Life cycle assessment (Lca) of environmental and energy systems

The transition towards renewable energy sources and “green” technologies for energy generation and storage is expected to mitigate the climate emergency in the coming years. However, in many cases, this progress has been hampered by our dependency on critical materials or other resources that are often processed with high environmental burdens. Yet, beyond global warming, several global challenges have to be promptly addressed, including the loss of biodiversity, environmental pollution, water scarcity, and energy security. Environmental and energy issues are strictly interconnected and require a comprehensive understanding of resource management strategies and their implications. For instance, the depletion and contamination of a vital resource such as water has been related to possible shortages in heat and power generation, distribution and use; on the other hand, water supply requires energy inputs, particularly if the most common sources of natural provision (e.g., groundwater) are not easily accessible. Actions undertaken in separately considered systems may hinder the achievement of optimized benefits and reduction in adverse consequences. A system perspective is therefore needed to identify and quantify the impact of human activity on the environment. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is among the most inclusive analytical techniques to analyze sustainability benefits and trade-offs resulting from complex systems. This Special Issue presents a collection of original articles, reviews, and case studies focusing on mutual influences of environmental and energy systems. A brief description and discussion of the contributions to this Special Issue is reported hereafter. It is worth noting that the order in which the contribution