WA11 Governance & Law: Global Perspectives
E145-146
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM, Wednesday
() The linkages of Life Cycle Assessment and Multilateral Environmental Agreements.
Sonnemann, Guido1, Balkau, Fritz1, 1 United Nations Environment Programme; Division of Industry Technology and Economics; Production and Consumption Branch;, Paris, France
ABSTRACT- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool for the systematic evaluation of the environmental aspects of a product through all stages of its life cycle. Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) are international legal instruments for environmental protection, governed by international law. Insofar as the impacts being addressed by MEAs can be considered as coming from one or more stages in the life-chain of a particular material or product, LCA can be helpful in determining the optimal point of intervention in any particular environmental impact reduction action plan being devised under a MEA. LCA is increasingly used in strategic decision making and its importance is no longer in doubt: The methodology has recently been standardized under the ISO 14040 series of standards and the World Summit on Sustainable Development referred to its potential use in environmental impact reduction programs. LCA methods should also be applied in the implementation of MEAs. For example, emissions of pollutants covered in MEAs such as Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, as well as the Montreal and Kyoto protocols, can be quantified altogether by use of LCA techniques, thus leading to identification of the most important emission sources. Even impacts on biological diversity can be addressed indirectly through calculation of the consumption of resources like tropical timber or agricultural products, and LCA methodology is now advancing to include measures of habitat loss in addition to the traditional pollutant potentials. Realizing the full potential of LCA to the implementation of MEAs will nevertheless require further work. Applications of LCA under MEAs will include the identification of the most efficient points of intervention, but should also consider appropriate models for total life-cycle management. By using such an holistic approach, environmental impact reduction programs can be established that address several MEAs at the same time and avoid the shift of burdens.
Key words: Life Cycle Management, Life Cycle Assessment, Multilateral Environmental Agreements, International Environmental Law