The sustainability transformation calls for policies that consider the global consequences of local lifestyles. We used stakeholders' visions of sustainable lifestyles across Europe to build 19 scenarios of sufficiency (net reductions) and 17 of green consumption (shift in consumption patterns). We applied Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output analysis to model scenarios by assuming widespread adoption of the proposed lifestyles changes. Finally, we estimated the domestic and foreign implications for land, water, carbon and human toxicity potential. We distinguish the options with most potential from those that are seemingly fruitless or present backfire risks. While our method allows for testing a large number scenarios under a consistent framework, further work is needed to add robustness to the scenarios. However, we do find a range of indicative results that have strong potential to contribute to mitigation efforts. Services: We find that a local and sharing service economy has a maximum reduction potential of 18% of the European carbon footprint (CF). Clothing & Appliances: Sharing and extending lifetimes of clothes and devices could diminish CF by approximately 3%. Transport: Reducing motorized transport by remote work and active travel could mitigate between 9 and 26% of CF. Food: Vegan diets could spare 4% of the land and reduce up to 14% of CF. Bio-economy: Switching to biomaterials and bioenergy tend to reduce carbon and toxic emissions at the risk of increasing water and land use. Housing: Passive housing and decentralized renewable energy reduces carbon emissions up to 5 and 14%, respectively. We characterize the sensitivity of our results by modelling income rebound effects and confirm the importance of deterring expenditure in resource intensive goods.

Decarbonization of electricity generation can support climate-change mitigation and presents an opportunity to address pollution resulting from fossil-fuel combustion. Generally, renewable technologies require higher initial investments in infrastructure than fossil-based power systems. To assess the tradeoffs of increased up-front emissions and reduced operational emissions, we present, to our knowledge, the first global, integrated life-cycle assessment (LCA) of long-term, wide-scale implementation of electricity generation from renewable sources (i.e., photovoltaic and solar thermal, wind, and hydropower) and of carbon dioxide capture and storage for fossil power generation. We compare emissions causing particulate matter exposure, freshwater ecotoxicity, freshwater eutrophication, and climate change for the climate-change-mitigation (BLUE Map) and business-as-usual (Baseline) scenarios of the International Energy Agency up to 2050. We use a vintage stock model to conduct an LCA of newly installed capacity year-by-year for each region, thus accounting for changes in the energy mix used to manufacture future power plants. Under the Baseline scenario, emissions of air and water pollutants more than double whereas the low-carbon technologies introduced in the BLUE Map scenario allow a doubling of electricity supply while stabilizing or even reducing pollution. Material requirements per unit generation for low-carbon technologies can be higher than for conventional fossil generation: 11-40 times more copper for photovoltaic systems and 6-14 times more iron for wind power plants. However, only two years of current global copper and one year of iron production will suffice to build a low-carbon energy system capable of supplying the world's electricity needs in 2050.

In this paper we investigate the influence of fugitive methane emissions from coal, natural gas, and shale gas extraction on the greenhouse gas (GHG) impacts of fossil fuel power generation through its life cycle. A multiregional hybridized life cycle assessment (LCA) model is used to evaluate several electricity generation technologies with and without carbon dioxide capture and storage. Based on data from the UNFCCC and other literature sources, it is shown that methane emissions from fossil fuel production vary more widely than commonly acknowledged in the LCA literature. This high variability, together with regional disparity in methane emissions, points to the existence of both significant uncertainty and natural variability. The results indicate that the impact of fugitive methane emissions can be significant, ranging from 3% to 56% of total impacts depending on type of technology and region. Total GHG emissions, in CO₂-eq./kWh, vary considerably according to the region of the power plant, plant type, and the choice of associated fugitive methane emissions, with values as low as 0.08kg CO₂-eq./kWh and as high as 1.52kg CO₂-eq./kWh. The variability indicates significant opportunities for controlling methane emissions from fuel chains.

This paper presents results that are part of a larger effort driven by the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment Program. The reports aims to identify and, when possible, quantify the trade-offs, benefits, and risks of low carbon energy technologies. In order to provide a meaningful comparison a common assessment approach is developed by selecting common environmental indicators, common background data, and common assumptions for inventory construction. The assessment is based on a systematic review of the literature and an extended analysis of life-cycle inventory data in which the global environmental pressure of introducing technologies following widely used scenarios are investigated.