How can LCA include prospective elements to assess emerging technologies and system transitions? The 76th LCA Discussion Forum on Life Cycle Assessment, 19 November 2020
Journal article, 2021

This paper summarizes the 76th LCA Discussion Forum end its main findings. Main issues when addressing emerging technologies identified were: the lack of primary data, the need for (shared) future background scenarios and (guidlines for) a common methodology. The following recommendations have been derived by the organizers: 1) Specific foreground inventories are always tailor-made, but consistency can be improved through lists of mandatory considerations. 2) Continue sharing (future) technology data and proxy processes, that can be readily replicated to new studies and assist in developing inventories. 3) Streamline and unify the process of including scenarios for background systems. New approaches may provide first important solutions to efficiently include consistent future scenarios in prospective LCA.

Prospective LCA

Emerging technologies

Transitions

LCA discussion forum

Author

Lugas Raka Adrianto

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

Mitchell K. van der Hulst

Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)

Radboud University

Janot P. Tokaya

Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)

Rickard Arvidsson

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Environmental Systems Analysis

Carlos F. Blanco

Leiden University

Carla Caldeira

Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission

Gonzalo Guillén-Gonsálbez

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich (ETH)

Serenella Sala

Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission

Bernhard Steubing

Leiden University

Matthias Buyle

Flemish Institute for Technological Research

University of Antwerp

Mohamad Kaddoura

École Polytechnique de Montréal

Nicolas H. Navarre

Leiden University

Julien Pedneault

École Polytechnique de Montréal

Massimo Pizzol

Aalborg University

Beatrice Salieri

Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa)

Toon van Harmelen

Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)

Mara Hauck

Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO)

International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment

0948-3349 (ISSN) 1614-7502 (eISSN)

Vol. 26 8 1541-1544

Subject Categories

Other Computer and Information Science

Information Science

Computer Systems

DOI

10.1007/s11367-021-01934-w

More information

Latest update

9/16/2021