Large-scale deployment of low-carbon energy technologies is important for counteracting anthropogenic climate change and achieving universal energy access. This thesis explores potential growth rates of technologies necessary to reach a more sustainable global energy system, the material and energy flows required to commission these technologies, and potential future availability of the required resources. These issues are investigated in five papers. Potential future growth rates of wind energy and solar photovoltaics, and the associated material requirements are explored, taking the expected service life of these technologies into account. Methodology for assessing net energy return and natural resource use for wind energy systems are analyzed. Potential future availability of lithium and phosphate rock are also investigated. Estimates of energy and materials required for technologies such as wind energy and photovoltaics vary, and depend on the assumptions made and methods used. Still, it is clear that commissioning of low-carbon technologies on the scale required to reach and sustain a low-carbon energy system in coming decades requires significant quantities of both bulk materials and scarcer resources. For some technologies, such as thin film solar cells and electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries, availability of materials could become an issue for potential growth rates. Future phosphate rock production could become highly dependent on few countries, and potential political, social and environmental aspects of this should be investigated in more detail. Material and energy flows should be considered when analyzing growth rates of low-carbon technologies. Their estimated service life can indicate sustainable growth rates of technologies, as well as when materials are available for end-of-life recycling. Resource constrained growth curve models can be used to explore future production of natural resources. A higher disaggregation of these models can enable more detailed analysis of potential constraints. This thesis contributes to the discussion on how to create a more sustainable global energy system, but the methods to assess current and future energy and material flows, and availability of natural resources, should be further developed in the future.

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This master thesis was performed with the main purpose of evaluating the environmental performance of a surface radar system with the means of a life cycle assessment, LCA. Saab Electronic Defence Systems, EDS, was the initiator and driver of the project, and is also owner of the radar system evaluated. Apart from the environmental performance the project was carried out with the intention of EDS wanting to gain knowledge about working with LCA, both in terms of methodology and to get an insight into whether and how well they can work with the tool in their current situation. In order to assess the radar systems environmental impact through its entire life cycle there was emphasis on the use phase since the object can be used in several different ways under various circumstances. Eight different operational profiles were thus addressed in order to compare these variations in use scenarios. In addition, studies were performed on whether there exist any guidelines on how use phase scenarios can or should be defined when conducting an LCA. The LCA was performed in accordance with the ISO 14040 family and the database Ecoinvent has been used for mapping the in- and outflows. To calculate the potential environmental impacts ReCiPé was used, where three out of 18 impact categories were chosen to focus upon in agreement with EDS, namely climate change, fossil depletion and mineral resource depletion. Apart from within some business areas, conclusion could be drawn that no general guidelines exist for the definition of the use phase in an LCA. Besides being described in order to increase transparency in the assessment, no further requirements are set by ISO. Found through the assessment is that the use phase shows a major contribution to the overall environmental impacts from the entire life cycle, by being accountable for roughly 85 %. Depending on impact category, the cause lies with either the radar operation due to its large amount of diesel consumption or with the extraction of materials needed to provide for the replacement of faulty components during maintenance. In accordance with their share of the object’s weight, aluminium, copper and iron stand for about 77 % of the materials environmental impact. Noticeable is though that gold takes place on the top ten list of contributing materials with its 0.0001 % of the total weight, meaning that not only do the large amounts of a material matter, more important is the relation between weight and environmental impact. Regarding the eight operational profiles, out of the two parameters compared the radar operation proved to have significantly larger impacts in all three impact categories than the vehicle operation. Interestingly enough, it was found that if the radar and vehicle would have the same amount of operating hours, the vehicle would have larger impacts than the radar. In conclusion, from an environmental perspective it is more important to keep the vehicle operating hours low. However, since the radar operating hours are high at this point it would make a significant difference in reducing the radar fuel consumption. Lastly, for EDS to be able to continue in working with LCA, conclusions are drawn that a more qualified information base needs to be built up within the organization to avoid as much assumptions as possible, this in order to achieve more reliable results. / Detta examensarbete utfördes med det huvudsakliga syftet att utvärdera miljöprestandan av ett markradarsystem med hjälp av en livscykelanalys, LCA. Saab Electronic Defence Systems, EDS, både tog initiativ till och drev projektet. De är även ägare av det utvärderade markradar-systemet. Utöver miljöprestandan utfördes examensarbetet även med avsikt att bistå EDS med kunskap om att arbeta med LCA, både vad gäller metodiken och för att ge en inblick i om och hur väl de kan arbeta med verktyget under nuvarande förhållanden. För att kunna bedöma radarsystemets miljöpåverkan genom hela dess livscykel lades betoning på användningsfasen då objektet kan användas på ett flertal sätt under olika omständigheter. Åtta olika driftsprofiler sattes därmed upp för att jämföra dessa varierande användnings-scenarier. Dessutom studerades om det idag finns några riktlinjer för hur användningsfasen kan eller bör definieras vid utförandet av en LCA. Analysen utfördes i enlighet med ISO 14040-familjen och databasen Ecoinvent har använts för kartläggning av in- och utflöden. För att beräkna den potentiella miljöpåverkan som uppstår användes ReCiPé, där tre utav 18 miljö-påverkanskategorier valdes att fokusera på, nämligen klimatförändring, fossil utarmning och utarmning av mineraler. Bortsett från några branscher kunde slutsatsen dras att inga generella riktlinjer finns för definitionen av användningsfasen i en LCA. Utöver att beskriva sina val i syfte att öka transparensen i analysen ställs inga ytterligare krav av ISO. Genom att bidra till omkring 85 % av den totala miljöpåverkan visade sig användningsfasen vara överlägsen i förhållande till övriga faser i livscykeln. Beroende på påverkanskategori är den bakomliggande orsaken antingen radardriften, på grund av sin stora mängd dieselförbrukning, eller utvinningen av de ämnen som behövs för utbytet av felaktiga komponenter vid underhåll. I enlighet med deras andel av hela den funktionella enhetens vikt står aluminium, koppar och järn för ungefär 77 % av de utvunna ämnenas miljöpåverkan. Noterbart är dock att guld placerar sig på topp tio-listan över bidragande ämnen med sin andel på 0.0001 % av den totala vikten, vilket innebär att det inte bara är stora mängder av ämnen som spelar roll utan också förhållandet mellan vikt och miljöpåverkan. Vad gäller de åtta driftsprofilerna och dess två ingående parametrar visade sig radardrift ha betydligt större påverkan inom alla tre miljö-påverkanskategorier än fordonsdrift. Anmärkningsvärt nog visade det sig att om radar och fordon skulle ha samma driftstider skulle fordonsdrift bidra med den större miljöpåverkan av de två. Ur miljösynpunkt skulle det därför vara viktigare att hålla fordonets driftstid nere, men eftersom driftstiden för radar i dagsläget är avsevärt högre skulle det göra större skillnad att reducera radarns dieselförbrukning. Slutligen, för att EDS ska kunna fortskrida sitt arbete med LCA, dras slutsatsen att en mer kvalificerad informationsbas måste byggas upp inom organisationen. Detta för att i så hög grad som möjligt kunna undvika antaganden, i syfte att uppnå mer tillförlitliga resultat.

This study endeavors to investigate the negative environmental impacts of the prevailing ICT design approaches and to explore some potential remedies for ICT design unsustainability from environmental and corporate sustainability perspectives. More specifically, it aims to spotlight key environmental issues related to ICT design, including resource depletion; GHG emissions resulting from energy-intensive consumption; toxic waste disposal; and hazardous chemicals use; and also to shed light on how alternative design solutions can be devised based on environmental sustainability principles to achieve the goals of sustainable technologies. The study highlights the relationship between ICT design and sustainability and how they can symbiotically affect one another. To achieve the aim of this study, an examination was performed through an extensive literature review covering empirical, theoretical, and critical scholarship. The study draws on a variety of sources to survey the negative environmental impacts of the current mainstream ICT design approach and review the potential remedies for unsustainability of ICT design. For theory, central themes were selected for review given the synergy and integration between them as to the topic under investigation. They include: design issues; design science; design research framework for ICT; sustainability; corporate sustainability; and design and sustainability. Findings highlight the unsustainability of the current mainstream ICT design approach. Key environmental issues for consideration include: resource depletion through extracting huge amounts of material and scarce elements; energy-intensive consumption and GHG emissions, especially from ICT use phase; toxic waste disposal; and hazardous substances use. Potential remedies for ICT design unsustainability include dematerialization as an effective strategy to minimize resources depletion, de-carbonization to cut energy consumption through using efficient energy required over life cycle and renewable energy; recyclability through design with life cycle thinking (LCT) and extending ICT equipment’s operational life through reuse; mitigating hazardous chemicals through green design - low or non-noxious/less hazardous products. As to solving data center dilemma, design solutions vary from hardware and software to technological improvements and adjustments. Furthermore, corporate sustainability can be a strategic model for ICT sector to respond to environmental issues, including those associated with unsustainable ICT design. In the same vein, through adopting corporate sustainability, ICT-enabled organizations can rationalize energy usage to reduce GHG emissions, and thereby alleviating global warming. This study provides a novel approach to sustainable ICT design, highlighting unsustainability of its current mainstream practices. Review of the literature makes an advance on extant reviews of the literature by highlighting the symbiotic relationship between ICT design and environmental sustainability from both research and practice perspectives. This study adds to the body of knowledge and previous endeavours in research of ICT and sustainability. Overall, it endeavours to present contributions and avenues for further theoretical and empirical research and development. / +46704352135/+212662815009

Marine fish stocks are under serious threat of depletion due to increasing numbers of resource users with competing interests, resulting in degradation and the decline of fish catch. Using qualitative and quantitative techniques such as in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, household surveys and remote sensing and GIS, this study addresses: (1) the complex and inter-related nature of resource dependency, (2) the role of assets in determining survival strategies of households in artisanal fishing communities in Ponnani, India, (3) how asset degradation impacts resource-dependent households, (4) how households develop survival strategies, and (5) considers access to social, political, physical, human and financial assets. Information is organized using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) with modifications to suite the local complexities. Results show that households - engaged in diverse activities, including fishing, fish processing/marketing/culture and daily labour - evolved property rights of natural resources over generations. The Pathemari cargo business’s limited knowledge of fisheries compared to artisanal fishers, and the government led modernization resulted in resource degradation. Therefore, artisanal fishers living in coastal wards threatened by intense erosion, abandoned traditional occupations in pursuit of livelihood security. Results from image analysis and derived thematic maps indicate increased erosion of 0.35 sq km shoreline coinciding with government development initiatives. To improve livelihood options, the results indicate that 50% surveyed accessed political assets such as fishers’ cooperatives and only 20% accessed financial assets such as government sponsored schemes and loans. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions revealed many limiting factors of access, specifically marginalization and lack of financial assets: only 6% surveyed could raise enough money to migrate. With changes in technology, from harvesting to processing, gender roles are being radically altered. Women are losing jobs and income. Politically, the study revealed that local participation helped governing bodies prioritize on housing, roads, water and sanitation. Analysis of the information through the modified SLF suggests three strategies to enhance the asset base of coastal poor: strengthening grassroots organizations; transforming state relations; and developing new alternatives to conventional coastal development practice. Finally, the study suggests resource management policies to improve the households’ livelihood options and well-being.