A potential increase in metal consumption emerges as only concern in a broad-based investigation of the clean-energy transition The history of environmental protection is full of unforeseen  consequences: taller chimneys only led to pollutants spreading wide and  far, and safe refrigerants replacing hydrocarbons turned out to damage  the ozone hole.

While Donald Trump withdraws the US from the Paris climate agreement, the world has tools to reduce the US carbon footprint As the world is in shock about Donald Trump’s erratic but not  unexpected decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate  accord, reactions range from the

Edgar Hertwich, Yale University; Anders Arvesen, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Sangwon Suh, University of California, Santa Barbara, and Thomas Gibon, Norwegian University of Science and Technology There are a number of available low-carbon technologies to generate  electricity. But are they really better than fossil fuels and nuclear  power?

We think of capital, the assets we use in production, as heavy:  machines, buildings, infrastructure, trucks and railroads. Being  composed mostly of cement and steel, we would expect their production to  cause a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. In  a new paper, we offer a first detailed analysis of the

The entire team of PhD students, PostDocs and professors on the steps of the main building, 17 October 2014 In 2003, I moved to Trondheim to become Director of the Industrial Ecology Programme (IndEcol) of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). In 2015, I have moved on to

The Economics of Energy – What is the cost-effectiveness of energy and climate policies? In a panel debate with key European policy makers hosted by GE and organized by  ScienceBusiness; I emphasized the need to more systematically  internalize environmental costs, which we have enumerated in recent  scientific work. The social and

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows  that hope is not forsaken: rigorous climate politics locally and  nationally has spurred development of new technology sooner than  expected. Increased pressure in the pursuit of climate protection is  still required to reach the 2°C Target. Carbon Budget: Trillion tons of CO2

If we want to limit air  pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while meeting unmet demand  in developing countries, renewable electricity is a promising option,  as our new research shows. By Edgar Hertwich, Thomas Gibon and Anders Arvesen, NTNU The use of fossil energy sources has made it possible for

After 4 years of intensive work, the fifth assessment report of climate change by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has  finally been published. It says that it is urgent to begin reducing  emissions, otherwise we will not be able to stay below the articulated  limit of two degree

I took a deep breath after a brisk climb up the soft hill near the  border to Sweden. The sun peaked out under the clouds and the light was  beautifully reflected by the water of Nesjøen,  while reindeer was munching away on delicious blueberries a little  further down the ridge.

The tragic extinction of species, from the black rhinoceros to plants remaining undiscovered, is unfortunately one of the hallmarks of humans on the planet. This week, the Trondheim Conference of Biodiversity celebrated its 20 year anniversary by gathering 400 scientists and  international negotiators to an exchange of knowledge and ideas.

I just returned from my weekly trip to the supermarket: in  addition to Kenyan roses, Brazilian melons, Israeli oranges, Dutch  tomatoes, Kiwis from New Zealand, and potatoes from Saudi Arabia (!), I  have, for the first time, found minced beef from Botswana, sold for just  over half the price of the

Surprisingly, a book co-written by a well-known former German  environmental activist presents a strong revisionist story and is able  to capture both headlines and spot on the best-seller list. I read the book “The  cold sun: why the climate catastrophe is not happen” by Fritz  Vahrenholt and Sebastian Lüning (VL)

It is a sad result of human civilisation that we are driving other species into extinction. A new study highlights the main driving forces – rich countries’ consumption. Humans have always affected their environment. Environmental history  is littered with stories of modifications of the environment to enhance  the growth of fruit-bearing

In the development of the international standard for product carbon footprint analysis, there are now forces arguing that so-called guarantees of origin (GO)  should be used to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions associated  with electricity. This sound innocuous, but one should not be deceived  by a misleading term! Guarantees of

It seems like we right now are running hard from facing the  truths and some associated pain, and that in at least two instances that  are striking for their similarities: the global financial crisis and  climate change. Let me begin with the financial crisis. The main problem  of the financial

The rapid proliferation of electronic entertainment and  communication equipment has eclipsed traditional household appliances  like washing machines and refrigerators as the equipment with the  highest residential carbon footprint; apart from heating, hot water and  lighting. The Norwegian state broadcaster sent a wonderful story on our new study:  a home electronics

We present now a time series of carbon footprints in the Ranking tab.  Our data lets you trace the development of carbon footprints over the  period 1990-2008. You need an Adope Flash player installed to see this.  This data represents national CO2 emissions corrected for trade and  shows that some

An increasing share of global  emissions is from the production of internationally traded goods and  services, according to a new study published today in the Proceedings of  the National Academy of Sciences. Due to current reporting practices,  this has allowed some countries to increase their carbon footprints  while reporting stabilized

NATURE recently recognized the work presented in this web page, and more specifically the Carbon Footprint of Nations paper. In the category ‘Community choice – the most viewed papers in science’, the paper was reviewed under the title Where greenhouse gases start. At the same time, we got word that the

A consumption-based account of greenhouse gas emissions reveals true climate impacts of public services. Analysis based on the environmental impacts of consumption often  focuses on household consumption. Some consumption, however, is provided  by public authorities and paid for through taxes, not prices.  Education, health care, elderly care, street cleaning and

I have the great honor to be selected to serve on the IPCC as  lead author of the fifth assessment report. It has always been my desire  to contribute to addressing environmental problems. Climate Science is  fascinating – the ways scientists have found to tease out evidence about  past climate are

It was my big day in Brussels: The deputy director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Angela Kropper, and the EU’s Commissioner for the Environment, Janez Potocnik, were there for the launch of our report, The Environmental Impact of Production and Consumption: Priority Products and Materials.  It was the

Recently, the idea of monitoring the carbon footprint of a  nation as one option for climate policy has found its way into the  legislative process in the UK. A Private Members Bill has  been put forward in the House of Lords – the Bill seeks to put in place  a consumer