Dissertation title: 

Behavioural Influence on Greenhouse Gas Footprints of Human Activities

Group: Radboud University Nijmegen, Environmental Sciences
Promotors: prof. dr. M.A.J. Huijbregts, prof. dr. H. King
Co-promotors: dr. Z.J.N. Steinmann

Abstract:

Several studies have quantified the greenhouse gas (GHG) footprints of human activities. However, the influence of variability on the GHG footprints, particularly behavioural variability has been rarely addressed. Quantification of variability has two main advantages. First, it enables us to probabilistically compare the environmental footprints of different activities delivering the same service. Second, it enables us to quantify the contribution of each input variable to the overall variance. In this thesis, I illustrated that knowing how, where and when consumer products are used, is key in the environmental footprinting of human activities. I showed that behavioural variability can be incorporated in the assessment of environmental footprints by the use of Monte Carlo simulation. It is important for policy makers and product designers to understand which type of behaviour they are trying to influence as this is likely to determine both the rate and the size of change achievable.