Are single global warming potential impact assessments adequate for carbon footprints of agri-food systems?
Are single global warming potential impact assessments adequate for carbon footprints of agri-food systems?
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DOI：
10.1088/1748-9326/ace204
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发表时间：
2023-08-01
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影响因子：
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绝大多数基于气候的农业食品可持续性分析都使用全球变暖潜势（GWP100）作为影响评估，通常是孤立的；然而，近年来，讨论批评了 GWP100 在生命周期评估 (LCA) 中的“全面”应用，特别是产生大量甲烷 (CH4) 的食品系统，并考虑报告额外和/或替代指标是否可能更适用于某些情况或研究问题（例如全球温度变化潜力 (GTP)）。本文报告了一项大规模敏感性分析，以牧场牛肉生产系统（CH4 排放量高的生产者）为范例，比较各种气候影响评估：使用 GWP100 和 GTP100 的二氧化碳当量，以及使用“GWP Star”或 GWP* 的“二氧化碳变暖当量”。该系统的清单是使用英国研究与创新国家能力、位于英格兰西南部德文郡的北怀克农场平台的数据编制的。 LCA 可以对以下方面产生重要影响： (i) 政策制定者的决定； (ii) 农民管理决策； (iii) 消费者的购买习惯； (iv) 对某些活动是否可以被视为“可持续”的更广泛的看法；因此，生命周期评价从业者和科学家有责任确保通过适当的敏感性和不确定性分析尽可能可靠地测试主观决策。我们在此证明，气候影响评估的选择对解释具有巨大影响，GWP100 和 GTP100 由于在二氧化碳 (CO2) 当量背景下对 CH4 的不同处理而产生显着不同的结果。鉴于其动态性质以及先前已证明与气候模型的强烈对应性，在所涵盖的三项评估中，GWP* 提供了不同温室气体排放的温度变化随时间演变的最完整覆盖。我们扩展了之前关于静态排放指标局限性的讨论，并鼓励 LCA 从业者考虑应有的谨慎和关注，从科学的角度来看，额外的信息或动态方法可能被证明是优越的，特别是在决策支持的情况下。
The vast majority of agri-food climate-based sustainability analyses use global warming potential (GWP100) as an impact assessment, usually in isolation; however, in recent years, discussions have criticised the ‘across-the-board’ application of GWP100 in Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs), particularly of food systems which generate large amounts of methane (CH4) and considered whether reporting additional and/or alternative metrics may be more applicable to certain circumstances or research questions (e.g. Global Temperature Change Potential (GTP)). This paper reports a largescale sensitivity analysis using a pasture-based beef production system (a high producer of CH4 emissions) as an exemplar to compare various climatatic impact assessments: CO2-equivalents using GWP100 and GTP100, and ‘CO2-warming-equivalents’ using ‘GWP Star’, or GWP*. The inventory for this system was compiled using data from the UK Research and Innovation National Capability, the North Wyke Farm Platform, in Devon, SW England. LCAs can have an important bearing on: (i) policymakers’ decisions; (ii) farmer management decisions; (iii) consumers’ purchasing habits; and (iv) wider perceptions of whether certain activities can be considered ‘sustainable’ or not; it is, therefore, the responsibility of LCA practitioners and scientists to ensure that subjective decisions are tested as robustly as possible through appropriate sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. We demonstrate herein that the choice of climate impact assessment has dramatic effects on interpretation, with GWP100 and GTP100 producing substantially different results due to their different treatments of CH4 in the context of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents. Given its dynamic nature and previously proven strong correspondence with climate models, out of the three assessments covered, GWP* provides the most complete coverage of the temporal evolution of temperature change for different greenhouse gas emissions. We extend previous discussions on the limitations of static emission metrics and encourage LCA practitioners to consider due care and attention where additional information or dynamic approaches may prove superior, scientifically speaking, particularly in cases of decision support.
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影响因子：
3.9
作者：
Barnsley JE;Chandrakumar C;Gonzalez-Fischer C;Eme PE;Bourke BEP;Smith NW;Dave LA;McNabb WC;Clark H;Frame DJ;Lynch J;Roche JR
通讯作者：
Roche JR
影响因子：
4.6
作者：
Lee MRF;Domingues JP;McAuliffe GA;Tichit M;Accatino F;Takahashi T
通讯作者：
Takahashi T
影响因子：
6.7
作者：
Lynch, John;Cain, Michelle;Allen, Myles
通讯作者：
Allen, Myles
影响因子：
4.7
作者：
Lynch, John;Cain, Michelle;Pierrehumbert, Raymond
通讯作者：
Pierrehumbert, Raymond
DOI：
10.1088/1748-9326/abfcf9
发表时间：
2021-07
期刊：
Environmental research letters : ERL [Web site]
影响因子：
--
作者：
Allen M;Tanaka K;Macey A;Cain M;Jenkins S;Lynch J;Smith M
通讯作者：
Smith M