A multisectoral assessment framework for the carbon footprint of integrated sustainable development systems in Dubai

Sustainable development systems (SDSs) contribute greatly to the global efforts toward climate change mitigation. The strategic planning and prioritization of various SDSs require multi-sectoral integrated assessment to ensure sustainability goals are effectively met. This research establishes a systematic integrated framework to assess selected state-of-the-art SDSs in three carbon-intensive sectors: transportation, waste management, and energy production. Multiple sustainable development scenarios were included based on: (1) electrified/intelligent transportation (EV/ITS), (2) waste-to-energy (WTE), and (3) renewable energy sources (RES). The proposed cost-integrated environmental assessment was applied on the case of Dubai which has some of the world highest per capita records of carbon footprint, energy demand, and waste generation. It was found that WTE systems were the most economically viable with required investments of around 8–20 USD/tCO2e-reduced, compared to 50–600 and 600–1500 USD/tCO2e-reduced with RES and EV/ITS strategies, respectively. The implementation of the optimum multi-sectoral plan, comprising autonomous vehicles, waste incineration, and concentrated solar towers, would achieve around 38% of the national target for carbon reduction in Dubai. The proposed methodology is applicable to other metropolises, particularly where there is limited local data and previous experiences with such sustainable systems.