Environment strategy: global environmental impacts of consumption and production
Independent report from the James Hutton Institute on behalf of the Scottish Government on global impacts of consumption and production in Scotland. This research is being used to inform the forthcoming Scottish Government environment strategy.
12. Appendices
12.1 Appendix 1
Data sources for the 16 EF 2017 impact categories (Source: Sala et al., 2022).
Impact Category |
Substance Group |
Data Sources |
|---|---|---|
Climate change (CC) |
GHGs both from direct emission and those associated to land use, land use change, and forestry); PCFs; HFCs; SF6 CSCs; HCFCs |
UNFCCC (2017) Linear extrapolation based on 2000-2010, from Sala et al. (2014) |
Ozone depletion (ODP) |
CSCs; HCFCs |
Linear extrapolation based on 2000-2010, from Sala et al. (2014) |
Human toxicity cancer (HTOX_c), Human toxicity non cancer (HTOX_nc) |
Air emissions: Heavy metals Organics non-NMVOC (non-methane volatile organic compounds), dioxins, PAH, HCB, etc. Releases in water: Industrial releases of HMs and organics Urban wastewater treatment plants (HMS + organics) Releases in soil: Industrial releases (HMs and POPs) Sewage sludge (containing organics and metals) Manure Pesticides: Active ingredients breakdown (i.e. disaggregated into EU countries and major types of crops) combined with dosage statistics |
Leclerc et al., 2019 |
Particulate Matter |
NOx; NH3; SO2; PM2.5; CO |
EMEP-CEIP (2017) |
Ionising radiation |
Emissions of radionuclides: To air and water from electricity generation from nuclear sources i.e. uranium mining and milling, nuclear power plants, coal, natural gas and oil combustion, geothermal energy extraction To air and water from nuclear spent-fuel reprocessing From crude oil in the energy mix supply |
UNSCEAR, 2016 RADD (2017); UNSCEAR, 2016) EF dataset (EC-JRC, 2017) |
Photochemical ozone formation (POF) |
NMVOC as aggregated; NOx, CH4; CO NMVOC breakdown |
EMEP/CEIP (2017) Laurent and Hauschild (2014) |
Acidification (AC) |
NOx; SO2; NH3 |
EMEP-CEIP (2017) |
Eutrophication freshwater (FEU) |
Phosphorus (total) to soil and water, from agriculture Phosphorus (total) to soil and water, from sewages |
Eurostat (2017a) for phosphorus input and output data; UNFCCC (2017) for nitrogen input; FAOstat (2013) for cultivated cereal surfaces Bouwan et al. (2009) 10% loss of P to water as global average Van Drecht et al (2009) for removal efficiency of P (RPA 2006) Use of laundry and dishwater detergents and fraction of P-free laundry detergent OECD (2013), Eurostat (2017b) % of people connected to wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) |
Eutrophication marine (MEU) |
NOx; NH3 Nitrogen (total) to water from agriculture Nitrogen (total) to soil and water, from sewages |
EMEP-CEIP (2017) UNFCC (2017) for Ntot input data, losses to water and to air, synthetic fertilizers manure N output based on rations (by country, by year) between input and output by Eurostat (2017a), multiplied to inputs from UNFCC (2017) Protein intake, FAOstat (2018) Van Drecht et al. (2009) removal efficiency of nitrogen OECD (2013), Eurostat (2017b) % of people connected to WWTP |
Land use (LU) |
“Land occupation” and “land transformation”: forest, cropland, grassland, settlements, wetlands, unspecified |
UNFCC (2017) |
Water use (WU) |
Gross freshwater abstraction & gross water consumption) |
FAO-Aquastat (2018); Eurostat (2018a) OECD (2016). WaterGAP (Muller schmied et al., 2014 Florke et al., 2013; Aus der Beek et al., 2010) |
Resource Use |
Minerals and metals (MRD) Fossils |
BGS (2017); USGS (2011 to 2014); World Mining Data (Reichl et al., 2017). Eurostat (2017c,d,e,f,g) |
12.2 Appendix 2
Summary of types of environmental impacts created outwith Scotland from the sourcing of materials for consumption and production in Scotland, and reference to page in report where topic is discussed. (note, table cells left blank are where entry would duplicate the type of impact, cause/source or sub-category).
| Cause/ Source | Sub-category | Type | Further details | Comment, Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mining | Phosphorus/ phosphate rock | Particulate matter | Page 30 | Phosphate rock mining requires resources such as water and energy, and contributes to water, air and soil pollution, GHG emissions, landscape degradation and solid waste generation (de Ridder et al., 2012). See also under water quality and GHG emissions. |
| Mining | Ores such as iron, copper, cobalt | Particulate matter | Pages 19 and 34 | Dust and release of particulate matter into the atmosphere (US EPA, 2023; BGR, 2020b). Direct or indirect affects on air, water, vegetation (Thejas and Hossiney, 2022), and Nitrous oxide affecting air pollution. |
| Food production for human consumption | Sugar | Particulate matter | Page 36 | Sugarcane production causes negative environmental externalities such as poor air quality (El Chami et al., 2020)., air emissions from soil in cultivation (Garcia Gonzalez and Björnsson, 2022, p6). |
| Energy | Oil and gas | Particulate matter | Page 36 | Oil refining processes lead to emissions subject to local regulations (Cordes et al., 2016) |
| Cause/ Source | Sub-category | Type | Further details | Comment, Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food production | Food products (e.g. Poultry, beef, pork, dairy, tofu, salmon, eggs, vegetable oils) | Endanger pollinators | Pages 23, 24 | Loss of habitats for endangered species, insects, birds, bats as pollinators (Crenna et al., 2019). Eight food products account for 75% of total damage to biodiversity (Crenna et al., 2019). |
| Food production for human consumption | Palm oil | Biodiversity | Pages 19, 23 | Principally deforestation in areas associated with high biodiversity (i.e. tropics), mainly as secondary land uses rather than primary causes of forest loss (Ritchie and Roser, 2021). |
| Food production for human consumption | Sugar | Biodiversity | Page 25, 35 | Sugarcane production creates land use changes through deforestation of rainforest ecosystems for agricultural use, and reduced above and below ground biodiversity (El Chami et al., 2020). |
| Energy raw materials | Oil and gas | Biodiversity | Page 37 | Environmental impacts from extracting oil, and gas, include impacts on air quality, water quality and biodiversity due to land use change, offshore drilling, or transporting raw materials, and risks of industrial accidents of spillages and leaks (Cordes et al., 2016). |
| Food production for human consumption | Biscuits, shortbread | Land use change | Page 25 | Loss of habitats suitable for endangered species (e.g. in Indonesia) from natural systems into monoculture (e.g. bananas, palm oil) (Ritchie and Roser, 2021). |
| Cause/ Source | Sub-category | Type | Further details | Comment, Reference |
| Food production for human consumption | For example, Chocolate, tea, tomatoes, fruits (e.g. apples, oranges, grapes for wine), coffee | Pesticide use | Page 24, 25, 35 | Contamination of water courses leading to the decline in fish and amphibian populations; habitat degradation leading to loss of bird and insect pollinators (Crenna et al., 2020). |
| Food production for human consumption | Habitats for pollinators (e.g. honey bees) | Pesticide use | Page 24 | Ecotoxicity impacts of pesticides on honey bees (Rueppell and Kennedy, 2019). |
| Food production for human consumption | Bananas | Land use change | Page 25 | Loss of habitats suitable for several species from insects to mammals (Crenna et al., 2019). |
| Food production for human consumption | Rice | Land occupation in EU and Mediterranean area; Water use | Page 25 | Loss of habitats suitable for several species from insects to mammals (Crenna et al., 2019). |
| Mining | Metals such as copper, cobalt and iron ore | Deforestation, Land use change | Page 29 | Loss of forests up to 70 km outwith mining leases leading to 11,670 km2 of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon between 2005 and 2015 (Sonter et al., 2018). |
| Cause/ Source | Sub-category | Type | Further details | Comment, Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mining | Metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, and iron ore and bauxite | Loss of land to mining infrastructure | Page 19, 20 | Open cast mine area, and area required for tailings dams and waste pits, e.g. for copper, nickel, cobalt, iron ore (BGR, 2020a; Sirkeci et al., 2006). |
| Food production for human consumption | Oil Palm | Land use | Page 19, 21 | Primary driver of deforestation leading to opportunities for subsequent land use change, such as agriculture to oil palm plantations (Gaveau et al., 2016). |
| Food production for human consumption | Vegetable crops | Loss of land to vegetable crops | Page 19, 21 | Significant expansion of land area for crops such as soyabeans, oil palm, rapeseed oils (Ritchie and Roser, 2021; Murphy et al., 2021). |
| Cause/ Source | Sub-category | Type | Further details | Comment, Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Timber extraction | Commercial timber | Loss of native forests | Pages 17, 25, 27 | Felling, harvesting, sawmills through to final products and their disposal (Adhikari and Ozarska, 2018; Sonter et al. 2017). |
| Food production for human consumption | Commercial agriculture | Page 26 | In tropical areas (2000 to 2012) commercial forestry was the main cause of 71% of forest loss (Forest Trends, 2014). | |
| Food production for human consumption | Vegetable crops | Page 22, 23 | Loss of tropical forests for oil palm production (Pendrill et al., 2019; Potapov et al., 2017). See also land use and biodiversity loss. | |
| Food production for animal feedstock | Livestock grazing | Page 23 | Primary change of the loss of forests for grassland for grazing (Gaveau et al., 2016). | |
| Food production for human consumption | Sugar | Page 35 | Loss of forests for sugarcane production (El Chami et al., 2020). | |
| Mining | Metals such as copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron, silver, uranium and nickel | Page 28, 29 | Mining induced deforestation up to 70 km outside mining leases, e.g. 9% loss of Amazon forest (2005 to 2015), and 12 times more deforestation than occurred within mining leases (Sonter et al., 2018). | |
| Mining | Page 20 | Clearing of rainforest with lack of reclamation and renaturation activities (e.g. nickel, copper) BGR (2020b). |
| Cause/ Source | Sub-category | Type | Further details | Comment, Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mining and smelting | Lead (and cadmium) | Page 32, 34 | Smelting Lead releases large quantities of Cadmium and Lead into the environment; gaseous pollutants (CO2, SO2, NOx), particulate matter emissions, solid waste into soils (Singh and Li, 2014). | |
| Mining | Rare Earths, Cobalt and other metals | Page 20, 31 | Environmental impacts from direct removal of rare earths from boreholes include soil degradation and groundwater contamination (BGR, 2020b), and on soil, vegetation, water and air quality (e.g. for Cobalt). | |
| Mining | Phosphorus / phosphate rock | Page 30 | Pollution of water, air and soil, greenhouse gas emissions, landscape degradation and solid waste generation (de Ridder et al., 2012); eutrophication and harmful algal growth in water (US EPA, 2023). | |
| Timber extraction | Erosion, sediments | Page 26 | Influences on environmental impacts linked to climatic conditions, and site characteristics of tree crops, such as soils, means of harvesting, processing and transportation. | |
| Food production for human consumption | Sugar | Page 35, 36 | Production process create pressures on physical (e.g. soil compaction, erosion), chemical (acidification, soil carbon), and biological (e.g. microbial activities) properties of soils (El Chami et al., 2020). | |
| Cause/ Source | Sub-category | Type | Further details | Comment, Reference |
| Food production for human consumption (marine) | Shrimps | Nutrient emissions | Page 25, 39 | Nutrient emissions causing excessive algae blooms, eutrophicating marine and fresh water, lead to change in species composition and disruption of trophic chains; habitat degradation and loss, especially salt marshes and mangrove areas (Crenna et al., 2019). |
| Food production for human consumption (marine) | Cod | Sea bottom trawling | Pages 24, 39 | Loss of wild cod stocks and disruption of the trophic chain (Crenna et al., 2019). |
| Food production for human consumption | Almonds | Water use | Page 24 | Potential eutrophication and acidification of waters, and irrigation stressing water supplies is very high in semi-arid and arid Mediterranean areas (Bartzas et al., 2017). |
| Plastics | Replacement of lead | Page 34 | Disposal of materials from processes not re-used or recycled (e.g. packaging) (e.g. US Geological Survey, 2023c; OECD, 2022). | |
| Energy | Oil and gas | Spillages, drilling muds and water | Page 37 | Environmental impacts from extracting oil, and gas, include consequences for water quality due to risks of industrial accidents of spillages and leaks sediment resuspension and burial, low toxicity oil based drilling muds and water (Cordes et al., 2016). |