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[Display omitted] • Active mobility (AM) contributes to the mitigation of climate change. • The study offers a methodology to measure the street use environmental impacts. • Refurbishment return environmental rates do not exceed seven months. • Sustainable transportation requires strategies: AM, carpooling, and mass transport. • Measuring the impacts of street use could generate sustainable interventions. Active mobility (AM) is a fundamental part of a sustainable mobility system that generates environmental and social advantages; however, its use and operation are understudied using quantitative tools such as life cycle assessment (LCA), especially in the Latin American context. This study aimed to analyze the use stage of a street located in Northern Mexico. Two real scenarios were compared, one conventional (CO-SC-2020) and another sustainable (SU-SC-2022), which incorporated the concept of "complete streets" through a bicycle lane and the improvement of pedestrian spaces. Available data from the "Vía Libre" project and PIMUS, as well as SIMAPRO and Ecoinvent, were used for the LCA. The results indicated that the environmental impacts derived from transportation could be reduced through strategies such as active mobility (6.55%) and carpooling (77%), favoring the conversion of cities that consider the automobile as the guiding axis to more sustainable, inclusive, and safe cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the environmental impacts associated with the conversion of garden organic waste into value-added products, namely compost or biochar, employing various processes. Three distinct scenarios are considered: composting garden organic waste followed by screening of oversized materials (CBP), pyrolysis of oversized screenings of compost into biochar AP(I), and in-situ conversion of garden organics into biochar AP(II). A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted using OpenLCA software and life cycle impact assessment was conducted using Recipe 2016 midpoint methodology. The environmental ramifications of each scenario were assessed, optimising transport distances in AP(II) to achieve a functional unit of one tonne of biochar produced within a cradle-to-gate system boundary. For the first time, this study offers a holistic exploration of the benefits of soil biochar application, extending its scope to climate change mitigation, incorporating the optimisation of transport distance and its influence when scaling up the technology. The results revealed that global warming was increased from 125 kgCO 2 eq during composting of garden waste to 232 kgCO 2 eq where oversized screenings of compost is converted to biochar at an off-site facility. However, direct conversion of the oversized organic waste to biochar, without composting, showed reduced global warming impact of 56 kgCO 2 eq, and is thus the most favourable scenario to limit climate impacts of this fraction of organic garden waste. However, among 18 environmental impact indicators studied, eight indicators were either not influenced or did not significantly increase by transport distance to an off-site pyrolysis facility, while the magnitude of 10 impact indicators increased with transport distance. The insights and methodologies presented in this study hold global relevance, based on an actual case study in regional Australia, offering valuable recommendations for sustainable waste management practices and establishing biochar as a carbon-neutral or carbon-negative solution. The findings contribute to existing waste management knowledge and provide guidance for accessible carbon dioxide removal and soil carbon sequestration technologies. [Display omitted] • A comprehensive LCA for valorisation of garden organics was conducted. • Direct conversion of garden organics to biochar showed least potential environmental impacts. • Biochar provides opportunities for avoided, reduced, and removed carbon from atmosphere. • Maximum transport distance has been identified for individual impact categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Substitution factors for forest products for the Canadian context were developed. • Substitution factors ranging from 0.51 to 0.91 tC/tC were found. • They will lead to more accurate assessments of the forest GHG mitigation potential. • These factors will help governments to manage forest and fight climate change. Evaluating the climate change mitigation potential of the forest sector requires a holistic approach based on forest carbon (C) sequestration, C storage in harvested wood products (HWP) and substitution on markets. High uncertainty is associated with substitution factors, that express avoided fossil greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the use of forest-based products in replacement of GHG-intensive materials and fossil fuels. Few studies have focused on the development of substitution factors in Canada, resulting in the use of unrepresentative generic data. Here, we provide a framework to reduce uncertainties related to substitution factors for primary wood products in a Canadian context. A life cycle assessment framework is used to quantify fossil GHG emissions for a baseline and a wood-intensive scenario. For solid product substitution, we focused on the construction sector and analyzed a range of innovative wood buildings with steel and reinforced concrete as alternative materials. We found non-weighted averages of 0.80 tC/tC for sawnwood and 0.81 tC/tC for panels. For energy substitution, we analyzed cases with different specifications on biomass product, facility type and alternative fossil fuel source in non-residential heat production and biofuel transportation sectors. We found a non-weighted average of 0.80 tC/tC for non-residential heat production and 0.51 tC/tC for biofuel transportation, that can be interpreted as 0.91 tC/tC for heavy fuel oil, 0.69 tC/tC for light fuel oil and 0.68 tC/tC for natural gas substitution. These results provide a benchmark for substitution factors in Canada, to help guide forest management strategies for climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crop residue burning is a common practice in many parts of the world that causes air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Regenerative practices that return residues to the soil offer a 'no burn' pathway for addressing air pollution while building soil organic carbon (SOC). Nevertheless, GHG emissions in rice-based agricultural systems are complex and difficult to anticipate, particularly in production contexts with highly variable hydrologic conditions. Here we predict long-term net GHG fluxes for four rice residue management strategies in the context of rice-wheat cropping systems in Eastern India: burning, soil incorporation, livestock fodder, and biochar. Estimations were based on a combination of Tier 1, 2, and 3 modelling approaches, including 100-year DNDC simulations across three representative soil hydrologic categories (i.e., dry, median, and wet). Overall, residue burning resulted in total direct GHG fluxes of 2.5, 6.1, and 8.7 Mg CO 2 -e in the dry, median, and wet hydrologic categories, respectively. Relative to emissions from burning (positive values indicate an increase) for the same dry to wet hydrologic categories, soil incorporation resulted in a −0.2, 1.8, or 3.1 Mg CO 2 -e change in emissions whereas use of residues for livestock fodder increased emissions by 2.0, 2.1, or 2.3 Mg CO 2 -e. Biochar reduced emissions relative to burning by 2.9 Mg CO 2 -e in all hydrologic categories. This study showed that the production environment has a controlling effect on methane and, therefore, net GHG balance. For example, wetter sites had 2.8–4.0 times greater CH 4 emissions, on average, than dry sites when rice residues were returned to the soil. To effectively mitigate burning without undermining climate change mitigation goals, our results suggest that geographically-target approaches should be used in the rice-based systems of Eastern India to incentivize the adoption of regenerative 'no burn' residue management practices. • Efforts to build SOC for climate change mitigation, while simultaneously avoiding burning, may have unintended consequences. • Tier 1, 2, and 3 modelling approaches were used to compare no-burn rice residue pathways. • Field hydrology had a dominant effect on methane emissions. • Soil incorporation of residues increased emissions relative to open burning, except in comparatively dry fields. • Biochar is estimated to have the lowest GHG emissions of the evaluated 'no burn' alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The aim of this study is to evaluate and quantify the impacts of different biogas and related policies on the agricultural sector as well as their performance in terms of climate change mitigation and associated costs. To do so we coupled the partial equilibrium approach simulating the market clearing process with the perspective of Life Cycle Assessment of GHG applying it to the well-documented Lombardy case. Results show that the recent Italian biogas policy – prompting manure utilization and reducing the average subsidy per kWh – effectively increased the environmental sustainability of the system, which only now seems able to counteract global warming. Synergies are observed when the recent Common Agricultural Policy greening reform is simultaneously considered by the model. Highlights • Detail the impacts of different biogas and related policies on the agricultural sector as well as their environmental performance in terms of climate change mitigation and associated costs. • Development of partial equilibrium approach simulating the market clearing process in the biogas sector. • Consider agents decisions feedback to the Life Cycle Assessment for consequential analysis. • The latest Italian biogas policy – prompting manure utilization and reducing the average subsidy per kWh – effectively increased the environmental sustainability of the system, regarding global warming. • Synergies are observed when the recent Common Agricultural Policy greening reform is simultaneously considered by the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Future projections indicate an expansion for both food and energy demands, which can increase pressure on land use, while there is an urgent global need for climate change mitigation. Bioenergy is foreseen as key option to meet future energy demands and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however its sustainability depends on locations and regional characteristics. Simultaneously, agricultural production models that co-produce food, feed, and energy offer sustainability synergies and co-benefits, but site-specific sustainability assessments of their large-scale implementation are missing. This study presents a bottom-up approach to assess spatially explicit sustainability aspects of bioenergy-livestock integrated systems (BLI) in Brazil and shed light on their contribution to future energy demands, to climate change mitigation targets, and their impacts on selected ecosystem services, including bioenergy production, climate change mitigation, reduction of food competition, biodiversity conservation, and avoided deforestation. The proposed integration considers livestock intensification and use of biofuels by-products as animal feed supplement, taking advantage of synergies between these two value chains. The expansion of the BLI system in the Center-South region of Brazil produce up to 89 billion liters of ethanol, enough to meet future domestic ethanol demands from multiple shared socioeconomic pathways and generating surpluses for export. This production takes place on 16 million hectares of pastureland within the Sugarcane Agroecological Zoning, excluding the Amazon and Pantanal biomes, and biodiversity hotspots. BLI expansion mitigate up to 250 million tonnes of CO 2 eq and generate 15 billion dollars of profits. The best locations to maximize the selected ecosystem services are west of São Paulo, east of Mato Grosso do Sul, and the south-central region of the states of Goiás. This study may encourage the formulation of enhanced public policies for the integration of bioenergy and livestock value chains and guide a sustainable large-scale deployment of BLI systems. • Bioenergy and livestock integration (BLI): co-production of food, feed and energy. • BLI systems: 89 billion liters of ethanol and 250 million tonnes of CO 2 eq mitigated. • Enough ethanol to meet future Brazilian demands and surplus to be exported. • Biomass expansion only on pastureland inside Sugarcane Agroecological Zoning. • Without land displacement and deforestation of native vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strict energy performance requirements have reduced the building's operational energy use and related environmental impact in the past decades. Consequently, the embodied impacts of buildings gained importance, and hence focussing on the life cycle impacts has become essential to further reduce the environmental impact of buildings. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is an internationally accepted method used for this purpose. Current LCA studies of buildings typically look at their whole life cycle but ignore potential changes in operational energy use due to climate change. However, the latter is expected to influence the operational energy use of buildings to a significant extent. This paper aims to improve the assessment of the operational phase by including variations in the yearly operational energy use caused by climate change and expected changes in the electricity mix as a strategy for climate change mitigation. This adapted dynamic assessment method is used to assess a Belgian office building. The results indicate that a Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 climate change scenario causes a decrease of 18 % for the end use of gas for heating and an increase of 32.4 % for the electricity use for cooling and ventilation. For the case study, the reduction of the environmental impact due to the decrease in gas use compensates the impact increase due to the higher electricity use. An increase in environmental impact in future would however occur if both heating and cooling are provided by electricity. Furthermore, depending on the changes that will occur in the electricity mix, the global warming potential of the office building will change by −13 % for an electricity mix dominated by renewables and by + 10 % for one with mainly production by gas compared to the situation with the current mix. However, the inclusion of a more extended list of environmental indicators shows that the overall environmental impact will only reduce by 4 % or even increase by 7 % compared to the situation with the current mix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The bottom-up dynamic building stock model builds upon individual buildings from GIS datasets. • The model integrates material flow analysis, building energy modeling, and life cycle assessment. • More than 90% of GHG emissions can be reduced if all strategies are deployed together. • Energy transition plays a key role in decarbonizing the building stock. • Material-related strategies contribute much less to residential decarbonization than energy-related strategies. Decarbonizing the building stock plays an important role in realizing climate change mitigation targets. To compare the decarbonization potential of different strategies, this study presents a spatiotemporal bottom-up dynamic building stock model that integrates material flow analysis, building energy modeling, and life cycle assessment. It can simulate future building stock evolution at the component level and track the associated material flows, energy demand and generation, and GHG emissions with the consideration of both endogenous factors (e.g. building energy efficiency upgrade) and exogenous factors (e.g. policies, occupant behavior, and climate scenarios). The model is applied in the residential building stock of Leiden, a municipality in the Netherlands. Results show that annual GHG emissions are reduced by about 40% under the reference scenario while annual GHG emissions can be reduced by about 90% under the ambitious scenario where all the decarbonization strategies are simultaneously implemented. Natural-gas-free heat transition and renewable electricity supply are the most effective strategies, respectively reducing the annual GHG emissions in 2050 by an additional 21% and 19% more than the reference scenario. Rooftop PV, green lifestyle, and wood construction have similar decarbonization potential (about 10%). Surplus electricity can be generated if rooftop PV systems are installed as much as possible. The decarbonization potential of demolition waste recycling is much smaller than other strategies. The model can support policymakers in assessing the decarbonization potential of different policy scenarios and prioritizing decarbonization strategies in advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to quantify the environmentally sustainable and economically feasible potentials of agricultural and agro-industrial residues to generate electricity via direct combustion in centralised power plants in Brazil. Further, the energy savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of replacing natural gas-based electricity by bioenergy have been assessed. To this end, a methodology has been developed based on an integrated evaluation, incorporating statistical and geographical information system (GIS)-based analysis, and a life-cycle-assessment approach. Results reveal that the environmentally sustainable generation potential is nearly 141 TWh/year, mainly concentrated in the South, Southeast, and Midwest regions of the country. Sugarcane, soybean and maize crop residues are the major feedstocks for available bioenergy. On the other hand, the economic potential is far lower, accounting to 39 TWh/year. The total GHG mitigation is nearly 18 million tonne CO 2 e and could reach 64 million tonne CO 2 e yearly, if the technical potential is considered. The gap between technical and economic potentials implies that constraints to bioenergy are not related to a lack of resources, but rather associated to economic, logistical, regulatory and political barriers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming mitigation is used as a key to devise built environment strategies and sustainable policies in developed countries that aim to reduce the rate of carbon emissions. The goal of this research is to mitigate global warming from building construction by suggesting an alternative building scheme for Malaysia. A problem related to the building industry is releasing carbon dioxide emission. Use of timber for construction has less impact on the environment due to less carbon dioxide emissions, thus making wood the best material for wall construction. However, as the Malaysian climate is hot and humid, wood encounters many defects and deteriorates. Presently, most buildings in Malaysia are built from other materials such as concrete or brick. In the last 40 years, wood materials in building schemes in Malaysia have dropped from 60% to almost 5%. This research proposed a new approach to minimize the effect of CO 2 emission for buildings as well as to improve their structural stability for a longer lifespan because these would encourage the Malaysian construction industry to use wood components in their building schemes. In this study, SIMAPRO Software was used to assess CO 2 emissions caused by seven different types of building schemes in wall constructions. The results from a simulation of three time frames of twenty, one hundred and five hundred years showed that timber scheme is the best choice for construction. To promote the use of timber, a new building scheme that would solve the problem of timber wood structure in Malaysia were proposed. The alternative building scheme has combined precast concrete and timber (H8) to improve the timber scheme deficiency while releasing less CO 2 emissions compared to other systems. Therefore (H8) could replace current building schemes. This research can facilitate decision-maker to choose the most flexible scheme for Malaysian housing. Thus, this system could be positively and widely used in the Malaysian construction industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study develops scenarios regarding the introduction of electric vehicles to the passenger vehicle fleet of Norway to reach the 2020 Norwegian greenhouse gas reduction target and a more extreme target to limit global temperature increase to two degrees. A process-based life cycle assessment approach is integrated with a temporally variable inventory model to evaluate the environmental impacts of these scenarios. We find that greenhouse gases in the reference scenario increase by 10% in 2020 in comparison to 2012; while for the more intensive improvements in conventional vehicles, this increase is reduced to 2%. For electric vehicles deployment scenarios, although the fleet share will reduce the tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions by 8–26%, with the upper end representing the two-degree reduction target, emissions reductions over the entire life cycle are only 3–15%. Electric vehicles also reduce emissions of NO x , SO 2 and particulates reducing acidification, smog formation and particulate formation impacts, however, with addition of large numbers of electric vehicles significant trade-offs in toxicity impacts are found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from energy consumption have become a major focus all over the world. Cities, especially, are playing an important role in responding to the challenges of global climate change. However, there is still a lack of case studies on the whole life stage (including energy import, production, and consumption) at the city level. This is the first study to systematically estimate the whole lifecycle GHG emissions of urban energy consumption in Macau using the life cycle assessment (LCA) method. It identifies the main contributors, draws the balance framework diagram of energy GHG emissions, and proposes the effective reduction measures through a scenario analysis. The results show that the total GHG emissions of energy consumption in Macau increased from 2.10 × 103 kt CO 2 eq. in 2000 to 5.34 × 103 kt CO 2 eq. in 2018. In 2018, the energy-related GHG emissions in the import phase, production phase, and consumption phase were 3.37 × 103, 4.08 × 102 and 5.34 × 103 kt CO 2 eq., respectively. Since the return of Macau from Portugal to China (December 20, 1999), its GHG emissions from energy import have come to depend more on Mainland China, increasing from 71% in 2000 to 98% in 2018. For the consumption phase, indirect GHG emissions are more important, accounting for 75.3% of total GHG emissions in Macau. From the final consumption perspective, the gambling industry results in the largest GHG emissions (38.07% in 2018), followed by the transportation industry; while for the final energy consumption types, electricity consumption has become the predominant source. The scenario analysis shows that under an ideal scenario, the GHG emissions can be slowed down and will peak in 2033. [Display omitted] • It firstly estimates the whole lifecycle GHG emissions from Macau urban energy consumption. • The GHG emission dependence on the mainland China increases from 71% to 98% since 2000. • It draws the balance framework diagram of energy GHG emissions. • Gambling industry results in the largest GHG emissions in Macau. • Under ideal scenario, the GHG emissions will peak in 2033. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate mitigation benefits of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) relative to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) are highly dependent on the carbon intensity of the electricity consumed during their production and use-phase. A consistent and dynamic approach to grid-mix regionalization of BEV life-cycle assessments in Europe is therefore necessary to offer accurate guidance to consumers and policy makers. To this end, we present ReDyFEV, a simple open-source software tool that can be used to calculate attributional, regionalized lifecycle climate impacts of BEVs in Europe for user-defined time periods, including near real-time. We determine the national lifecycle carbon footprints across all EU states for four BEV size segments and compare them to those of fossil-fuelled vehicles of similar sizes. Simplified sensitivity analyses investigate the effect of lifetime assumptions, electricity demand in battery production, and of relocating battery production to Europe on the carbon footprints of BEVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for wood-based energy is foreseen to grow as energy and climate policies around the world promote the use of bioenergy for climate change mitigation. However, the carbon impacts of forest bioenergy range widely in the literature. The value-choices made on the response of forest management to bioenergy demand have a major influence on the results obtained from modeling exercises and may actually change the contribution of forest bioenergy from climate worsening to climate change mitigation. Despite their relevance, there is very little information, or transparency, as to the empirical basis by which these assumptions are chosen and evaluated against. This study aims to fill in this crucial knowledge gap through a mix of critical review, analysis of historical statistical data, and expert judgement. Several prominent studies reporting climate change mitigation from forest bioenergy in three countries are reviewed: Canada, Sweden, and Southeast USA. This analysis shows that the studies rely on assumptions that bioenergy demand will spur supply responses aimed at more efficient forest management and/or relative increases in forest area. Confronting literature assumptions with trends in historical data, we present the most extensive reality-check of bioenergy literature assumptions to date. We find that studies projecting a large role of forest bioenergy in climate change mitigation rely on assumptions that are too optimistic, at times outright unrealistic. We believe scientists could avoid the misinterpretation of their results and improve the policy relevance of their work by more transparent reporting of: i) value-laden assumptions, ii) their influence on the results, iii) the process and rationale behind such assumptions, especially distinguishing between assumptions that reflect incremental changes in management from assumptions requiring transformational change in several industrial sectors. • Accounted carbon benefits of forest bioenergy depend on underlying assumptions. • Forest bioenergy mitigates climate change only when additional biomass is produced. • Forest management responses assumed in the literature are overly optimistic. • Post Normal Science tools can help scientists avoid misinterpretation of results. • Scientists should better convey that model results are contingent on value-choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urgent need for climate change mitigation and the potential threat of energy crisis have allowed the popularity of biomass for biofuels to increase. However, the approaches to assess the climate change impacts of biomass utilization are still questionable. To allow a more accurate assessment, we developed a new framework by integrating six impact components including (1) fossil fuel-derived greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, (2) biogenic CO 2 emissions-loss, (3) biogenic CO 2 emissions-combustion, (4) emissions from land-use practice change, (5) regrowth for compensation, and (6) difference in carbon sequestration. To illustrate the performance of the framework, seven case studies, which covered the first-, second-, and third-generation biofuels, were conducted. The majority of the positive impacts were contributed to by the fossil fuel-derived emissions, biogenic CO 2 emissions, and regrowth for compensation. For the first-generation biofuels, the life cycle GHG emissions were much higher than those of energy-equivalent fossil fuels (144 and 218 kg CO 2 /GJ for Soybean-to-Biodiesel and Corn-to-Ethanol). The second- and third-generation biofuels had less accountable positive GHG emissions (−62 to 53 kg CO 2 /GJ) due to the offset of negative impacts from land-use practice change and difference in carbon sequestration. However, the negative effects are not determinist. High uncertainty from model-simulated carbon sequestration and decomposition is perceivable. High life cycle GHG emissions for the second- and third-generation biofuels are possible. Image 1 • A new framework was developed to estimate the GHG emissions from biomass utilization. • Different biomass feedstock and conversion technologies were studied as illustrations. • The GHG emissions from the first-generation biofuels can be higher than fossil fuels. • The second- and third-generation biofuels could have negative climate change impact. • High uncertainty is perceivable from model simulation for regrowth and decomposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The life cycle climate change impact of a solar microgrid in Sweden was estimated. • Average and marginal emission factors were estimated with explicit system boundaries. • Average and marginal emission factors of electricity use in Sweden differ. • Integration of a solar microgrid into the main grid may contribute to climate change. • The environmental performance of a solar microgrid depends strongly on the context. Microgrids are small-scale electricity networks that integrate distributed electricity generation with consumers and, potentially, with storage devices. There is growing interest in these systems, as they can offer solutions for electrification of remote areas, deployment of distributed renewable energy resources, and decarbonization of electricity supply. However, the potential benefits of microgrids in terms of climate change mitigation have not yet been thoroughly assessed. In this study, Life Cycle Assessment was performed to determine the climate change impact of integrating a solar microgrid system in western Sweden into the Swedish electricity grid. To determine whether replacement of grid electricity with electricity from the microgrid can lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, average and marginal GHG emission factors (EFs) for electricity use were estimated with explicit spatial and temporal resolution, using historical data on electricity generation and trade, and life cycle EFs for electricity generation technologies. The assessment, with both marginal and average EFs, showed that integration of the microgrid into the Swedish electricity grid did not provide GHG emissions abatements, as the electricity from the microgrid displaced grid electricity with lower carbon intensity. It was found that a microgrid without batteries would have lower climate change impact, but would still fail to lower overall GHG emissions. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the methodological approach used for estimation of EFs and the definition of spatial boundaries could influence the obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the energy and climate policy commitments of the European Union, the following targets have been foreseen up to 2030: reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of 40%, improving the energy conversion efficiency of 27%, and producing 27% of the energy from renewable energy sources. Nowadays, thanks to the development of reliable and efficient technologies, several possibilities exist to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources, such as wind power, solar, hydropower, geothermal, and biomass. In the Alpine region, biomass can play a key role for achieving the objectives foreseen by the EU policy strategy. In the last few years, due to the high available potentials of residues from forestry operations and sawmill processing, the Alpine region witnessed the development of centralized biomass district heating plants. The aim of the present study is to assess the environmental impacts of 18 biomass-based plants located in the Alpine region using a Life Cycle Assessment approach and to analyse the current market destination of the wood residues. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews with the stakeholders of the forest-wood supply chain (managers of biomass-based plant, sawmills, forest owners and enterprises). From the environmental point of view, the results of the Life Cycle Assessment (global climate change impact: 5–90 gCO 2 MJ−1) show that the "critical points" in the forest-wood supply chain are: the transport phase (1–54 gCO 2 MJ−1) and the wood processing phase (6–36 gCO 2 MJ−1). The results provided by Life Cycle Assessment can be used to increase the scientific knowledge of the environmental impacts related to the biomass conversion technology and to underline the weak points of the forest-wood supply chain. Furthermore, these results can support the decision makers in defining climate change mitigation strategies at regional and local level. • LCA is a key tool to highlight the environmental critical points of the bioenergy system. • Feedstock origin and biomass-based plants size affects the environmental impacts. • Short wood supply chain has a key role to reduce environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]