Executive summary

Well-informed energy policy design is key to reaching decarbonisation targets, and to keeping global warming under a 2°C threshold. In particular, low-carbon electricity provision for all is an essential characteristic of a 2°C-compatible energy system, as the IPCC shows that the most ambitious climate mitigation scenarios entail the electrification of most of our economy [1]. Therefore, understanding the full scale of potential impacts from current and future electricity generation is required, in order to avoid “impact leakage”, i.e. increasing non-climate environmental pressure while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Life cycle assessment allows the evaluation of a product over its life cycle, and across a wide range of environmental indicators – this method was chosen to report on the environmental profiles of various technologies.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Affordable and Clean Energy

Responsible Consumption and Production

Climate Action