Search

We perform an ex-ante life cycle assessment, integrating cradle-to-gate greenhouse gas emissions into an off-grid energy system model. By applying a multi-objective optimization, minimizing both costs and carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) emissions, we find the Pareto boundary between these two goals. As a case study, we chose the power supply to an astronomical observatory in Chile, using mostly solar power and energy storage in batteries and hydrogen. We compare the ex-ante study to a prior ex-post life cycle assessment, and furthermore dive into sensitivities of our model regarding component lifetimes and costs. We find (i) low-hanging fruit in lowering emissions with small cost increases, (ii) ex-ante life cycle assessments' possibility to find less CO 2 e intensive power systems compared to ex-post conducted studies, (iii) a pronounced sensitivity of the optimization model on assumed lifetimes of energy storage components. This study shows the importance of including life cycle CO 2 e emissions into the optimization objective of energy system models. This method uncovers the environmental and economic trade-offs associated with high shares of renewable energies in off-grid energy systems. • We integrate life cycle assessment (LCA) into an off-grid energy system optimization. • The applied case study powers a remote astronomical telescope in Chile. • A multi-objective optimization finds Pareto curves at varying costs and lifetimes. • Low-hanging fruit shows low additional system costs to reduce CO 2 e impacts. • In contrast, a separate LCA did not find such trade-offs in costs and CO 2 e emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) are behind climate change. In Chile, food system is the second source of GHGE. Changing Chileans dietary patterns is key to reducing such emissions. There is geographic variability in terms of dietary patterns within the country. Here we investigated the dietary GHGE in five different geographical zones, along with the main contributing food groups and socio-demographic variables. Data for 4676 individuals were obtained from the 2010–2011 National Survey of Food Consumption. The carbon footprint value of each food was obtained from studies using life cycle assessment methodology. Median and percentiles of dietary GHGE were calculated, expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per person per day (kgCO 2 eq/person/d) and compared among zones by Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn's tests. Logistic regression models were fitted to analyzed associations among the variables of interest and quartiles of GHGE. Diet-related GHGE ranged from 3.50 (2.34–5.12) in the North-Central Zone to 4.66 (2.89–6.69) kgCO 2 eq/person/d in the South zone. Meat accounted for 53–58% of the GHGE in all the zones, followed by dairy products with 12–13%. Higher GHGE were significantly associated with energy intake (kcal/d) in all of the zones, with high socioeconomic level in the North-Central, South and Metropolitan zones, and with urban residence in the South-Central zone. Tailored policies considering geographic variability are warranted to promote healthy and sustainable diets among the Chilean population. • Differences in dietary greenhouse gas emissions were determined among five Chilean geographical zones. • South and Metropolitan region showed the highest GHGE while North showed the lowest. • Meat and dairy were the most contributing foods in all zones. • GHGE were positively associated with energy intake in all zones & with high socioeconomic level in three zones. • The promotion of sustainable diets in Chile must consider the geographical specificities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phasing out coal-fired power plants is one of the most urgent steps needed to achieve the 1.5- or 2-degree target in the Paris Agreement. Many developed and developing countries have announced their plans to phase out coal from their electricity sectors. Managing the social and economic impacts of this energy transition is key to achieving political and social acceptability and pursuing environmental and social development hand in hand. As one of the leading countries committed to decarbonization in Latin America, Chile has launched a plan to phase out coal by 2050. To analyze the impacts of phasing out coal in Chile on jobs and value added, we combined an Input-Output analysis with ad-hoc labor surveys. We analyzed four contrasting electricity production scenarios that the Chilean government used to frame the policy debate: the current Long-Term Energy Plan (a baseline), and three scenarios that phase out coal-based generation by 2030 or 2050. Our findings show that coal phase-out will contribute to net job creation on the national level, adding 23–26 thousand jobs by 2030. In addition, value-added in the power generation sector will also grow by 1.7 billion dollars above today's levels as a result of the coal phase-out. These overall positive numbers mask a gross job destruction of 4.4 thousand jobs in coal power plants, concentrated in a few communities. In the most affected community, 7.1% of the population works in a coal power plant. Negative impacts in coal-reliant communities require special attention to ensure a just transition towards a clean power generation system. The results of this study highlight the need for strategic policy development that supports a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy, taking into account the associated national and local impacts. Our study also contributes to the literature about the evaluation framework of coal phase-out projects around the world, improving the understanding of their associated impacts beyond the case study country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Methodology for determining the energetically optimal walls U-value was presented. • Importance of considering future energy consumption in design of buildings was shown. • Future-oriented design demonstrated a reduction of the insulation carbon footprint. • The importance of considering microclimatic features in the design of dwellings was shown. In the context of climate change, it is difficult to maintain the energy performance of houses, especially in countries with building codes that regulate the maximum allowed amount of energy that a building can consume. For this reason, there is a need for a review of building standards and adaptation to the context of energy performance in planning future projects. The objective of this research was to ascertain the thermal transmittance of external walls for single-family homes and to establish the energetically optimal thickness of thermal insulation by using an energy simulation to maintain heating energy consumption in conditions of climate change while following the state regulations in the Los Ríos region of Chile. It was demonstrated that for each time period and in each geographical location of the region the optimal U-value of the external walls is different. For a house to have a heating energy consumption corresponding to 90 kWh/m2/year, it must have an optimal average U-value of the walls of 0.49 ± 0.11 W/m2K (year 2006 in the study region); however, for the period 2035–2050, this value is expected to reach 0.78 ± 0.14 W/m2K. In addition, it was shown that designing the house with an energy performance perspective of 15 years helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the use of thermal insulation in the walls by 20%. The results obtained demonstrate the importance of considering the effects of future climate change in the housing design process in terms of both energy and environmental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]