•A combination of economic-financial indicators and ecological indicators is proposed.•The output Gap and the Ecological Footprint vs. Biocapacity are chosen indicators.•Different economic growth ...patterns can be identified based on sustainability levels.•A categorization of OECD countries is presented based on indicator combination.
The environment may constrain economic growth potential. In other words, economic growth cannot be pursued in spite of ecological limits any longer. Here we present an economic growth indicator adjusted by taking into account the current tendency of national economies to overcome the availability of natural resources and ecological dynamics. We combine two indicators: 1) the Output Gap, a measure of production capacity of the economy based on the difference between actual and potential GDP, as a per cent of potential GDP; 2) the difference between the Ecological Footprint and the Biocapacity of a country, systemic indicators representing the extent to which a country operates within or beyond ecological limits. That combination gives rise to the Biocapacity Adjusted Economic Growth indicator which enables a categorization of countries based on assessment of growth patterns in line or not with sustainability principles.
An energy transition is needed in order to meet the European pledge of reaching climate neutrality by 2050. This transition cannot ignore the renewable resources available from 70% of the Earth ...(namely, the oceans and seas). This concept is fundamental for the planet, especially for the Mediterranean area. Marine renewable energies are still under-deployed in the Mediterranean area for many reasons, including legislative constraints, lower energy availability, and technological readiness. An appropriate participatory process including all actors (e.g., policymakers, firms, citizens, and researchers) is necessary for a correct path toward decarbonization. The BLUE DEAL project was conceived and implemented by 12 Mediterranean partners to tackle these issues and set the route for blue energy deployment in the Mediterranean area. Activities already conducted include a survey to probe the perceptions and attitudes of citizens toward blue energy. The survey targeted about 3,000 persons in 12 Mediterranean sites with the aim of bringing citizens into the discussion on future technologies. The results showed that although blue energy is still relatively unknown to the general public (only 42% of respondents were aware of these technologies), there was a general willingness (70%) to host one or more such installations in their areas. Here, we describe our survey method and some empirical results with suggestions for replicability and recommendations on how to use it for policymaking purposes.
The overexploitation of fossil fuels as main energy source to support the global economy is identified as the most responsible of the current critical situation from an environmental viewpoint. The ...need to replace fossil fuels has posed the attention on alternative energy sources such as biofuels, in both developed and developing countries. Africa, for example, has enormous natural resources in the form of biomass from agriculture and other related processes (i.e., food residues). An action that can help fight climate change is the implementation of biofuel refineries to maximize the value of biomass by converting it into a range of products, like energy vectors, biomaterials, feed and fertilizers. By using emergy evaluation and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) this study focused on the potential development of sustainable biotechnological processes fed by biowaste and bioresidues in two African countries (Egypt and Ghana). We assessed the sustainability level of two biofuel productions based on starch and lignocellulosic feedstocks (i.e., cassava peel and corn stover, respectively). A first understanding of the sustainability of the case studies was obtained and the results showed that the biorefinery based on cassava peel was more sustainable from both the user and donor perspectives. Indeed, the LCA results showed that impact categories Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Acidification Potential (AP) had lower values for cassava compared to corn stover biorefinery and emergy outcomes highlighted that the starch-rich feedstock had lower Unit Emergy Value (UEV) and higher renewability percentage (94%). These results suggest that biorefineries are an option for world bioeconomy strategy as they enable optimization of agricultural and food residues and their environmental performance in producing a renewable substitute for fossil fuels and other non-renewable materials is promising.
Overtopping breakwater systems are among the most promising technologies for exploiting wave energy to generate electricity. They consist in water reservoirs, embedded in piers, placed on top of ...ramps, higher than sea-level. Pushed by wave energy, seawater fills up the reservoirs and produces electricity by flowing back down through low headhydro turbines. Different overtopping breakwater systems have been tested worldwide in recent years. This study focuses on the Overtopping BReakwater for Energy Conversion (OBREC) system that has been implemented and tested in the harbor of Naples (Italy). The Life Cycle Assessment of a single replicable module of OBREC has been performed for analyzing potential environmental impacts, in terms of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, considering construction, installation, maintenance, and the operational phases. The Carbon Footprint (i.e., mass of CO2eq) to build wave energy converters integrated in breakwater systems has been estimated, more specifically the “environmental investment” (i.e., the share of Carbon Footprint due to the integration of wave energy converter) needed to generate renewable electricity has been assessed. The Carbon Intensity of Electricity (i.e., the ratio between the CO2eq emitted and the electricity produced) has been then assessed in order to demonstrate the profitability and the opportunity to foster innovation in the field of blue energy. Considering the impact for implementing an operational OBREC module (Carbon Footprint = 1.08 t CO2eq; Environmental Investment = 0.48 t CO2eq) and the electricity production (12.6 MWh/year per module), environmental benefits (avoided emissions) would compensate environmental costs (i.e., Carbon Footprint; Environmental Investment) those provided within a range of 25 and 13 months respectively.
Floating wind turbines are a valid option for offshore wind farms in the Mediterranean, where the sea-floor falls off rapidly with distance from the coastline. The present study concerns a Life Cycle ...Assessment of the environmental performance of two types of floating wind turbine. Greenhouse gas emissions of two standard models (raft-buoy and spar-buoy, 154 m rotor diameter, 6 MW installed power) were estimated in terms of Global Warming Potential (t CO
2
eq) with the aim of determining a benchmark for evaluating the performance of similar offshore wind farms. Thus, the aim of the paper was to create a benchmark for the design of innovative technologies, such as those developed by specialist companies, and to verify the validity of new designs and technologies in terms of avoided greenhouse gas emissions. The results show that the Carbon Intensity of Electricity of a single floating wind turbine varies in the range 26–79 g CO
2
eq·kWh
−1
, averaging 49 g CO
2
eq·kWh
−1
, in line with other studies of offshore wind turbines and other renewable energy sources (such as onshore wind and photovoltaic). Extension of our study to the whole life cycle, including manufacturing, assembly and installation, maintenance and material replacement and a hypothetical decommissioning and end-of-life, showed that wind farms are among the most promising marine renewable energy technologies for the Mediterranean.
The present work evaluates the environmental performance of three wave energy converters including on-shore oscillating water columns and oscillating floaters embedded in piers, and near-shore ...seabed-based buoys in the Mediterranean Basin. The life cycle assessment methodology was used to account for their potential environmental impact, in terms of carbon footprint (t CO
2
eq), considering four main phases, i.e., manufacturing of material components, assembling and installation on site, maintenance in time, and decommission end of life. Results show the greenhouse gas emission from different lifecycle processes, based on the inventory of main energy inputs and materials, highlighting the major impact of the manufacture of the structural components (52 %), especially due to the limited durability of materials. In order to compare the performances of the three different wave energy converters, the carbon intensity of electricity was evaluated considering a range of electricity production per technology based on data available in scientific literature. The results obtained for a single device (203–270 g CO
2
eq‧kWh
−1
for the oscillating water column system; 94–374 g CO
2
eq‧kWh
−1
for oscillating floater and 105–158 g CO
2
eq‧kWh
−1
for the seabed-based buoy) highlight that wave energy converters are promising solutions to harvest wave energy, showing lower carbon intensity of electricity values compared to fossil energy sources; nevertheless, technological improvements are needed to increase efficiency and achieve the performances of other renewable energy sources. Moreover, the combination of wave energy converters with other solutions, such as offshore wind turbines, represents a valuable option in the future to increase productivity and foster energy transition of the Mediterranean regions.
In a world characterized by Ecological Overshoot, where humanity demands more from natural ecosystems than they can sustainably renew, education can nurture sustainability-minded citizens and future ...leaders to help accelerate the transition toward an era where our finite planet’s resources stand at the core of all decision-making. Despite the essential role of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) in contributing to a sustainable society, a holistic understanding of how to incorporate sustainability initiatives into HEI is still lacking. Given the critical role of HEI in societies and considering the number of students, educators, and staff they host every day, ensuring that sustainability is both taught and practiced on campuses becomes fundamental. To this end, a strategic partnership was created in 2019 to set up the ERASMUS + project EUSTEPs—
Enhancing Universities’ Sustainability Teaching and Practices through Ecological Footprint
. Among the main outputs of the project is a teaching module for introducing the sustainability concept to students. This Module takes a 360-degree approach to teaching sustainability that is designed to help students grasp the extraordinary complexity of sustainability in an engaging and captivating manner. This paperthus aims to: (1) present the EUSTEPs Module, its pedagogical approach and structure, and the learning outcomes and competencies students are expected to gain, (2) review the outcomes of its first pilot teaching in four European HEI, and (3) shed light on how this Module contributes to the development of competences and pedagogical approaches for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our findings show that 90% of the students were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with the Module, rating the Ecological Footprint as the most useful teaching tool among those included in the Module. In addition, they appreciated the interactive nature of the proposed teaching. Feedback obtained from students during the pilot teaching contributed to shaping the Module’s final structure and content. The Module—an important interactive sustainability pedagogical tool—is now ready for use with students in different disciplines, thus contributing to progress toward the UN 2030 Agenda, particularly SDG 4, SDG 11, SDG 12, and SDG 13.
Blue Energy (BE) is expected to play a strategic role in the energy transition of Europe, particularly toward the 2050 horizon. It refers to a set of Marine Energy Sources (MES), including offshore ...wind, waves, tides, marine currents, sea thermal energy, salinity gradients, and marine biomass, which are exploited by different BE technologies. Nevertheless, the implementation of integrated solutions to exploit MES in marine areas does not just concern technological issues; it requires inclusive planning practices considering different aspects regarding climate and environmental impacts, landscape compatibility, interference with other marine activities (such as shipping, fishing, and tourism), and social acceptance. A replicable BE planning framework has been developed based on interdisciplinary knowledge in three Mediterranean sites in Greece, Croatia, and Cyprus, under the scope of the Interreg Med BLUE DEAL project. It has been implemented by some interdisciplinary experts through a collaborative and iterative process of data elaboration, mapping, evaluation, and visualization. Results concern the localization of suitable sites to install BE plants and the estimation of potential energy production and avoided emissions in selected scenarios. Together with visual simulations, this study shows the potential effects of the implementation of BE in specific marine areas, with a special focus on the most promising offshore floating wind farms and wave energy converters (WECs), as basic information for participative design and stakeholder engagement initiatives, including public authorities, businesses, and citizens.
One of the main goals of any (sustainability) indicator should be the communication of a clear, unambiguous, and simplified message about the status of the analyzed system. The selected indicator is ...expected to declare explicitly how its numerical value depicts a situation, for example, positive or negative, sustainable or unsustainable, especially when a comparison among similar or competitive systems is performed. This aspect should be a primary and discriminating issue when the selection of a set of opportune indicators is operated. The Ecological Footprint (EF) has become one of the most popular and widely used sustainability indicators. It is a resource accounting method with an area based metric in which the units of measure are global hectares or hectares with world average bio-productivity. Its main goal is to underline the link between the (un)sustainability level of a product, a system, an activity or a population life style, with the land demand for providing goods, energy, and ecological services needed to sustain that product, system, activity, or population. Therefore, the traditional rationale behind the message of EF is: the larger EF value, the larger environmental impact in terms of resources use, the lower position in the sustainability rank. The aim of this paper was to investigate if this rationale is everywhere opportune and unambiguous, or if sometimes its use requires paying a special attention. Then, a three-dimensional modification of the classical EF framework for the sustainability evaluation of a product has been proposed following a previous work by Niccolucci and co-authors (2009). Finally, the potentialities of the model have been tested by using a case study from the agricultural context.
Consumption habits imply responsibility. Progressive awareness of the scale of materials, energy, goods and services consumed on a daily basis and knowledge of the implications of consumption choices ...are prerequisites for designing steps towards sustainable behavior. This article explores, for the first time, the educational value of personal Footprint calculators and their contribution in terms of enhancing awareness of the environmental consequences of consumption behaviors. Our study involved the application of Global Footprint Networks’ personal Ecological Footprint (EF) calculator in teaching aimed at High School and postgraduate University students in two geographical areas (Italy and UK). Students calculated their individual EF, and used the results to explore the environmental consequences of their current consumption behaviors and the effects associated with selected changes in daily consumption activities. Our analysis shows that students were able to appreciate the difference between their individual Footprints and national and global averages. The calculator also enabled them to debate sustainable consumption in the context of their everyday life, inducing them to personally experience the multidimensional character of sustainability. Students finally demonstrated an ability to quantitatively capture how knowledge and awareness of the environmental consequences associated with certain consumption behaviors may facilitate better choices, and encourage greater commitment to sustainable resource use.
•Ecological Footprint (EF) has gained a prominent position in the sustainability debate since its introduction.•We used a personal Footprint calculator to teach environmental aspects of sustainability.•Students experienced at firsthand the multidimensional character of sustainability.•They gained insight on how daily activities affect the global sustainability discourse.•Our experiment is an effective way to initiate participative discussions on environmental sustainability.
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