Author
Thomas Gibon
Bio: Thomas Gibon is an academic researcher from Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Life-cycle assessment & Greenhouse gas. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 29 publications receiving 1047 citations.
Papers
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30 Apr 2022
TL;DR: The role of the actin cytoskeleton in cell-cell fusion has drawn special attention in many recent studies, and the properties of these larger pores and the mechanisms that underlie the enlargement of cytoplasmic bridges from early fusion pores to syncytia are poorly known.
Abstract: Introduction Cell-cell fusion is a key event in fertilization and during differentiation of muscle, bone and trophoblast cells, and possibly also in stem-cell plasticity, carcinogenesis and tumor progression (Chen et al. Earlier work on fusion mechanisms has been focused on the earliest stages of the fusion pathways, which bring about the first measurable indications of fusion: lipid mixing and the opening of a narrow fusion pore – an aqueous connection between the membranes (Earp et al. Weissenhorn et al., 2007). At later stages of cell-cell fusion, these initial pores of a few nanometers in diameter expand to pores that are readily detectable by fluorescence microscopy (diameter >~0.2 μm) and finally yield an open lumen of cell-size diameter (~10-15 μm). Little is known about the properties of these larger pores and the mechanisms that underlie the enlargement of cytoplasmic bridges from early fusion pores to syncytia (Gattegno et al. For instance, we still do not know whether this enlargement proceeds spontaneously and, if not, whether it is driven by the cytoskeleton (Podbilewicz and White, 1994; Zheng and Chang, 1991), membrane tension (Knutton, 1980) or another, as-yet unidentified, cell machinery. The role of the actin cytoskeleton in cell-cell fusion has drawn special attention in many recent studies. Syncytium formation,
825 citations
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TL;DR: This paper presents the first global, integrated life-cycle assessment of the large-scale implementation of climate-mitigation technologies, addressing the feedback of the electricity system onto itself and using scenario-consistent assumptions of technical improvements in key energy and material production technologies.
Abstract: Decarbonization of electricity generation can support climate-change mitigation and presents an opportunity to address pollution resulting from fossil-fuel combustion. Generally, renewable technologies require higher initial investments in infrastructure than fossil-based power systems. To assess the tradeoffs of increased up-front emissions and reduced operational emissions, we present, to our knowledge, the first global, integrated life-cycle assessment (LCA) of long-term, wide-scale implementation of electricity generation from renewable sources (i.e., photovoltaic and solar thermal, wind, and hydropower) and of carbon dioxide capture and storage for fossil power generation. We compare emissions causing particulate matter exposure, freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and climate change for the climate-change-mitigation (BLUE Map) and business-as-usual (Baseline) scenarios of the International Energy Agency up to 2050. We use a vintage stock model to conduct an LCA of newly installed capacity year-by-year for each region, thus accounting for changes in the energy mix used to manufacture future power plants. Under the Baseline scenario, emissions of air and water pollutants more than double whereas the low-carbon technologies introduced in the BLUE Map scenario allow a doubling of electricity supply while stabilizing or even reducing pollution. Material requirements per unit generation for low-carbon technologies can be higher than for conventional fossil generation: 11-40 times more copper for photovoltaic systems and 6-14 times more iron for wind power plants. However, only two years of current global copper and one year of iron production will suffice to build a low-carbon energy system capable of supplying the world's electricity needs in 2050.
540 citations
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Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research1, Technical University of Berlin2, Norwegian University of Science and Technology3, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency4, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis5, Joint Global Change Research Institute6, University of Grenoble7, Scottish Agricultural College8, Utrecht University9, Yale University10
TL;DR: The authors quantify environmental co-benefits and adverse side-effects of a portfolio of alternative power sector decarbonisation pathways and show that the scale of co-Benefits as well as profiles of adverse side effects depend strongly on technology choice.
Abstract: A rapid and deep decarbonization of power supply worldwide is required to limit global warming to well below 2 °C. Beyond greenhouse gas emissions, the power sector is also responsible for numerous other environmental impacts. Here we combine scenarios from integrated assessment models with a forward-looking life-cycle assessment to explore how alternative technology choices in power sector decarbonization pathways compare in terms of non-climate environmental impacts at the system level. While all decarbonization pathways yield major environmental co-benefits, we find that the scale of co-benefits as well as profiles of adverse side-effects depend strongly on technology choice. Mitigation scenarios focusing on wind and solar power are more effective in reducing human health impacts compared to those with low renewable energy, while inducing a more pronounced shift away from fossil and toward mineral resource depletion. Conversely, non-climate ecosystem damages are highly uncertain but tend to increase, chiefly due to land requirements for bioenergy.
147 citations
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TL;DR: The modeling framework of an integrated hybrid life cycle assessment model covering nine world regions and applying THEMIS in an integrated environmental assessment of concentrating solar power highlights the need for systematic life cycle frameworks that capture the actual consequences and feedback effects of large-scale policies in the long term.
Abstract: Climate change mitigation demands large-scale technological change on a global level and, if successfully implemented, will significantly affect how products and services are produced and consumed. In order to anticipate the life cycle environmental impacts of products under climate mitigation scenarios, we present the modeling framework of an integrated hybrid life cycle assessment model covering nine world regions. Life cycle assessment databases and multiregional input–output tables are adapted using forecasted changes in technology and resources up to 2050 under a 2 °C scenario. We call the result of this modeling “technology hybridized environmental-economic model with integrated scenarios” (THEMIS). As a case study, we apply THEMIS in an integrated environmental assessment of concentrating solar power. Life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions for this plant range from 33 to 95 g CO2 eq./kWh across different world regions in 2010, falling to 30–87 g CO2 eq./kWh in 2050. Using regional life cycle data yiel...
97 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, a real-time consumption-based accounting approach based on flow tracing is proposed to trace power flows from producer to consumer, in contrast to the traditional input-output models of carbon accounting.
91 citations
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01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: The work of the IPCC Working Group III 5th Assessment report as mentioned in this paper is a comprehensive, objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change, which has been extensively reviewed by experts and governments to ensure quality and comprehensiveness.
Abstract: The talk with present the key results of the IPCC Working Group III 5th assessment report. Concluding four years of intense scientific collaboration by hundreds of authors from around the world, the report responds to the request of the world's governments for a comprehensive, objective and policy neutral assessment of the current scientific knowledge on mitigating climate change. The report has been extensively reviewed by experts and governments to ensure quality and comprehensiveness.
3,224 citations
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TL;DR: With version 3, the ecoinvent database substantially expands the goals and scopes of LCA studies it can support, and the new system models allow new, different studies to be performed.
Abstract: Purpose
Good background data are an important requirement in LCA. Practitioners generally make use of LCI databases for such data, and the ecoinvent database is the largest transparent unit-process LCI database worldwide. Since its first release in 2003, it has been continuously updated, and version 3 was published in 2013. The release of version 3 introduced several significant methodological and technological improvements, besides a large number of new and updated datasets. The aim was to expand the content of the database, set the foundation for a truly global database, support regionalized LCIA, offer multiple system models, allow for easier integration of data from different regions, and reduce maintenance efforts. This article describes the methodological developments.
2,696 citations
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TL;DR: This work demonstrates that oxygen plasma exposure and hydrogen treatment on pristine monolayer MoS2 could introduce more active sites via the formation of defects within the monolayers, leading to a high density of exposed edges and a significant improvement of the hydrogen evolution activity.
Abstract: MoS2 is a promising and low-cost material for electrochemical hydrogen production due to its high activity and stability during the reaction. However, the efficiency of hydrogen production is limited by the amount of active sites, for example, edges, in MoS2. Here, we demonstrate that oxygen plasma exposure and hydrogen treatment on pristine monolayer MoS2 could introduce more active sites via the formation of defects within the monolayer, leading to a high density of exposed edges and a significant improvement of the hydrogen evolution activity. These as-fabricated defects are characterized at the scale from macroscopic continuum to discrete atoms. Our work represents a facile method to increase the hydrogen production in electrochemical reaction of MoS2 via defect engineering, and helps to understand the catalytic properties of MoS2.
961 citations
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TL;DR: The authors highlight the role of bottom-up movements to overcome structural economic growth imperatives spurring consumption by changing structures and culture towards safe and just systems.
Abstract: For over half a century, worldwide growth in affluence has continuously increased resource use and pollutant emissions far more rapidly than these have been reduced through better technology The affluent citizens of the world are responsible for most environmental impacts and are central to any future prospect of retreating to safer environmental conditions We summarise the evidence and present possible solution approaches Any transition towards sustainability can only be effective if far-reaching lifestyle changes complement technological advancements However, existing societies, economies and cultures incite consumption expansion and the structural imperative for growth in competitive market economies inhibits necessary societal change
607 citations
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TL;DR: This paper presents the first global, integrated life-cycle assessment of the large-scale implementation of climate-mitigation technologies, addressing the feedback of the electricity system onto itself and using scenario-consistent assumptions of technical improvements in key energy and material production technologies.
Abstract: Decarbonization of electricity generation can support climate-change mitigation and presents an opportunity to address pollution resulting from fossil-fuel combustion. Generally, renewable technologies require higher initial investments in infrastructure than fossil-based power systems. To assess the tradeoffs of increased up-front emissions and reduced operational emissions, we present, to our knowledge, the first global, integrated life-cycle assessment (LCA) of long-term, wide-scale implementation of electricity generation from renewable sources (i.e., photovoltaic and solar thermal, wind, and hydropower) and of carbon dioxide capture and storage for fossil power generation. We compare emissions causing particulate matter exposure, freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and climate change for the climate-change-mitigation (BLUE Map) and business-as-usual (Baseline) scenarios of the International Energy Agency up to 2050. We use a vintage stock model to conduct an LCA of newly installed capacity year-by-year for each region, thus accounting for changes in the energy mix used to manufacture future power plants. Under the Baseline scenario, emissions of air and water pollutants more than double whereas the low-carbon technologies introduced in the BLUE Map scenario allow a doubling of electricity supply while stabilizing or even reducing pollution. Material requirements per unit generation for low-carbon technologies can be higher than for conventional fossil generation: 11-40 times more copper for photovoltaic systems and 6-14 times more iron for wind power plants. However, only two years of current global copper and one year of iron production will suffice to build a low-carbon energy system capable of supplying the world's electricity needs in 2050.
540 citations