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Life Cycle Impact Assessment in the Arctic: Challenges and Research Needs

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  • Johan Berg Pettersen

    (Industrial Ecology Programme and Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
    Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway)

  • Xingqiang Song

    (Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø, Norway)

Abstract

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is increasingly used for environmental assessment of products and production processes to support environmental decision-making both worldwide and in the Arctic. However, there are several weaknesses in the impact assessment methodology in LCA, e.g., related to uncertainties of impact assessment results, absence of spatial differentiation in characterization modeling, and gaps in the coverage of impact pathways of different “archetypal” environments. Searching for a new resource base and areas for operation, marine and marine-based industries are continuously moving north, which underlines the need for better life cycle impact assessment in the Arctic, particularly to aid in industrial environmental management systems and stakeholder communications. This paper aims to investigate gaps and challenges in the application of the currently available impact assessment methods in the Arctic context. A simplified Arctic mining LCA case study was carried out to demonstrate the relevance of Arctic emissions at the midpoint and endpoint levels, as well as possible influences of the Arctic context on the impact assessment results. Results of this study showed that significant research gaps remain in Arctic-dependent life cycle impact assessment, particularly on: (i) the possible influences of the Arctic-specific features on characterization factors for impact assessment (such as seasonality, cold climate, precipitation, and marine dependence); and (ii) the coverage of impact pathways, especially on the under-addressed marine impacts and marine/near-shore dispersion processes. Addressing those identified research gaps and demand for future Arctic life cycle impact assessment could increase the credibility of LCA as an environmental decision-making support tool for Arctic industries and better support sustainable Arctic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Johan Berg Pettersen & Xingqiang Song, 2017. "Life Cycle Impact Assessment in the Arctic: Challenges and Research Needs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-20, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:9:p:1605-:d:111340
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gérald Darnis & Dominique Robert & Corinne Pomerleau & Heike Link & Philippe Archambault & R. Nelson & Maxime Geoffroy & Jean-Éric Tremblay & Connie Lovejoy & Steve Ferguson & Brian Hunt & Louis Forti, 2012. "Current state and trends in Canadian Arctic marine ecosystems: II. Heterotrophic food web, pelagic-benthic coupling, and biodiversity," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 179-205, November.
    2. Jean-Éric Tremblay & Dominique Robert & Diana Varela & Connie Lovejoy & Gérald Darnis & R. Nelson & Akash Sastri, 2012. "Current state and trends in Canadian Arctic marine ecosystems: I. Primary production," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 115(1), pages 161-178, November.
    3. Cherubini, Francesco & Fuglestvedt, Jan & Gasser, Thomas & Reisinger, Andy & Cavalett, Otávio & Huijbregts, Mark A.J. & Johansson, Daniel J.A. & Jørgensen, Susanne V. & Raugei, Marco & Schivley, Greg , 2016. "Bridging the gap between impact assessment methods and climate science," Environmental Science & Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 129-140.
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucrezia Ravasio & Svein-Erik Sveen & Raymond Riise, 2020. "Green Building in the Arctic Region: State-of-the-Art and Future Research Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-20, November.
    2. Zheng Wan & Jiawei Ge & Jihong Chen, 2018. "Energy-Saving Potential and an Economic Feasibility Analysis for an Arctic Route between Shanghai and Rotterdam: Case Study from China’s Largest Container Sea Freight Operator," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-13, March.
    3. Andreas Nicolaidis Lindqvist & Sarah Broberg & Linda Tufvesson & Sammar Khalil & Thomas Prade, 2019. "Bio-Based Production Systems: Why Environmental Assessment Needs to Include Supporting Systems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-26, August.

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