Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accounting

Individuals utilizing Life Cycle Assessment within the emerging field of circular carbon might phrase and understand matters differently, causing ambiguity, due to different educational backgrounds and lacking definitions of central terms. Our research addresses the question, whether misleading or a...

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Main Authors: Lukas Zeilerbauer, Valerie Rodin, Stefan Puschnigg, Hannah Aster, Stella Danner, Argjenta Veseli, Christian Paulik, Jörg Fischer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Carbon Management
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17583004.2024.2408285
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author Lukas Zeilerbauer
Valerie Rodin
Stefan Puschnigg
Hannah Aster
Stella Danner
Argjenta Veseli
Christian Paulik
Jörg Fischer
author_facet Lukas Zeilerbauer
Valerie Rodin
Stefan Puschnigg
Hannah Aster
Stella Danner
Argjenta Veseli
Christian Paulik
Jörg Fischer
author_sort Lukas Zeilerbauer
collection DOAJ
description Individuals utilizing Life Cycle Assessment within the emerging field of circular carbon might phrase and understand matters differently, causing ambiguity, due to different educational backgrounds and lacking definitions of central terms. Our research addresses the question, whether misleading or ambiguous terms exist, which impair transparency and scientific accuracy in carbon (dioxide) accounting in LCA. A structured literature research was performed to screen LCA standards, ISO standards, and the European legal database EUR-Lex. Nine terms with potential ambiguity in meaning or usage in LCA were identified: Avoided burden, avoided carbon, avoided CO2, carbon capture, carbon credit, circular carbon, circular CO2, negative emission, and net zero emission. A workflow was introduced to either obtain a consensus-based definition from standard literature or from peer-reviewed publications. For all terms, except avoided carbon, a recommended definition was found and showcased within case studies on the topic of mechanical recycling of plastics to produce a taxonomy suggestion for precise descriptions of different carbon dioxide (equivalent) accounting methods in LCA.
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spelling doaj-art-9e2728c6abd44feab3b6ecea86cbcb7b2024-12-12T09:54:01ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCarbon Management1758-30041758-30122024-12-0115110.1080/17583004.2024.2408285Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accountingLukas Zeilerbauer0Valerie Rodin1Stefan Puschnigg2Hannah Aster3Stella Danner4Argjenta Veseli5Christian Paulik6Jörg Fischer7Institute for Chemical Technology of Organic Materials (CTO), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaInstitute for Chemical Technology of Organic Materials (CTO), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaEnergieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, AustriaEnergieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, AustriaEnergieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, AustriaEnergieinstitut an der Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, Linz, AustriaInstitute for Chemical Technology of Organic Materials (CTO), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaInstitute of Polymeric Materials and Testing (IPMT), Johannes Kepler University Linz, Linz, AustriaIndividuals utilizing Life Cycle Assessment within the emerging field of circular carbon might phrase and understand matters differently, causing ambiguity, due to different educational backgrounds and lacking definitions of central terms. Our research addresses the question, whether misleading or ambiguous terms exist, which impair transparency and scientific accuracy in carbon (dioxide) accounting in LCA. A structured literature research was performed to screen LCA standards, ISO standards, and the European legal database EUR-Lex. Nine terms with potential ambiguity in meaning or usage in LCA were identified: Avoided burden, avoided carbon, avoided CO2, carbon capture, carbon credit, circular carbon, circular CO2, negative emission, and net zero emission. A workflow was introduced to either obtain a consensus-based definition from standard literature or from peer-reviewed publications. For all terms, except avoided carbon, a recommended definition was found and showcased within case studies on the topic of mechanical recycling of plastics to produce a taxonomy suggestion for precise descriptions of different carbon dioxide (equivalent) accounting methods in LCA.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17583004.2024.2408285LCAcircular carbontaxonomycarbon accountingcarbon managementrecycling
spellingShingle Lukas Zeilerbauer
Valerie Rodin
Stefan Puschnigg
Hannah Aster
Stella Danner
Argjenta Veseli
Christian Paulik
Jörg Fischer
Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accounting
Carbon Management
LCA
circular carbon
taxonomy
carbon accounting
carbon management
recycling
title Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accounting
title_full Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accounting
title_fullStr Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accounting
title_full_unstemmed Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accounting
title_short Circular, avoided, or captured carbon (dioxide)? - A taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and CO2 accounting
title_sort circular avoided or captured carbon dioxide a taxonomy approach for life cycle assessment and co2 accounting
topic LCA
circular carbon
taxonomy
carbon accounting
carbon management
recycling
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17583004.2024.2408285
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