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Energies
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Acting for the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy in Schools
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Acting for the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy in Schools

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "C: Energy Economics and Policy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (24 February 2022) | Viewed by 8764

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Yolanda Lechon

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Guest Editor
Energy Department, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avda Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: Sustainability assessment of energy technologis using Life cycle assessment and Multirregional Input Output. Energy system modelling using technoeconomic optimization models.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Marta Almeida

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, Km 139.7, 2695-066 Bobadela LRS, Portugal
Interests: low-carbon economy; citizen science; environment assessment; air quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The active involvement of citizens is essential to address the transition to a low-carbon economy as changes in citizen’s behaviours towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and a more sustainable lifestyle are the key to this transition. Education of the younger generations encourages them to change their way of thinking towards reducing their carbon footprint and the environmental impacts of their way of living, which is a powerful tool to enable this transition. Additionally, students have the potential to share their knowledge and experiences with their families, local communities, friends, and social networks. In this way, they can act as ambassadors of climate action and exponentially increase the chances to successfully transit to a low-carbon and sustainable economy in our societies.

Scope:

This Special Issue welcomes papers on demonstration activities in schools, for example, in energy efficiency measures, sustainable energy production and consumption, improvements in waste management, nature-based solutions, air quality sensing, actions for biodiversity conservation, awareness raising campaigns, educational programs, and the associated impacts on carbon footprint and environmental performance of schools.

Dr. Yolanda Lechon
Dr. Marta Almeida
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • low-carbon schools
  • schools’ environmental performance
  • carbon footprint
  • citizen science
  • education for sustainable development
  • awareness raising in schools
  • low-carbon education

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2474 KiB  
Article
Suitability Evaluation of Different Measured Variables to Assess the Occupancy Patterns of a Building: Analysis of a Classroom of a School in Madrid during the COVID-19 Pandemic
by María Nuria Sánchez, Emanuela Giancola, Silvia Soutullo, Ana Rosa Gamarra, Rafael Olmedo, José Antonio Ferrer and María José Jiménez
Energies 2022, 15(9), 3112; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en15093112 - 25 Apr 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1652
Abstract
Building occupancy is one of the relevant variables to understand the energy performance of buildings and to reduce the current gap between simulation-based and actual energy performance. In this study, the occupancy of a classroom in an educational center monitored over a full [...] Read more.
Building occupancy is one of the relevant variables to understand the energy performance of buildings and to reduce the current gap between simulation-based and actual energy performance. In this study, the occupancy of a classroom in an educational center monitored over a full year was experimentally assessed. The classroom had different occupancy levels during the school year, with a theoretical minimum of eleven students, and no occupancy during vacations and weekends. Different variables such as indoor air temperature, relative humidity, CO2 concentration, overall electrical energy consumption of the educational center, electrical energy consumption of the building in which the monitored classroom is located, and heating energy consumption were recorded. We analyzed which of these variables were possible indicators of classroom occupancy, using the school timetable as a theoretical reference value for the validation of the results. Based on previous studies, one-hour moving averages are used to better identify the occupancy patterns by smoothing the fluctuations that are not a consequence of a change in the classroom occupancy. Histograms of each variable are used to identify the variable ranges associated within the occupancy: occupied or empty. The concentration of CO2 and electric measurements, identified in previous works as suitable to assess the occupancy patterns of rooms like offices with lower levels of occupancy, are recognized as potential occupancy indicators. It is therefore concluded that a higher level of space occupancy does not affect the result, and the same variables are identified as potential occupancy indicators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acting for the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy in Schools)
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20 pages, 5195 KiB  
Article
Making School-Based GHG-Emissions Tangible by Student-Led Carbon Footprint Assessment Program
by Oliver Wagner, Lena Tholen, Lotte Nawothnig and Sebastian Albert-Seifried
Energies 2021, 14(24), 8558; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14248558 - 18 Dec 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3971
Abstract
Schools play an important role in achieving climate protection goals, because they lay the foundation of knowledge for a responsible next generation. Therefore, schools as institutions have a special role model function. Enabling schools to become aware of their own carbon footprint (CF) [...] Read more.
Schools play an important role in achieving climate protection goals, because they lay the foundation of knowledge for a responsible next generation. Therefore, schools as institutions have a special role model function. Enabling schools to become aware of their own carbon footprint (CF) is an important prerequisite for being able to tap the substantial CO2 reduction potential. Aiming at the direct involvement of students in the assessment process, a new assessment tool was developed within the Schools4Future project that gives students the opportunity to determine their own school’s CF. With this instrument the CO2 emissions caused by mobility, heating and electricity consumption as well as for food in the school canteen and for consumables (paper) can be recorded. It also takes into account existing renewable energy sources. Through the development of the tool, not only a monitoring instrument was established but also a concrete starting point from which students could take actions to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. This paper presents the tool and its methods used to calculate the CF and compares it with existing approaches. A comparative case study of four pilot schools in Germany demonstrates the practicability of the tool and reveals fundamental differences between the GHG emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acting for the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy in Schools)
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20 pages, 10036 KiB  
Article
Low-Carbon Economy in Schools: Environmental Footprint and Associated Externalities of Five Schools in Southwestern Europe
by Ana Rosa Gamarra, Carmen Lago, Israel Herrera-Orozco, Yolanda Lechón, Susana Marta Almeida, Joana Lage and Filipe Silva
Energies 2021, 14(19), 6238; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/en14196238 - 30 Sep 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2277
Abstract
This study provides an in-depth assessment of the environmental performance of five public schools in the transition towards a low-carbon economy and a more sustainable model of society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used to conduct the study. The school system includes [...] Read more.
This study provides an in-depth assessment of the environmental performance of five public schools in the transition towards a low-carbon economy and a more sustainable model of society. Life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology is used to conduct the study. The school system includes several activities and processes clustered in three subsystems: management of the school building, training and learning activities (T&L) and mobility and transport (M&T). A detailed primary data inventory of energy and resources consumption was collected in five schools located in Spain and Portugal. Findings on climate change (CC), water depletion (WD), particular matter (PM), acidification (Ac), and human health (HH), as well as associated external cost (EC), are reported per student in one school year as reference unit, allowing the schools’ individual performance comparison and identify the potential improvements. Considering the sample of schools, findings reveal that peculiarities of the schools, such as location, specialization, and level of education, are crucial for the environmental performance. Buildings are a relevant contributor to CC as well as heating and electricity needs, although their relevance is dependent on multiple factors. The M&T subsystem also has relevant weight on the metrics evaluated. Educational activities have a lower impact in absolute terms but, in some schools, it becomes the main contributor to HH due to paper and electricity consumption and manufacturing of equipment. External costs results are in the range of 11 to 38 EUR/student·year mainly caused by heating, electricity and wastes from the building subsystem, and the M&T subsystem. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Acting for the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy in Schools)
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