The use of EIO-LCA in assessing National Environmental Policies under the Kyoto Protocol: the Portuguese economy

Abstract

The adoption of the Kyoto Protocol principles and targets at a EU level, is contributing to develop new environmental policy goals at European and national levels. Although in each nation, these goals are to be monitored at a macroeconomic level, reliable sector-based indicators are crucial to promote effective environmental policies. This paper discusses the use of an Economic Input-Output Life Cycle Assessment (EIO-LCA) framework, which makes use of official data, produced under the National Accounts Matrix including Environmental Accounts (NAMEA), to enable the analysis of the environmental performance of economic sectors. Methodological extensions to this framework, which enable the environmental assessment of processes and products, are also discussed. A Portuguese case study illustrates the use of the methodology for identifying diverse environmental performances across the main economic sectors, and this is relevant for defining new policies oriented towards enabling Portugal to comply with its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.