“…4 ) only include the demand and scrap supply of the two sectors studied, and the ratio between primary and secondary production reflects the sector-specific material stock dynamics and not the global total for the individual metals. Copper is an interesting example here, as its global average recycled content is below 40%, mainly due to large losses in electronics 37 , 38 , but for vehicles and buildings, scrap recovery rates are high and the recycled content in the material supply for these two sectors can be 60% and higher. Fig.…”
Material production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Resource-efficiency and circular-economy strategies, both industry and demand-focused, promise emission reductions through reducing material use, but detailed assessments of their GHG reduction potential are lacking. We present a global-scale analysis of material efficiency for passenger vehicles and residential buildings. We estimate future changes in material flows and energy use due to increased yields, light design, material substitution, extended service life, and increased service efficiency, reuse, and recycling. Together, these strategies can reduce cumulative global GHG emissions until 2050 by 20–52 Gt CO2-eq (residential buildings) and 13–26 Gt CO2e-eq (passenger vehicles), depending on policy assumptions. Next to energy efficiency and low-carbon energy supply, material efficiency is the third pillar of deep decarbonization for these sectors. For residential buildings, wood construction and reduced floorspace show the highest potential. For passenger vehicles, it is ride sharing and car sharing.
“…4 ) only include the demand and scrap supply of the two sectors studied, and the ratio between primary and secondary production reflects the sector-specific material stock dynamics and not the global total for the individual metals. Copper is an interesting example here, as its global average recycled content is below 40%, mainly due to large losses in electronics 37 , 38 , but for vehicles and buildings, scrap recovery rates are high and the recycled content in the material supply for these two sectors can be 60% and higher. Fig.…”
Material production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Resource-efficiency and circular-economy strategies, both industry and demand-focused, promise emission reductions through reducing material use, but detailed assessments of their GHG reduction potential are lacking. We present a global-scale analysis of material efficiency for passenger vehicles and residential buildings. We estimate future changes in material flows and energy use due to increased yields, light design, material substitution, extended service life, and increased service efficiency, reuse, and recycling. Together, these strategies can reduce cumulative global GHG emissions until 2050 by 20–52 Gt CO2-eq (residential buildings) and 13–26 Gt CO2e-eq (passenger vehicles), depending on policy assumptions. Next to energy efficiency and low-carbon energy supply, material efficiency is the third pillar of deep decarbonization for these sectors. For residential buildings, wood construction and reduced floorspace show the highest potential. For passenger vehicles, it is ride sharing and car sharing.
“…Dissipative flows (DFs) can result from the use of different types of resources, and the phenomena leading to dissipation may vary among them (Beylot, Ardente, Marques, et al, 2020;Helbig, Thorenz, & Tuma, 2020;. In particular, metals can remain in the economy for a long time if they are not used in dissipative applications (see, e.g., Ciacci, Reck, Nassar, & Graedel, 2015) and are properly managed across the life cycles of products.…”
Section: Contextmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Hence, Charpentier Poncelet et al (2019) proposed two alternatives to account for DFs based on dynamic material flow analysis (MFA) data: either by updating or creating new LCI (option 1), or by integrating the data on dissipation in an LCIA method that can be applied to extraction flows in the LCI (option 2). Helbig et al (2020) have published such global dynamic MFA data, providing dissipation patterns of metals over the anthropogenic cycle of metals and their anticipated lifetime in the anthroposphere.…”
Section: Contextmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Moreover, Blengini et al (2019) inventoried a relatively small number of implemented industrial projects recovering metals from these compartments. Hence, in this paper, such flows are considered as DFs based on precautionary principles, in line with the rationale of Zimmermann and Gößling-Reisemann (2013), which has been taken up by Helbig et al (2020). More generally, such considerations are in line with the literature of life cycle based studies which, in recent years, have increasingly accounted for DFs to final waste disposal facilities and other material flows in the technosphere (in which dissipated resources have low or no function), in addition to DFs to the environment (Beylot et al, 2020;Beylot, Ardente, Sala, et al, 2020a).…”
Section: Rationale Of the Approach For The Development Of Lcia Indicators For Dissipationmentioning
The dissipation of metals leads to potential environmental impacts, usually evaluated for product systems with life cycle assessment. Dissipative flows of metals become inaccessible for future users, going against the common goal of a more circular economy. Therefore, they should be addressed in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) in the area of protection "Natural Resources." However, life cycle inventory databases provide limited information on dissipation as they only track emissions to the environment as elementary flows. Therefore, we propose two LCIA methods capturing the expected dissipation patterns of metals after extraction, based on dynamic material flow analysis data. The methods are applied to resource elementary flows in life cycle inventories. The lost potential service time method provides precautionary indications on the lost service due to dissipation over different time horizons. The average dissipation rate method distinguishes between the conservation potentials of different metals. Metals that are relatively well conserved, including major metals such as iron and aluminum, have low characterization factors (CFs). Those with poor process yields, including many companion and high-tech metals such as gallium and tellurium, have high CFs. A comparative study between the developed CFs, along with those of the Abiotic Depletion Potential and Environmental Dissipation Potential methods, show that dissipation trends do not consistently match those of the depletion and environmental dissipation potentials. The proposed methods may thus be complementary to other methods when assessing the impacts of resource use on the area of protection Natural Resources when pursuing an increased material circularity. This article met the requirements for a gold-silver JIE data openness badge at http://jie.click/badges.
“…As for the time factor, Graedel's team [2] admits that no unique approach exists to assess it. For MFA, the state of the art often consists in looking at the incremental changes in the parameters studied year after year, giving them either a lifetime (e.g., for a product, see how long the substance will remain used in the product in this way), or a consideration of the substance's residence time in the Technosphere, once it has been extracted, as has been studied in [12] on 18 metals. In this scenario, MFA also exchanges data with LCA, as has been seen in the aluminium sector [13].…”
Section: International Journal Of Environmental Sciences and Natural Rementioning
10 days while a mining project at the exploration stage today might only be operational in 10 years, yet the impact of this future mining operation in the current market should nevertheless be anticipated in decisions [3]. Regarding this prospective analysis of criticality, one of the questions (Q) would be: in an attempt to simultaneously reduce the economic and environmental costs along a given substance's processing chain, what are the levers (Pricing? Market share? Process?) that move the stakeholders involved at each stage? What decisions must also be taken (that can account for future events), knowing that these levers and decisions will change over time
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