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Energy models from a strategic environmental assessment perspective in an EU context: What is missing concerning renewables?
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Land and Water Resources Engineering. (Environmental Management and Assessment)ORCID iD: 0000-0001-6417-4497
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Land and Water Resources Engineering. (Environmental Management and Assessment)ORCID iD: 0000-0002-1640-8946
KTH, School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), Sustainable development, Environmental science and Engineering, Environmental Strategies Research (fms).ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9469-6023
2014 (English)In: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews, ISSN 1364-0321, E-ISSN 1879-0690, Vol. 33, p. 353-362Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Climate change and security of energy supply are main sustainability issues today and an energy systems shift towards renewable energy sources is therefore urgent. However, unless environmental impacts of such a shift are carefully taken into account, imposed resource and land use changes may counteract other sustainability goals, such as preserving biodiversity and ecosystem services. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) provides a comprehensive framework for assessment of policies and plans where a full range of environmental issues are addressed. The aim of this article was to find possibilities for comprehensive sustainability assessment among published energy-environment models and the linking of renewable energy analysis to landscape and biodiversity issues through land use concerns. Based on the review of relevant energy, environmental and linking models, a survey on publications and a case study on the EU Energy Roadmap 2050, the results show that existing energy models and research have low concerns on land use, landscapes and biodiversity. Consequently, it would be difficult to provide comprehensive decision support by using only these tools. However, suitable energy models, ecological assessment models and multi-criteria approaches exist with great potential for inter-linking. The development of energy models could thus have new orientations, connecting them to involve renewable energy options with land use, landscape and biodiversity concerns, which could be advanced into powerful SEA tools for integrated policy assessment. This will enable the development of more comprehensive decision support tools for assessing future energy scenarios, integrating main policy concerns when assessing renewable energy options.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2014. Vol. 33, p. 353-362
Keywords [en]
Energy models, Strategic environmental assessment, Landscape, Land use, Biodiversity, Policy assessment
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-138637DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2014.02.005ISI: 000335423900033Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84897724026OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-138637DiVA, id: diva2:681711
Funder
StandUp
Note

QC 20140610

Available from: 2013-12-20 Created: 2013-12-20 Last updated: 2022-06-23Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Modelling trade-offs between forest bioenergy and biodiversity
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Modelling trade-offs between forest bioenergy and biodiversity
2016 (English)Licentiate thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Globally, biodiversity is declining due to loss, fragmentation and degradation of habitat, which undermines ecosystem functioning and therefore threatens also the ability of ecosystems to supply ecosystem services. Moreover, there is a need for adapting to climate change as well as securing the supply of energy, which have led to a shift in energy consumption from fossil fuel to renewables, especially biomass, which in turn put increasing pressure on ecosystems and biodiversity. In Sweden, forest bioenergy has an important role, and high forest biomass production is an important societal objective. Intensified forestry could increase the biomass production through monocultures of native or introduced tree species as well as forest fertilization. However, due to negative effects on natural forest structures and processes, a more intensive forestry could be detrimental to forest biodiversity. The balance between energy demand and the long-term capacity of ecosystems to supply goods and services as well as support biodiversity is therefore crucial. The existing energy models and research have relatively low concerns on land use, landscape and biodiversity, comparing with high enthusiastic on energy economics, climate change and greenhouse gas emission research. Consequently, it would be difficult to provide comprehensive decision support by using only these economy and climate change oriented tools. However, ecological assessment models and multi-criteria approaches exist with great potential for linking with suitable energy models. This will enable the development of more comprehensive decision support tools for assessing future energy scenarios, integrating main policy concerns when assessing renewable energy options. The research was based on a survey on existing energy models and a case study of forest biomass extraction in Kronoberg, a region in southern Sweden. The aim of this project was to develop and test methods for integrated the sustainability assessment of forest biomass extraction for bioenergy purposes by incorporating effects on biodiversity. Forest growth was simulated under two management scenarios: Even-aged-forestry (EAF) and continuous-cover-forestry (CCF), in a time period between 2010-2110. The GIS-based approaches for assessment of biomass impacts on biodiversity involved an ecological network assessment of prioritized ecological profiles across the landscape under the two scenarios.

 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2016. p. xvi, 44
Series
TRITA-LWR. LIC, ISSN 1650-8629 ; 2015:03
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Land and Water Resources Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-180333 (URN)978-91-7595-815-6 (ISBN)
Presentation
2016-01-27, V2, Teknikringen 76, KTH, Stockholm, 14:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
StandUp
Note

QC 20160111

Available from: 2016-01-11 Created: 2016-01-11 Last updated: 2022-06-23Bibliographically approved
2. Trade-off analysis of forest ecosystem services – A modelling approach
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Trade-off analysis of forest ecosystem services – A modelling approach
2017 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Forest is a resource that is increasingly utilized for multiple purposes. The balance between energy demands and the long-term capacity of ecosystems to support biodiversity and other ecosystem services is crucial. The aim of this project was to increase the knowledge on and to develop methods and tools for trade-offs and synergies analysis among forest ecosystem services based on different forest management policies.

Paper I provides an overview of existing models for integrated energy-environment assessment. A literature review was conducted on assessment models and their ability to integrate energy with environmental aspects. Missing environmental aspects concern land use, landscapes and biodiversity. In Paper II a modelling framework was set up to link a landscape simulator with a habitat network model for integrated assessment of bioenergy feedstock and biodiversity related impacts in Kronoberg County. In Paper III we continued with the same management scenarios, while the analysis was expanded to five ecosystem services by developing the Landscape simulation and Ecological Assessment (LEcA) tool: industrial wood, bioenergy, forest carbon stock, recreation areas and habitat networks. In Paper IV we present two heuristic methods for spatial optimization – simulated annealing (SA) and genetic algorithm (GA) – to find optimal solutions for allocating harvest activities, in order to minimize the impacts on habitat networks. In Paper V, as response to the findings in Paper I, we linked the energy model MESSAGE with our LEcA tool for forest bioenergy demand assessment while applying environmental and transport restrictions, in a study of Lithuania.

We found trade-offs between industrial wood production and bioenergy on one side, and recreation values, biodiversity, and to some extent carbon storage on the other side. The LEcA tool integrated forest simulation and management with assessment of ecosystem services, which is promising for integrated sustainability assessment of forest management policies.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2017. p. 61
Series
TRITA-SEED-PHD ; 2017:02
Keywords
Forest bioenergy feedstock, Landscape simulation, Forest simulation, Ecosystem services modelling, Integrated sustainability assessment, Spatial optimization, Optimization heuristics
National Category
Environmental Sciences
Research subject
Land and Water Resources Engineering
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-216432 (URN)978-91-7729-571-6 (ISBN)
Public defence
2017-11-24, F3, Lindstedtvägen 26, KTH Campus, Stockholm, 13:00 (English)
Opponent
Supervisors
Funder
StandUpSwedish Research Council FormasEU, Horizon 2020
Note

QC 20171023

Available from: 2017-10-23 Created: 2017-10-23 Last updated: 2022-09-13Bibliographically approved

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Pang, XiMörtberg, UllaBrown, Nils

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