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- Ahlroth, Sofia
(författare)
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Developing a weighting set based on monetary damage estimates : Method and case studies
- 2009
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In environmental systems analysis tools such as cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and life-cycle assessments (LCA), generic values for impacts on the environment and human health are frequently used. There are several sets of generic values, which are based on different valuation methods, e.g. willingness-to-pay, abatement costs, taxes or non-monetary assessments. This study attempts to derive a consistent set of damage-based values based on estimation of willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid damages. Where possible we compile existing damage cost estimates from different sources. Currently, there are no generic damage costs available for eutrophication and acidification. We derive damage values for eutrophying and acidifying substances using WTP estimates from available valuation studies. For eutrophication, we derive benefit transfer functions for eutrophication that allows calculation of site-specific values. We compare the derived ecosystem damage values to existing estimates of the cost for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to water. The analysis indicates that many abatement measures for nitrogen have a positive net benefit while most measures to reduce phosphorus cost more than the benefit achieved when estimated on a general level and should, instead, be assessed on a case-specific level. Moreover, a comparison of the existing environmental taxes on nitrogen, nitrogen oxides and phosphorus in Sweden show that the current tax rates do not reflect the externalities from these pollutants. Subsequently, we construct a weighting set by combining the derived values with existing generic damage values for human toxicity, photochemical oxidants and global warming. The weighting set - labelled Ecovalue09 - is applied to three case studies and the outcome is compared to the results using other weighting sets.
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- Ahmadi Achachlouei, Mohammad, 1981-
(författare)
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Exploring the Effects of ICT on Environmental Sustainability: From Life Cycle Assessment to Complex Systems Modeling
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The production and consumption of information and communication technology (ICT) products and services continue to grow worldwide. This trend is accompanied by a corresponding increase in electricity use by ICT, as well as direct environmental impacts of the technology. Yet a more complicated picture of ICT’s effects is emerging. Positive indirect effects on environmental sustainability can be seen in substitution and optimization (enabling effects), and negative indirect effects can be seen in additional demand due to efficiency improvements (rebound effects).A variety of methods can be employed to model and assess these direct and indirect effects of ICT on environmental sustainability. This doctoral thesis explores methods of modeling and assessing environmental effects of ICT, including electronic media. In a series of five studies, three methods were at times applied in case studies and at others analyzed theoretically. These methods include life cycle assessment (LCA) and complex systems modeling approaches, including System Dynamics (SD) and agent-based (AB) modeling.The first two studies employ the LCA approach in a case study of an ICT application, namely, the tablet edition of a Swedish design magazine. The use of tablets has skyrocketed in recent years, and this phenomenon has been little studied to date. Potential environmental impacts of the magazine’s tablet edition were assessed and compared with those of the print edition. The tablet edition’s emerging version (which is marked by a low number of readers and low reading time per copy) resulted in higher potential environmental impacts per reader than did the print edition. However, the mature tablet edition (with a higher number of readers and greater reading time per copy) yielded lower impacts per reader in half the ten impact categories assessed.While previous studies of electronic media have reported that the main life-cycle contributor to environmental impacts is the use phase (which includes operational electricity use as well as the manufacture of the electronic device), the present study did not support those findings in all scenarios studied in this thesis. Rather, this study found that the number of readers played an important role in determining which life-cycle phase had the greatest impacts. For the emerging version, with few readers, content production was the leading driver of environmental impacts. For the mature version, with a higher number of readers, electronic storage and distribution were the major contributors to environmental impacts. Only when there were many readers but low overall use of the tablet device was the use phase the main contributor to environmental impacts of the tablet edition of the magazine.The third study goes beyond direct effects at product- and service-level LCAs, revisiting an SD simulation study originally conducted in 2002 to model indirect environmental effects of ICT in 15 European countries for the period 2000-2020. In the current study, three scenarios of the 2002 study were validated in light of new empirical data from the period 2000–2012. A new scenario was developed to revisit the quantitative and qualitative results of the original study. The results showed, inter alia, that ICT has a stimulating influence on total passenger transport, for it makes it more cost- and time-efficient (rebound effects).The modeling mechanism used to represent this rebound effect is further investigated in the fourth study, which discusses the feedback loops used to model two types of rebound effects in passenger transport (direct economic rebound and time rebound). Finally, the role of systems thinking and modeling in conceptualizing and communicating the dynamics of rebound effects is examined.The aim of the fifth study was to explore the power of systems modeling and simulation to represent nonlinearities of the complex and dynamic systems examined elsewhere in this thesis. That study reviews previous studies that have compared the SD and AB approaches and models, summarizing their purpose, methodology, and results, based on certain criteria for choosing between SD and AB approaches. The transformation procedure used to develop an AB model for purposes of comparison with an SD model is also explored.In conclusion, first-order or direct environmental effects of ICT production, use, and disposal can be assessed employing an LCA method. This method can also be used to assess second-order or enabling effects by comparing ICT applications with conventional alternatives. However, the assessment of enabling effects can benefit from systems modeling methods, which are able to formally describe the drivers of change, as well as the dynamics of complex social, technical, and environmental systems associated with ICT applications. Such systems methods can also be used to model third-order or rebound effects of efficiency improvements by ICT.
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- Ambell, Christine, et al.
(författare)
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Potential för ökad materialåtervinning av hushållsavfall och industriavfall
- 2010
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Rapport (populärvet., debatt m.m.)abstract
- Rapportens övergripande syfte är att ge underlag för eventuella förslag till mål för ökad materialåtervinning i Sverige. Vi har gjort detta genom att beräkna potentialen (mängder) för ökad källsortering och materialåtervinning av avfall i Sverige, analysera miljömässiga och företagsekonomiska konsekvenser, samt samla information om den praktiska genomförbarheten. Utifrån befintlig avfallsstatistik har vi identifierat vilka mängder av fraktionerna plast, papper och papp, metall, glas, gummi, gips, textil och WEEE som förekommer i blandade avfallskategorier men som skulle kunna källsorteras och materialåtervinnas. Med ett scenario för hur avfallsmängderna kan antas öka till år 2030 har vi beräknat de potentiella miljöeffekterna i ett livscykelperspektiv av maximal källsortering och materialåtervinning jämfört med dagens nivåer. Klimatpåverkan, försurning, övergödning, bildning av fotooxidanter och total energianvändning utvärderades för plast, papper och papp, metall, glas och gummi. För samma scenario har de företagsekonomiska kostnaderna för ökad återvinning beräknats. Dessutom har olika aktörer intervjuats om vad de ser för hinder och möjligheter för ökad materialåtervinning. Trots väl utbyggd källsortering och återvinning är fortfarande potentialen för ökad källsortering i Sverige betydande. Miljöbedömningarna visar att dagens system för avfallshantering medför nettovinster för miljön i ett livscykelperspektiv, genom att de resurser som återvinns från avfall indirekt ger minskad miljöpåverkan från andra sektorer. Denna positiva indirekta miljöpåverkan från avfallshanteringen kan öka ytterligare genom att öka återvinningen. Med hänsyn till möjliga miljövinster per kton material och tillgängliga mängder återvinningsbart material i blandat avfall, framstår ökad återvinning av plastavfall och pappers- och pappavfall som miljömässigt prioriterat. Ökad återvinning av metallavfall och gummiavfall skulle ge mindre men tydliga miljövinster. Ökad återvinning av glasavfall framstår inte som prioriterat. För textilavfall, gipsavfall och WEEE har inga beräkningar gjorts, men av olika skäl som redovisas i rapporten finns anledning att undersöka dessa fraktioner vidare. Intervjuer och möten med representanter för olika avfallsbolag, återvinningsindustrier, byggsektorn och boendesektorn har gett en mångfald av synpunkter, idéer och förslag kring ökad källsortering och återvinning. Det rör allt ifrån internationell lagstiftning på avfallsområdet och övriga miljöområdet, till synpunkter på arkitekters ansvar att ta hänsyn till källsortering vid nyproduktion. Resultatet kan tolkas som att det finns praktiska förutsättningar att öka källsortering och återvinning i Sverige. Inga synpunkter om avgörande praktiska hinder framfördes. Överlag verkar det finnas en vilja att bidra till ökad källsortering och återvinning, förutsatt att det är motiverat ur miljösynpunkt, men det finns önskemål om tydligare målformuleringar och regelverk. De företagsekonomiska kostnaderna för avfallshantering ökar med ökad återvinning, men i jämförelse med tillgängliga beräknade åtgärdskostnader för reduktion av växthusgaser inom transportsektorn, framstår kostnaderna som rimliga.
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- Arushanyan, Yevgeniya
(författare)
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Environmental Impacts of ICT: Present and Future
- 2016
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- ICT is developing rapidly and is playing an increasingly important role in society. High expectations are placed on ICT in relation to sustainable development. In order to provide basis for decision-making and ensure that ICT is used in the best possible way for enabling sustainable development, the sustainability impacts of ICT need to be studied.This thesis aims to provide new knowledge on the environmental impacts related to ICT, to explore the potential of ICT to contribute to sustainability, and discuss ways of assessing environmental impacts of ICT. In order to fulfill the aim a literature review of existing LCA studies of ICT was done, an LCA case study of printed and online media was performed, a methodological framework for sustainability assessment of scenarios was developed and then applied for environmental assessment of future ICT societies.The results show that manufacturing and use phase are the life cycle stages contributing the most to the ICT environmental impacts. For online newspapers online distribution and content production may give significant contribution to the overall impact. User behavior was observed to be crucial for the results of comparisons of ICT solutions with their traditional counterparts.The following key issues were concluded to influence the environmental risks and opportunities in future ICT societies: energy mix, economic conditions, life styles, technology, and environmental ambitions, incentives and regulation. The potential of ICT for sustainability is affected by these key issues.A new methodological framework (SAFS) was developed for the assessment of future scenarios (societal level). Life cycle assessment (LCA) was used for assessment on a product level. Application of both methods, their benefits, drawbacks, and challenges of assessment were discussed. Both types of assessments were concluded to be important to support decision-making.
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