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Climate Change, Environmental, Socio-economic and Circular Economy Considerations
出版Publications Office of the European Union, 2021
ISBN92764003979789276400394
URLhttp://books.google.com.hk/books?id=sEyezgEACAAJ&hl=&source=gbs_api
註釋Aluminium has a significant industrial base in the EU and strong links with many industrial ecosystems. As sustainability has come to the forefront of public and policy attention, factors to evaluate the sustainability of bauxite and aluminium's supply and use can be classified in Climate Change, Environmental, Social, Circular Economy and Economic aspects. Aluminium is one of the most carbon-intensive industrial metals to produce. Greenhouse gas emissions during aluminium production is the greatest sustainability challenge for the aluminium industry. Substantial progress has been attained in the last decades in reducing process emissions, and in Europe, the domestic aluminium production has achieved a lower carbon footprint than the global average. However, due to the increasing penetration of high-carbon aluminium imports, this achievement is not reflected in a lower footprint of the aluminium used in Europe. As the carbon intensity of primary aluminium production relies mainly on electricity production's carbon footprint, the greening of the grid energy mix is the key to driving down the carbon count per tonne of metal. Furthermore, secondary aluminium production has enormous carbon benefits as only a tiny fraction of the energy to produce primary metal is required. At the same time, aluminium is an enabler to other sectors to decrease their carbon footprints due to its lightweight and strength. Energy efficiency and low-carbon applications are expected to be the drivers of aluminium's growing demand. Both primary and recycled metal will be needed to meet demand in the future. The large land area requirement for bauxite mining within or close to nature protected areas and tropical forests and/or indigenous lands is the main challenge that bauxite mining industry worldwide has to address in order to reduce impacts on biodiversity and local communities. Another critical issue in the environmental domain of aluminium - but also in the social and circular economy - is the management of bauxite residues (red mud) generated during the alkaline digestion of bauxite ore in alumina production. Additional environmental challenges can derive from bauxite mines' location in water-scarce areas or nature protected areas, as well as from the poor environmental performance and high natural hazards risk in bauxite supplying countries. The main emission and resource consumption levels in each stage of the aluminium value chain are also outlined in the report, combined with results from Life Cycle Assessment studies conducted by international aluminium organisations. The report also discusses the achieved end-of-life recycling indicators and the role of aluminium recycling in the security of supply and climate change mitigation. An increase in aluminium recycling rates will enhance the Union's strategic autonomy in view of the projected increased demand in the next decades. It will also enable a lower carbon footprint of aluminium production in the EU. The aluminium scrap leaving the Union and the indirect downcycling of wrought alloys to aluminium castings are among the challenges to overcome for higher circularity. Insights given on the social perspective of the aluminium industry include occupational health and safety, environmental conflicts across the globe, international initiatives to improve the industry's sustainability performance, and governance in bauxite producing countries. An identified risk for the EU aluminium sector's sustainability performance is the fragile governance in the leading bauxite supplier to the EU (Guinea). Bauxite exploration and new mine development, and the management of massive volumes of bauxite residues cause several conflicts worldwide. Concerning the industry's socio-economic contribution, the European industry generates revenues and value added of billion euros and contributes with thousands of jobs to the EU economy. The report looks at the economic dimension of the EU aluminium industry through data for production value, value added, employment, and investments.