Post on 13-Dec-2015
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Prepared for the University of Oregon Climate
Change Research Group
January 17, 2012
David Allaway
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Allaway.david@deq.state.or.us
503-229-5479
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Overview
• Background: materials and climate• West Coast Climate and Materials Management
Forum• Projects specific to Oregon
– Global Warming Commission 2020 Roadmap– DEQ’s 2050 Vision for Materials Management– DEQ’s use of life cycle analysis– Consumption-Based GHG Emissions Inventory– Portland and Eugene communication projects
• West Coast Forums Research Workgroup– Opportunities to collaborate
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Traditional Sector-Based View of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2006)
Electric Power Industry34%
Transportation28%
Industry19%
Agriculture8%
Commercial6%
Source: US EPA (2009)
Residential5%
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Materials Matter: Systems-Based Geographic Emissions Inventory (2006)
Building Lighting and HVAC25%
Transportation of People24%
Infrastructure1%
Use of Appliances and Devices8%
Provision of Goods29%
Source: US EPA (2009)
Provision of Food13%
Materials(excluding
use)42%
Materials, Consumption and Climate
For Materials, “Upstream” Emissions Dominate
Building Lighting and HVAC25%
Transportation of People24%
Infrastructure1%
Use of Appliances and Devices8%
Provision of Materials42%
Landfills & Wastewater2.2%Freight
7.1%
“Upstream” Processes32.2%
Materials, Consumption and Climate
West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum
West Coast (mostly) local, state, and tribal governments working with US EPA Regions
9 and 10 to integrate and share lifecycle materials management policies and practices
to drive climate action.
http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/ECOCOMM.NSF/climate+change/wccmmf
Materials, Consumption and Climate
An approach to using & reusing resources most productively and sustainably throughout their life cycles:
minimizing the amount of materials involved,
minimizing associated environmental impacts.
Uses a “life-cycle view”
Can result in GHG reductions at all stages
Includes, but broader than end-of-life management
Materials Management
Materials, Consumption and Climate
The importance . . . and limitations . . . of waste recovery (recycling, composting)
42%
6%
2006 U.S. GHG inventorywith 32% recovery
(MSW)
2006 U.S. GHG inventory with very high recovery rate
(~95% MSW + >70% C&D)
provision ofmaterials
provision ofmaterials
36%
“savings”
buildings
transportingpeopleappliances
& devices
buildings
transportingpeopleappliances
& devices
Materials, Consumption and Climate
West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum
Objectives
– Provide state, local and tribal governments with tools for evaluating the climate implications of waste and materials management decisions
– Influence national and regional policies on climate change
– Advance priority climate and materials management research
Materials, Consumption and Climate
West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum: Workgroups
• Inventory: inventory improvements, informational toolkit, ICLEI protocol
• Consumption: food consumption pilot project, consumption and environment speaker series
• Communication: scripted presentation• Materials Management Strategies: research reports on
recycling/composting potential, product stewardship, specific materials
• Research: research agenda, literature review
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Global Warming Commission’s Roadmap to 2020 – Specific to Materials Management
• Vision (2050)• Recommendations
– “Key Actions for 2020” (9)– “Tier Two Recommendations” (29)
• Available (as revised) at http://www.keeporegoncool.org/content/roadmap-2020
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Key Actions
1. Advocate for a carbon price signal across the life cycle of materials– Emissions cap and/or carbon tax– Should address imports
2. Develop a consumption-based GHG inventory– Consider including consumption-based
accounting in future State inventories– Additional research as needed into product
categories identified as having high emissions, emissions intensity
Materials, Consumption and Climate
More Key Actions
3. Develop easy-to-use life cycle metrics for different food types
4. Carbon footprinting, labeling of products– Standards, incentives, and/or mandates
5. Focus product stewardship “upstream”– Upstream emissions and/or design choices
6. Higher standards for new buildings: “net zero” plus offset for materials
Materials, Consumption and Climate
And More Key Actions
7. Consumer information, outreach, education
8. Reduce waste of food
9. Conduct research on three issues involving discards:– Highest/best use for organic wastes– GHG footprint of conversion technologies (e.g.,
pyrolysis)– Guidelines, recommendations for waste-to-
energy
Materials, Consumption and Climate
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Roadmap to 2020:“Discards Management” and “Upstream Actions”
Proj
ecte
d N
ew G
HG
Red
ucti
ons,
20
20 (
MM
TC
O2e
)*
Discards Management(11 recommendations)**
Upstream Actions(16 recommendations)
*Additive; cumulative reductions will be smaller**2010 recovery benefits: ~3.0 MMTCO2e
Materials, Consumption and Climate
DEQ’s 2050 Vision for Materials Management in Oregon• Intended to inform update to Oregon’s (statutorily-
required) solid waste management plan – and future work by DEQ and others
• How are materials made, used, and managed at end-of-life in 2050?
• Vision and key actions– Climate is one of several critical issues
• Consultation with stakeholders ongoing; complete this summer
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Life Cycle Analysis in DEQ’s Solid Waste Program
• Life cycle analysis (LCA): A technique for analyzing the environmental performance over the entire life cycle of a product or service.
• Includes but isn’t necessarily limited to GHGs.• Recent applications:
– E-commerce packaging (2004)– Water delivery systems (2009)– Waste prevention/material selection in
residential construction (2010)– Consumption-based GHG emissions inventory
(2011)
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Common Uses of Community-Scale Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories
• Identify how the community contributes to emissions
• Support GHG reduction planning (scenario analysis)
• Establish a baseline and reduction goals• Measure change relative to the baseline• Communicate all of the above to policy-makers
and the general public
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Common adjustments to the “snow globe” approach
• Imported electricity– Emissions at the point of electricity generation– Transmission and distribution losses
• Motor vehicles (and airline travel)– “Trip origination” vs. in-region vehicle miles
• Exported solid waste– Emissions at landfills, incinerators
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Limitations of the (modified) “snow globe”
• Provides an incomplete perspective of how communities contribute to emissions . . . – . . . and by extension, opportunities to reduce
emissions• Appears to penalize local production, reward
outsourcing (“leakage”)• May lead to sub-optimal decisions (e.g.,
discontinue recycling)• May provide misleading signals of change over
time
Materials, Consumption and Climate
United Kingdom Greenhouse Gas Emissions – Conventional Accounting
•
Source: DEFRA, 2008
Materials, Consumption and Climate
United Kingdom Greenhouse Gas Emissions – A More Complete Picture
•
Source: DEFRA, 2008
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Oregon’s Consumption-Based GHG Emissions Inventory (CBEI): What Is It?
• An inventory of the GHG emissions associated with consumption– “Consumption” is defined in economic terms (e.g.,
“final demand” . . . not “intermediate demand”)– Consumption = a “root cause” of environmental
impacts– Includes materials but not limited to materials– Emissions are life-cycle emissions and globally
distributed• Not all in-state emissions are included
• Consumption supplements traditional measurement frameworks (production; territorial boundaries)
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Methodology• Developed by Stockholm Environment Institute, US
Center• Not derived from (traditional) process LCAs• Rather, “multi-regional input-output life cycle
analysis”– Consumption (in dollars) of 509 commodities– Traces $ through supply chains for 3 regions (Oregon,
other US, other nations) to estimate total economic activity required to satisfy that consumption
– Relates that economic activity to emissions via industry- and region-specific emissions intensities (emissions/$)
– Emissions = $ (economic activity) x emissions/$– Adjustments to account for direct (in-state) energy
consumption (“final demand”) and waste disposal
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Emissions by Major Category of Consumption (“Final Demand”)
Electricity (15%)
Fuels (26%)Materials (35 -
48%)
Services (11 -24%)
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Emissions Intensities and Rebound Effects
• Emissions intensity: emissions per dollar spent.• Rebound effect: response to financial savings
resulting from resource conservation . . . money is still spent, albeit it possibly someplace else.
• Understanding emissions intensities leads to better understanding potential rebound effects.
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Emissions Intensities
Final Demand LCA Emissions Intensities (kg CO2e/2005$)
Materials (average) 0.5 – 0.6
Electricity (average) 6.9
Fuel (average) 5.8
Services (average) 0.1 - 0.2
Materials, Consumption and Climate
More Emissions Intensities
Categories LCA Pre-purchase Emissions Intensities (kg CO2e/2006$)
Transportation services 1.6
Clothing 1.1
Food and beverages 0.9
Appliances 0.7
Electronics 0.6
Furnishings and supplies 0.5
Construction 0.4
Services 0.2
Materials, Consumption and Climate
0.00
1.00
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
6.00
7.00
0.01 0.10 1.00 10.00 100.00 1000.00 10000.00
3-Ph
ase
Emis
sion
s Int
ensi
ty (k
gCO
2e/$
) av
erag
e =
0.89
3-Phase Household Consumption Emissions (kMTCO2e, Log Scale) average = 100.27
Emissions vs. Emissions Intensities, Selected Household Commodities
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Local Production = Lower Emissions?
• Transportation is a minor share of emissions for most products.
• Some Oregon sectors have significantly lower emissions intensities than production elsewhere– See next slide– Caveat: additional research into marginal
emissions rates needed
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Comparison of Emissions Intensities by Location
Categories Ratio of OR-at-US to OR
Ratio of OR&US-at-Foreign to OR
Media and furnishings 1.1 1.9
Foundries, metal processing 1.0 1.7
Food and beverages 1.0 1.6
Electronics 1.0 1.3
Appliances 1.0 1.3
Clothing 1.0 1.2
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Possible Applications of the Consumption-Based Emissions Inventory
• Continue in parallel with traditional inventory– Provide more accurate/complete story of how Oregon
contributes to emissions– Track changes over time
• Inform climate action planning– Oregon Global Warming Commission’s Interim
Roadmap to 2020
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Other Possible Applications of the Consumption-Based Emissions Inventory
• Support and inform additional research, voluntary actions– Identify high impact/high priority categories
• But not a “consumer’s guide”• No specific actions for individuals recommended
– Screening tool for state purchasing– Use by local governments and businesses
• Improvement over the EIO-LCA tool– Use in research projects
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Outreach on Consumption
Babe O’Sullivan, Sustainability LiaisonCity of Eugene(541) 682-5017Babe.osullivan@ci.eugene.or.us
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Outreach on Consumption
• Awareness → Attitude → Behavior• Thoughtful consumption: consuming differently
– Want vs. need– Sharing, trading, renting, borrowing– Durable, repairable, reusable– Less stuff, more memories
• Best practices– Positive, value based– Trusted sources: local sources, existing networks– Go beyond the media buy
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Portland Campaigns
Be Resourceful• Genesis: waste
prevention• Web-based• Testimonials• Community events• Focus: food
purchases
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Portland Campaigns
Climate Action Now• Genesis: climate
action• Web-based• “Your Stuff”• Call to action• Tips, resources
Materials, Consumption and Climate
Eugene
Climate Communication Strategy• 1st installment: consumption• Phase 1: research and design• Measure attitudes: survey and focus groups• Test messaging• Recommendations: March 2012• Political considerations