Advances and challenges of life cycle assessment (LCA) of greenhouse gas removal technologies to fight climate changes

JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION

卷:244

Review

Goglio, P.^1,2  Williams, A. G.²  Balta-Ozkan, N.²  Harris, N. R. P.²  Williamson, P.³  Huisingh, D.⁴  Zhang, Z.⁵  Tavoni, M.⁶ 

[1] Wageningen Univ & Res, Wageningen Econ Res, Atlas Bldg,Droevendaalsesteeg 4, NL-6708 PB Wageningen, Netherlands

[2] Cranfield Univ, Sch Water Energy & Environm, Cranfield MK43 0AL, Beds, England

[3] Univ East Anglia, Sch Environm Sci, Norwich NR4 7TJ, Norfolk, England

[4] Univ Tennessee, Inst Secure & Sustainable Environm, Knoxville, TN 37996 USA

[5] Shandong Univ, Dept Appl Math, Climate Modeling Lab, Jinan, Shandong, Peoples R China

[6] Politecn Milan, Dept Management, Milan, Italy

关键词: Greenhouse gas removal technologies;    Negative emission technologies;    Methodology;    Environmental assessment;    Life cycle assessment;    Climate change;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118896

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Several greenhouse gas removal technologies (GGRTs), also called negative emissions technologies (NET) have been proposed to help meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets. However, there are many uncertainties in the estimation of their effective greenhouse gas (GHG) removal potentials, caused by their different levels of technological development. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has been proposed as one effective methodology to holistically assess the potential of different GGRT removal approaches but no common framework is currently available for benchmarking and policy development. In this article, challenges for LCA are reviewed and discussed together with some alternative approaches for assessment of GGRTs. In particular, GGRTs pose challenges with regards to the functional unit, the system boundary of the LCA assessment, and the timing of emissions. The need to account within LCA of GGRTs for broader implications which involve environmental impacts, economic, social and political drivers is highlighted. A set of recommendations for LCA of GGRTs are proposed for a better assessment of the GGRTs and better accounting of their carbon removal potentials to meet the targets established within the Paris Agreement. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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