A.P. Moeller Maersk is taking a stand to move the company towards a more ambitious corporate climate commitment. This has led to a top rating by the Climate Corporate Responsibility Monitor in February 2022 for the integrity of the Maersk net zero pledge.
Maersk is one of the biggest players in the global logistics market. We work with Maersk in their quest to reduce the impacts from their hard-to-abate transport business, with the explicit goal of helping Maersk push the entire market toward greener modes of operation.
2.-0 LCA consultants provide science-based support on:
Read more here on Maersk’s own pages on climate change
This study evaluates the environmental impact of replacing natural gas heating and peat use in the horticulture substrate market by means of biomass ga,sification towards co-production of syngas and biochar. The produced syngas can provide sustainable greenhouse heating; biochar is currently considered as a peat substitute while it offers carbon sequestration potential when disposed in the soil due to its higher carbon recalcitrance compared to peat. The carbon footprint of four feedstocks is followed, namely willow and pine from tree nurseries, grade A wood pellets produced from demolition wood and park residues. The CO2 emissions timing is taken into account (time delay between harvest, decay and growth rates of organic matter, peat and biochar). Emission calculations from indirect land use changes (iLUC) are included for the two wood feedstocks (willow and pine). The feedstock source and physical properties have a high share in the environmental impact of the bioenergy production (process heat) and biochar. Peat replacement by biochar reduces the current pressure on the environment caused by peat extraction and use. When biochar is stored permanently in the soil as a disposal option, the corresponding negative CO2 flux further reduces the total CO2 emissions acting as a carbon capture and storage mechanism.
This paper shows an extended version of the hybrid multiregional Input-Output table (MR-HIOT) derived from Exiobase v.3.
The multi-regional hybrid supply-use tables (MR-HSUTs), which are used to derive the input-output tables where tangible goods are accounted in metric tons, energy flows in TJ and services in euros. They respect mass, energy and monetary balances.
The extensions include emissions, stock addition, stock reduction/depletion, supply and use of waste, supply and use of packaging, extraction of resources, use and withdrawal of water and land use.
The MR-HIOT here presented adopts a generalized version of by-product technology model (Stone’s method). Furthermore, a cause-effect based electricity model and indirect land use change (iLUC) model are inserted.
The generalized by-product technology model extends the Stone’s method to a a multi-regional framework and focuses on the respect of mass balance, whenever by-products substitute products with different properties produced elsewhere as principal productions.
The electricity model introduces the concept of national electricity grid where only non-constrained and competitive producers react to changes in demand. The electricity model was introduced by Schmidt et al (2011).
The iLUC model considers the substitution effects of the land use. The model was introduced by Schmidt et al. (2015). It simulates the effect of the substitution of land anytime a new production comes into place in any region of the world. Depending on the peculiarities of a country, the new demand of land may be obtained either by intensification the crops or occupying new land, i.e. forest or grassland. The emissions due to intensification and land use changes are taken into account.
The transaction matrix presented in this paper has a format 8213x8213; 164 products for 48 countries/world regions, 48 national electricity markets, six types of national land use markets for each of the 48 regions, and 5 world land use markets.
The author of the climate footprint study, Tobias Pape Thomsen from Roskilde University, provides the following assessment on the value of the panel review process and results:
The outcome of the review process has been very valuable for the scientific quality, robustness and credibility of the climate footprint study. The expert panel has been very thorough in their work and have provided comments on all levels from editorial details to the fundamental aspects of the work. The first round of written feedback was extensive and the follow-up meeting was well prepared and packed with relevant discussions. The study has undergone significant changes based on these activities.
The expert panel review has proved to be far more useful than a classic, scientific peer review for the specific type of work. The panel was handpicked for the task, covering a very broad range of relevant aspects and had both knowledge and insight related to method, system and Danish context. For a situated study like the present, this is paramount to provide relevant peer-feedback. The panel seemed to work well together and the output from their work was constructive and timely. In addition to feedback and concrete suggestions, the panel has also contributed with specific data from otherwise inaccessible sources to improve the quality of the study. This is beyond what may normally be expected from a review process and I am grateful for this help.
The review process has been challenging but highly rewarding. In addition to improving the quality of the specific study, I have learned a lot from the process. About methodological issues as well as about the modelled systems. Discussions have included both smaller details and large controversial aspects. The panel has been highly professional, the work environment positive and the criticism constructive. I sensed a genuine interest from the expert panel in the study and a will to contribute constructively and positively to the work. I would like to thank all members of the panel for their efforts and contributions.
Link to reviewed final publication: Climate Footprint Analysis of Straw Pyrolysis & Straw Biogas: Assessment of the Danish climate crisis mitigation potential of two new straw management options.
Environmental policies often underperform due to so-called rebound effects, namely behavioural and systemic responses to technical change leading to additional consumption and environmental damage. While evidence of rebound is abundant, studies generally focus on technical changes that are neither associated with specific technologies nor their production costs, making it difficult to connect these changes with the policies governing them. To overcome this limitation, this study proposes to combine a technology-rich model based on life cycle assessment and a behaviour-optimising model for the global economy based on computable general equilibrium modelling. This approach allows to quantify policy-induced economy-wide rebound effects for four relevant environmental impacts: climate change, acidification, photochemical ozone formation, and particulate matter. We apply this approach to evaluate the effectiveness of the United Kingdom’s subsidy on electric cars. The results show notable economy-wide rebound effects associated with this subsidy: over or close to 100% (no environmental benefits) for acidification and particulate matter impacts, and a lower, yet notable, magnitude for climate change (~20–50%) and photochemical ozone formation (~30–80%) impacts. The results also show the important role of macro-economic effects from price changes, particularly how the shift from petrol to electricity triggered additional demand for cheaper petrol.
In 2011, co-working with DuPont (former Danisco), 2.-0 LCA consultants initiated an electricity project with the aim of establishing consequential life cycle inventories on electricity in different countries. The project was established as a subscription club administrated by 2.-0 LCA consultants. One of the outcomes of the project was this report.
Er biomasse CO2-neutralt? Det spørgsmål kan man måske godt svare ja til, hvis man blot sørger for at tidshorisonten for beregningen er tilstrækkelig lang, og hvis man udelader nok fra sine beregninger. Men hvis der i stedet spørges om biomasse er klima-neutralt, så kan der kun svares nej. Hvis biomassen skal dyrkes i biomasseplantager, så vil der være plads til mindre natur. Der kan ofte være langt mellem den faktiske plantage og den natur, som må vige pladsen for udvidelse af det dyrkede landbrugs- eller plantageareal. Denne mekanisme kaldes for indirekte ændringer i arealanvendelsen. På verdensplan, så bidrager CO2 fra afskovning ifølge IPCC med omkring 11% af de globale drivhusgasudledninger.
Hvis biomasse kan høstes uden, at det påvirker det dyrkede areal, så kan det produceres uden, at det medfører indirekte ændringer i arealændringen. Eksempelvis kan rester, som trætoppe og store grene, fra tømmerproduktion i skovbruget fjernes uden, at det kræver mere areal. Klimaeffekten ved at fjerne skovrester er, at det lagrede kulstof i materialet udledes som CO2, når det brændes, og at en langsom nedbrydning og dermed CO2 emission undgås. Dette betyder netto, at afbrænding af biomasse baseret på skovrester fremrykker CO2 emissioner. Timingen af CO2 har betydning for miljøpåvirkningen.
In this paper, the environmental and economic impacts of the life cycle of an advanced lithium based energy storage system (ESS) for a battery electric vehicle are assessed. The methodology followed to perform the study is a Multiregional Input–Output (MRIO) analysis, with a world IO table that combines detailed information on national production activities and international trade data for 40 countries and a region called Rest of the World. The life cycle stages considered in the study are manufacturing, use and recycling. The functional unit is one ESS with a 150,000 km lifetime. The results of the MRIO analysis show the stimulation that the life cycle of the EES has in the economy, in terms of production of goods and services. The manufacturing is the life cycle stage with the highest environmental load for all the impact categories assessed. The geographical resolution of the results show the relevance that some countries may have in the environmental performance of the assessed product even if they are not directly involved in any of the stages of the life cycle, proving the significance of the indirect effects.
THERBIOR is applicable Europe-wide but is centered on the Mediterranean region. The THERBIOR project aims to provide a solution for the tourism sector, which is characterised by intense seasonal water demand and wastewater discharge.
This project will integrate physical infrastructure such as a highly efficient tubular heat exchanger coupled to a fully off-grid reversible water- source heat pump with a pioneering, novel Sequencing Batch Biofilter Granular Reactor (SBBGR) already installed in the Water Research Institute (CNR-IRSA, Italy), which creates new value through reuse and repurposing.
The main goal is to reuse the heat from the existing novel SBBGR reactor at CNR-IRSA into a low-temperature air conditioning system capable of covering the cooling/heating (CH) and domestic hot water (DHW) demand of an experimental test laboratory; this will be constructed during the project at the CNR-IRSA site. The system will be backed up by short-term storage based on Phase Change Materials (PCM) to ensure year-round coverage of the experimental lab’s CH and DHW demand.
After obtaining satisfactory results from the developed prototype, we will analyse this innovative application’s viability for incorporation into Almeria’s (Spain) and Bari’s (Italy) tourist facility network. Our main goal will be to evaluate how much energy we can gain from a specific urban wastewater network to reduce energy consumption (currently originating mainly from fossil fuels) for cooling/heating purposes in tourist buildings located in the cities.
The project also intends to create new business opportunities, notably by supporting SME involvement in local water and solar-energy supply chains. THERBIOR comprises a consortium of 4 European organisations from Spain, Italy and Denmark, combining a wide range of technical, institutional and business expertise.
Some of the results from the project are published in the Prospective environmental and economic assessment article.
