THE ROLE OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT IN POLICY AND COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT: THE CASE OF LIQUID BIOFUELS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is now playing an increasing role in national policy-making and, crucially, in decision-making for commercial development. Policy- and decision-makers are gaining understanding of this technique so that they can interpret its results in a meaningful manner. Likewise, practitioners are learning to establish methodologies that ensure that LCA addresses the questions which are being posed. An example of this is provided by the role of LCA in the commercial development of liquid biofuels in the UK. This paper describes published studies have been used to inform the debate on net greenhouse gas savings associated with the production of biodiesel from oilseed rape and bioethanol production from sugar beet and wheat grain. The importance of technological and commercial choices on results and their influence on policy responses are explored. The application of comparative reference systems as practical means of avoiding problems with allocation systems is demonstrated