1.11 Reduced life cycle impacts of future infrastructure maintenance

Challenge

Reducing climate impact from the transport sector is one of the greatest challenges in achieving climate goals. Globally, the transport sector accounts for approximately one-quarter of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions.

Planned construction projects will require maintenance for many years to come. It is therefore essential that stakeholders identify opportunities to reduce climate impact and resource use from infrastructure maintenance throughout the entire life cycle. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) can be used at various stages of the decision-making process to support both emission- and energy-efficient planning.

Solution

Within the project, three articles have been published that collectively contribute to the aim of providing knowledge about the climate impact and energy use of transport systems:

1. A method to calculate the annual climate impact and energy use of Swedish transport infrastructure at the network level.

2. An extension of the first study, with expanded system boundaries. Domestic and international freight transport and passenger travel were included.

3. Life Cycle Assessments as decision support when choosing a road corridor at the project level, focusing on data inventory and the relevance of results for decision-making.

Societal Impact

1. There is significant potential to reduce life cycle impacts in infrastructure projects.
2. LCA can serve as a tool to enable systematic work on emissions and energy efficiency during the planning and design phases of transport sector projects.