Dear All,
I am trying to assess the impact of GHG emissions on potential rise in global surface temperature change. This could be done using new climate metrics such as GTP (global temperature change potential) or AGTP (absolute GTP). This is important when we talk about less than 2 C temp rise as per the Paris climate deal. In fact IPCC 5th AR (Working Group I-climate change) has also given importance to this new metric because GWP can't correlate GHG emission with surface temperature changes. However, almost all published LCA researches (including IPCC SRREN, Working Group III (energy systems) of IPCC 5th AR, NREL LCA harmonization) gives result in CO2e equivalent (i.e. in GWP term). This makes the LCA finding unsuitable for used with AGTP metric. The AGTP models for CO2 and non-CO2 gases (CH4, N2O) are different and hence CO2e value of LCA literature can't be used for this purpose. So, although we have a vast LCA data with great harmonization results related to energy systems, it can't be used with new climate metric like AGTP unless LCA results are also presented individual GHG wise.
I'm trying to build a database of LCA of energy systems (both renewable and non-renewable) where life cycle emissions are not only presented in CO2e term but also presented individual GHG-wise. This will give choice of using both GWP and GTP.
I request your contribution here. Pl share with me if you have any report/publication addressing my concern. This will be great help to my research.
Thank you and sincerely,
Moonmoon
You can describe and compare the environmental burden simply by the emitted pollutants (t of CO2 or t of CO2 equivalent). If you want to know how the subject of analyses (by the way, it would be nice to know what do you want to analyze) contributes to global warming, you can calculate the % of the emitted CO2/global emission. If you want to know, what temperature rise caused by your subject of analysis, then you need to take your favorite model(s) of global warming and insert the emitted CO2 there.
If you want to analyze more GHGs, you need to follow the same process.
Sometimes it makes more sense to use the data itself than applying foggy metrics.
For precise calculation we need all GHG s amount separately but as we know more 80% contribution in GHG is from CO2 so CO2 equivalents of other GHGs will be nearest at regional level. At plot level or city level or industries location it may vary but that can not give regional GHGs or equated for GWP and GTP.
Thank you for feedback. Take a renewable energy power plant where I need life cycle emission data for individual GHG (CO2, CH4, N2O), not as CO2 equivalent (which is the result of total of all GHGs emitted). Each GHG has different radiative forcing capacity and atmospheric life time. CH4 or N2O more potent than CO2. Thus, although emitted in less quantity, non-CO2 GHG can have significant impact. So, it is helpful for me if life cycle emission data are available individual gas wise. But issue is most literature reports emission in CO2 equivalent term (i.e. global warming potential as climate metric). I am reviewing literature and getting some good results. Need more. I will be thankful for your help. Thanks, Moonmoon
Don't waste your time on developing a new database for this, most LCA databases list all GHGs (and many other pollutants) separately. I would start with ecoinvent or elcd and compare the values in these with your harmonised results to see if there's any significant difference between GWP figures.
Hi Artur,
Thank you for replying. Could you please share individual GHG-wise (CO2, CH4, N2O) life cycle emission database for the following cases of electricity generation: (i) woody biomass gasification, (ii) sugarcane bagasse cogeneration, (iii) crop residue direct combustion, (iv) animal manure biogas based electricity. Further, if you also help me with some literature, it will be a great. Regards, Moonmoon
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