Chia Hao Liu1, Sue J. Lin 2, Charles Lewis3

  • 1 Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Lungtan, Taoyuan 32546, Taiwan
  • 2 Sustainable Environmental Research Center (SERC), Department of Environmental Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
  • 3 Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan

Received: April 17, 2012
Revised: July 30, 2012
Accepted: July 30, 2012
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2012.04.0090  

  • Download: PDF


Cite this article:
Liu, C.H., Lin, S.J. and Lewis, C. (2012). Environmental Impacts of Electricity Sector in Taiwan by Using Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment: The Role of Carbon Dioxide Emissions. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 12: 733-744. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2012.04.0090


 

ABSTRACT


Electricity has played a critical role in supporting industrial development and economic growth in Taiwan. In this study, input-output analysis is combined with life cycle assessment to evaluate the total environmental impacts (including direct and indirect) of the electricity sector in Taiwan. The results indicate that the environmental impacts of Taiwan’s electricity sector increased from 2001 to 2006, and 85% of these are focused on eight related sectors. In addition, “human health” suffers from the most significant environmental impact, followed by “resources”, “climate change” and “ecosystem quality”. Although direct environmental impacts are significant, especially with regard to climate change, indirect environmental impacts are gradually increasing. Because the electricity sector is linked to many other sectors, there would be an underestimation of CO2 emissions and other environmental impacts if the indirect effects from the related sectors were omitted from the calculations. These indirect impacts mainly come from the “non-metallic minerals”, “petroleum refining products” and “other metals” sectors, and the technology used in these three sectors needs to improve and become more environmentally-friendly. Other suggestions to promote the sustainable development of Taiwan’s electricity sector include upgrading energy efficiency, implementing stricter effluent regulatory standards, maximizing energy security with a higher proportion of renewable energy sources, phasing out old fossil fuel plant facilities, seeking international cooperation for CCS technology, and promoting energy-saving by providing economic incentives. This study is of value to the government and relevant industries that are working to identify the total environmental impacts of their energy policies, and to plan mitigation strategies and policy implementations to reduce CO2 emissions and control pollution.


Keywords: CO2 emissions; Electricity sector; IO-LCA; Direct and indirect impacts


Share this article with your colleagues 

 

Subscribe to our Newsletter 

Aerosol and Air Quality Research has published over 2,000 peer-reviewed articles. Enter your email address to receive latest updates and research articles to your inbox every second week.

7.3
2022CiteScore
 
 
77st percentile
Powered by
Scopus
 
   SCImago Journal & Country Rank

2022 Impact Factor: 4.0
5-Year Impact Factor: 3.4

Call for Papers for the special issue on: "Carbonaceous Aerosols in the Atmosphere"

Aerosol and Air Quality Research partners with Publons

CLOCKSS system has permission to ingest, preserve, and serve this Archival Unit
CLOCKSS system has permission to ingest, preserve, and serve this Archival Unit

Aerosol and Air Quality Research (AAQR) is an independently-run non-profit journal that promotes submissions of high-quality research and strives to be one of the leading aerosol and air quality open-access journals in the world. We use cookies on this website to personalize content to improve your user experience and analyze our traffic. By using this site you agree to its use of cookies.