Sustainability Assessment of Energy Technologies and Energy Systems and Their Contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "B: Energy and Environment".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2019) | Viewed by 37775
Special Issue Editors
Interests: Sustainability assessment of energy technologis using Life cycle assessment and Multirregional Input Output. Energy system modelling using technoeconomic optimization models.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: sustainabiltiy; resource efficiency; life cycle; circular economy
Interests: climate adaptation; sustainable urban development; water management; environmental impact assessment; science-policy interactions; sustainability governance
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, provide a powerful framework for international efforts to achieve both human development and climate objectives. They define a path to end poverty, ensure prosperity and protect the planet and its inhabitants. To help achieve this endeavor, the international community is now working towards the definition of a set indicators and methodologies to measure the progress towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals.
Among other methodologies, life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) has emerged as a methodology to systematically assess the sustainability of products and services from a life cycle perspective and provides a framework to integrate the analysis of the three pillars of sustainability, namely the economy, environment, and society. Similarly, other methodologies, based on the use of extended multirregional input–output analysis (MRIO), have also been proposed to assess sustainability in a comprehensive way through a top down approach.
Among the 17 SDGs, SDG7 is a dedicated goal on energy that aims to “ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all”. In turn, energy technologies and energy systems contribute directly or indirectly to achieving many of the others SDGS. For example, compared to fossil fuel alternatives, renewable technologies can contribute to SDGs 11 and 15, which are aimed at having sustainable cities and communities and fighting climate change, respectively. Furthermore, they can also contribute to SDG 1 (no poverty) and SDG 3 (good health and well-being) by facilitating access to basic services, improving human health and supporting income generation activities. Additionally, energy technologies can also contribute to sustainable economic growth—SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth)—by generating economic benefits in the form of job creation and new income generating activities across a wide set of economic sectors.
Despite their limitations, LCSA in combination with other sustainability assessment methodologies, can be very useful tools to measure the progress towards the fulfilment of some of the SDG indicators. However, more research is still needed to assess the suitability of such methodologies and areas of improvement.
In this context, the purpose of this Special Issue is to discuss and reflect on the contribution that sustainability assessment methodologies can have in assessing and monitoring the progress towards the SDGs. It is intended to provide a forum for scientific progress on both the overall concept of life cycle sustainability assessment and its links with the SDG framework, as well as case studies on practical applications of the proposed methodologies and links to energy technologies and systems. Research papers on methodological issues, case study applications and complementary methodologies and research gaps to measure the missing identified interlinkages between sustainability assessment methodologies and the SDGs are welcome.
Dr. Yolanda Lechon
Dr. Michael Belsnes
Dr. Janie Ling Chin
Dr. Valeria Jana Schwanitz
Prof. Lenny Koh
Dr. Gabriele Manella
Dr. Alessandra Landi
Dr. Francesco Rizzi
Guest Editors—European Energy Research Alliance (EERA). Economic, environmental and social impacts Joint Program(JP e3s)
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Keywords
- sustainability assessment
- sustainable development goals (SDGs)
- life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA)
- multiregional input–output assessment (MRIO)
- energy technology
- energy system
- sustainability
- integrated assessment
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