Life-cycle assessment: use and application in the Australian energy context

Abstract

Australia is experiencing a time of major change in its energy sector. First, there is record investment in developing new fossil fuel resources—such as coal, LNG and coal seam methane gas—for export. Second, there is an ever-increasing attention to renewable energy generation for the domestic market. The looming introduction of a price on carbon (greenhouse gas emissions) in 2012 has fuelled the debate about how clean various energy sources are, and how any/all emissions associated with their development and the generation of energy should be treated. As a market reponse, a significant increase in using life-cycle assessment (LCA) results to communicate environmental performance, particularly about greenhouse gas emissions, have been witnessed. When undertaken appropriately, a full life-cycle approach is the only acceptable methodology to compare disparate technologies or products; however, given the often technical nature of LCA studies, the results are not always conveyed accurately in the non-technical mainstream media. This extended abstract discusses case studies related to the energy sector using LCA results—their benefits and shortcomings—in Australian media; suggestions for better communication and decision making in the coming period are also discussed.