Journal ArticleDOI
Biogenic Carbon and Temporary Storage Addressed with Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment
TLDR
In this article, the authors show the importance of consistent consideration of biogenic carbon and timing of GHG emissions in life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint analysis and use a case study assessing the life cycle of a wooden chair for four end-of-life scenarios to compare different approaches: traditional LCA with and without consideration of Biogenic carbon, the PAS 2050 and ILCD Handbook methods, and a dynamic LCA approach.Abstract:
Summary
A growing tendency in policy making and carbon footprint estimation gives value to temporary carbon storage in biomass products or to delayed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some life cycle-based methods, such as the British publicly available specification (PAS) 2050 or the recently published European Commission's International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook, address this issue. This article shows the importance of consistent consideration of biogenic carbon and timing of GHG emissions in life cycle assessment (LCA) and carbon footprint analysis. We use a fictitious case study assessing the life cycle of a wooden chair for four end-of-life scenarios to compare different approaches: traditional LCA with and without consideration of biogenic carbon, the PAS 2050 and ILCD Handbook methods, and a dynamic LCA approach. Reliable results require accounting for the timing of every GHG emission, including biogenic carbon flows, as soon as a benefit is given for temporarily storing carbon or delaying GHG emissions. The conclusions of a comparative LCA can change depending on the time horizon chosen for the analysis. The dynamic LCA approach allows for a consistent assessment of the impact, through time, of all GHG emissions (positive) and sequestration (negative). The dynamic LCA is also a valuable approach for decision makers who have to understand the sensitivity of the conclusions to the chosen time horizon.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Progress in sustainability science: lessons learnt from current methodologies for sustainability assessment: Part 1
TL;DR: In this paper, the main challenges posed to sustainability assessment methodologies and related methods in terms of ontology, epistemology and methodology of purpose sustainability science (SS) are discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fast-growing bio-based materials as an opportunity for storing carbon in exterior walls
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of storing carbon in fast-growing biogenic materials and lime-based products when they are used as construction materials and left long in a building is investigated, expressed in terms of radiative forcing in the atmosphere.
Journal ArticleDOI
Life cycle assessment of end-of-life options for two biodegradable packaging materials: sound application of the European waste hierarchy
Vincent Rossi,Nina Cleeve-Edwards,Lars Lundquist,Urs Schenker,Carole Dubois,Sebastien Humbert,Olivier Jolliet +6 more
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed life cycle assessment of dry biodegradable packaging without food contamination was carried out using an extended version of IMPACT 2002+, accounting for the dynamic pattern of greenhouse gas releases for each scenario when determining Global Warming Potentials for a time horizon of 100 years.
Journal ArticleDOI
Methodological challenges and developments in LCA of low energy buildings: Application to biogenic carbon and global warming assessment
Marine Fouquet,Marine Fouquet,Annie Levasseur,Manuele Margni,Alexandra Lebert,Sébastien Lasvaux,Bernard Souyri,Catherine Buhé,Monika Woloszyn +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated known challenges related to buildings LCA such as biogenic carbon accounting and dynamic and prospective aspects, and discussed how they affect LCA results for low energy buildings and what developments are still needed.
Journal ArticleDOI
The carbon footprint of buildings: A review of methodologies and applications
Andriel Evandro Fenner,Charles J. Kibert,Junghoon Woo,Shirley Morque,Mohamad Razkenari,Hamed Hakim,Xiaoshu Lü +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the cutting-edge knowledge about emissions resulting from buildings during their life cycle and conclude that there is a need for a clear, accessible and consistent method to assess the carbon emissions from buildings.
References
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an appropriate way to examine the economics of climate change, given the unique scientific and economic challenges posed, and suggest implications for emissions targets, policy instruments, and global action.
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Economics Of Climate Change
TL;DR: In this article, climate change economics attends to this issue by offering theoretical insights and empirical findings relevant to the design of policies to reduce, avoid, or adapt to climate change, which has yielded new estimates of mitigation benefits, improved understanding of costs in the presence of various market distortions or imperfections, better tools for making policy choices under uncertainty, and alternate mechanisms for allowing flexibility in policy responses.
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