Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a cradle-to-grave quantitative tool that examines environmental burdens of products and processes from materials extraction through waste disposal. LCA is increasingly used in policy to reveal unintended consequences associated with decisions about energy products and their supply chains yet is often criticized for using uncertain inputs. While LCAs of electricity generation are often perceived to be well understood, this presentation will illuminate gaps that overlook the equivalent of a billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year. Novel methods that examine a variety of spatial scales can support the development of important mitigation opportunities, from sites to the world that is represented in current datasets. Leveraging uncertainty analyses and advanced spatiotemporal information, research that improves accuracy and our understanding of uncertainty in LCA will provide insights into both mitigation solutions and evolving trends in the field.
Dr. Sarah Jordaan is an Associate Professor of Industrial Ecology / Life Cycle Assessment at the Department of Civil Engineering and Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design, McGill University. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on life cycle assessment, techno economic analysis, and technology innovation. By improving the spatiotemporal texture of these fields, her research group—Energy Technology and Policy Assessment (ETAPA)— develops solutions for a more sustainable energy future. Her collaborations have been published in Nature Climate Change, Science, Environmental Science & Technology, and Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. Her doctorate in Environmental Design is from the University of Calgary (2010) and Bachelor of Science (Physics) was completed at Memorial University in 2003. Prior to McGill, she held positions at Johns Hopkins University, Harvard University, the Electric Power Research Institute, Shell, the University of Calgary, and the Laboratory on International Law and Regulation at the UC, San Diego.
Friday, October 14, 2022
10:30am – 11:50am PST
Sarah Marie Jordaan, B.Sc., Ph.D.; Associate Professor, Life Cycle Assessment / Industrial Ecology; The Trottier Institute for Sustainability in Engineering and Design (TISED); Department of Civil Engineering; McGill University; Research group: Energy Technology and Policy Assessment
Attend Online (passcode=ucdenergy)
