The Local Climate Zone (LCZ) scheme provides the most basic description of 2-D urban landscapes and discretizes urban landscapes. Moreover, LCZ links land cover types and urban morphology with corresponding thermal properties closely related to energy consumption. Therefore, the LCZ scheme has already been utilized in studies related to urban energy efficiency and carbon emissions. This chapter explores the use of LCZ in modeling and estimating urban energy efficiency and carbon emissions, highlighting essential methods and applications in the field. In particular, this chapter presents a case in mega-urban regions in China that more accurately models the spatial pattern of urban carbon emissions by using LCZ. The spatial inventory tool based on LCZ can help support policy decisions regarding urban energy resilience and low-carbon development for global cities.