scholarly journals Using Waste Input-Output Model to Analyze the Environmental Impacts of Dietary Habits

2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132
Author(s):  
Sayaka Ita ◽  
Koji Takase ◽  
Yasushi Kondo ◽  
Ayu Washizu
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Input Output

scholarly journals Environmental impacts of European trade: interpreting results of process-based LCA and environmentally extended input–output analysis towards hotspot identification

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (12) ◽  
pp. 2432-2450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Beylot ◽  
Sara Corrado ◽  
Serenella Sala
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Impact Assessment ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Impact Categories ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Output Analysis ◽  
Input Output Analysis ◽  
European Trade ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Modelling Approaches

Abstract Purpose Trade is increasingly considered a significant contributor to environmental impacts. The assessment of the impacts of trade is usually performed via environmentally extended input–output analysis (EEIOA). However, process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to traded goods allows increasing the granularity of the analysis and may be essential to unveil specific impacts due to traded products. Methods This study assesses the environmental impacts of the European trade, considering two modelling approaches: respectively EEIOA, using EXIOBASE 3 as supporting database, and process-based LCA. The interpretation of the results is pivotal to improve the robustness of the assessment and the identification of hotspots. The hotspot identification focuses on temporal trends and on the contribution of products and substances to the overall impacts. The inventories of elementary flows associated with EU trade, for the period 2000–2010, have been characterized considering 14 impact categories according to the Environmental Footprint (EF2017) Life Cycle Impact Assessment method. Results and discussion The two modelling approaches converge in highlighting that in the period 2000–2010: (i) EU was a net importer of environmental impacts; (ii) impacts of EU trade and EU trade balance (impacts of imports minus impacts of exports) were increasing over time, regarding most impact categories under study; and (iii) similar manufactured products were the main contributors to the impacts of exports from EU, regarding most impact categories. However, some results are discrepant: (i) larger impacts are obtained from IO analysis than from process-based LCA, regarding most impact categories, (ii) a different set of most contributing products is identified by the two approaches in the case of imports, and (iii) large differences in the contributions of substances are observed regarding resource use, toxicity, and ecotoxicity indicators. Conclusions The interpretation step is crucial to unveil the main hotspots, encompassing a comparison of the differences between the two methodologies, the assumptions, the data coverage and sources, the completeness of inventory as basis for impact assessment. The main driver for the observed divergences is identified to be the differences in the impact intensities of goods, both induced by inherent properties of the IO and life cycle inventory databases and by some of this study’s modelling choices. The combination of IO analysis and process-based LCA in a hybrid framework, as performed in other studies but generally not at the macro-scale of the full trade of a country or region, appears a potential important perspective to refine such an assessment in the future.

scholarly journals Interplay between Diets, Health, and Climate Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prajal Pradhan ◽  
Jürgen P. Kropp
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Dietary Habits ◽  
Red Meat ◽  
Animal Source Foods ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Animal Source ◽  
Total Calorie ◽  
Prevalence Of Obesity

The world is facing a triple burden of undernourishment, obesity, and environmental impacts from agriculture while nourishing its population. This burden makes sustainable nourishment of the growing population a global challenge. Addressing this challenge requires an understanding of the interplay between diets, health, and associated environmental impacts (e.g., climate change). For this, we identify 11 typical diets that represent dietary habits worldwide for the last five decades. Plant-source foods provide most of all three macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein, and fat) in developing countries. In contrast, animal-source foods provide a majority of protein and fat in developed ones. The identified diets deviate from the recommended healthy diet with either too much (e.g., red meat) or too little (e.g., fruits and vegetables) food and nutrition supply. The total calorie supplies are lower than required for two diets. Sugar consumption is higher than recommended for five diets. Three and five diets consist of larger-than-recommended carbohydrate and fat shares, respectively. Four diets with a large share of animal-source foods exceed the recommended value of red meat. Only two diets consist of at least 400 gm/cap/day of fruits and vegetables while accounting for food waste. Prevalence of undernourishment and underweight dominates in the diets with lower calories. In comparison, a higher prevalence of obesity is observed for diets with higher calories with high shares of sugar, fat, and animal-source foods. However, embodied emissions in the diets do not show a clear relation with calorie supplies and compositions. Two high-calorie diets embody more than 1.5 t CO 2 eq/cap/yr, and two low-calorie diets embody around 1 t CO 2 eq/cap/yr. Our analysis highlights that sustainable and healthy diets can serve the purposes of both nourishing the population and, at the same time, reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.

scholarly journals ENVIRON: Environmental Impacts from Advanced Communications - Evidence from an Input-Output Theory

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Keyword(s):  
Economic System ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Mobile Communications ◽  
Input Output ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
Output Analysis ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Industry Sectors ◽  
Business Sectors ◽  
Of Greece

The ENVIRON model estimates environmental impacts (positive, negative) from the introduction and use of Advanced Communications (AC); Information Society Technologies (IST) in industrial, commercial and business sectors in Greece. The model estimates effects on output, employment, income, environment and energy requirements. It is based on the: (i) Leontief Input-Output theory-analysis, (ii) Introduction of AC/IST and in particular of the Telematics as a new sector into the economic system of a country, and (iii) Incorporation of pollution emission factors into the system. The types of AC represented are grouped into six categories: access to information systems, electronic transactions, robotics and tele-action, tele-working, mobile communications and video facilities. Industry sectors considered are transport, business and services, public and domestic. The application of ENVIRON indicates that the introduction of AC into the production process will result into a 15.8% decrease of energy consumption, a reduction of 14.32-10.14% in SO2, and it will have strong positive effects on the economic system of Greece especially on profits related to environmental protection. The model demonstrates the use of the Leontief Input-Output analysis in environmental impacts analysis matters and policy.

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