Stephan Pfister

Last Name

Pfister

First Name

Stephan

ORCID

0000-0001-8984-2041

Organisational unit

03732 - Hellweg, Stefanie / Hellweg, Stefanie

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Publications1 - 10 of 173

Measuring water use in a green economy
McGlade, Jacqueline; Werner, Beate; Young, Mike; et al. (2012)
Mapping GHG emissions and prospects for renewable energy in the chemical industry
Bauer, Fredric; Tilsted, Joachim P; Pfister, Stephan; et al. (2023)
Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering
Chemicals is the industrial sector with the highest energy demand, using a substantial share of global fossil energy and emitting increasing amounts of greenhouse gasses following rapid growth over the past 25 years. Emissions associated with energy used have increased with growth in coal dependent regions but are also commonly underestimated in regions with higher shares of renewable energy. Renewable energy is key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions yet remains niche when considering corporate targets and initiatives aiming at emission reductions, which instead favour incremental energy efficiency improvements. These findings point to a risk for continued lock-in to fossil energy in the industry.
Can Forest Management Practices Counteract Species Loss Arising from Increasing European Demand for Forest Biomass under Climate Mitigation Scenarios?
Rosa, Francesca; Di Fulvio, Fulvio; Lauri, Pekka; et al. (2023)
Environmental Science & Technology
Forests are home to many species and provide biomass for material and energy. Here, we modeled the potential global species extinction risk from future scenarios of climate mitigation and EU28 forest management. We considered the continuation of current practices, the adoption of closer-to-nature management (low-intensity practices), and set-asides (conversion to unharvested forestland) on portions of EU28 forestland under two climate mitigation pathways as well as the consequences for the wood trade. Expanding set-aside to more than 25% of EU28 currently managed forestland by 2100 increased the global extinction risk compared to the continuation of current practices. This outcome stems from a projected increase in EU forest biomass imports, partially from biodiversity-vulnerable regions to compensate for a decrease in domestic harvest. Conversely, closer-to-nature management on up to 37.5% of EU28 forestland lowered extinction risks. Increasing the internal production and partially sourcing imported biomass from low-intensity managed areas lowered the species extinction footprint even further. However, low-intensity practices could not entirely compensate for the increased extinction risk under a high climate mitigation scenario with greater demand for lignocellulosic crops and energywood. When developing climate mitigation strategies, it is crucial to assess forest biomass supply chains for the early detection of extinction risks in non-EU regions and for developing strategies to prevent increase of global impacts.
Assessing the potential human health impacts of freshwater consumption: considering inequalities in water availability to assess the consequences of domestic water deprivation
Debarre, Laura; Motoshita, Masaharu; Pfister, Stephan; et al. (2025)
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
PurposeThe consumption of freshwater can increase local competition among ecosystems needs, agriculture, and domestic users. This competition can lead to reduced domestic water availability and subsequent inadequate hygiene practices leading to water-related diseases. Among the few attempts to develop endpoint-oriented characterization models and factors to assess this impact pathway, limitations still need to be addressed to improve the effect factor (EF) representing the marginal increase in health damage associated with 1 m3 of water consumed. This research proposes a revised country-scale effect model assessing diarrheal diseases due to domestic water deprivation, considering different levels of water availability within a country.MethodsThe calculation of the EF is based on the principle that the probability of negative health consequences associated with depriving a domestic user of 1 m3 of water depends on the quantity used daily by this user. Three classes of domestic water users are defined based on their range of daily water use. EFs are calculated for each class of domestic users building on a comparative risk assessment methodology and households' levels of access to drinking water and sanitation from the Joint Monitoring Program. Country-specific EFs are computed as the weighted sum of class-specific EF proportionally to the population within each class. Revised country-specific EFs are used to overwrite the generic constant EF used in previous characterization models and to compute new characterization factors (CFs).Results and discussionClass-specific effect factors equal to 1.35e - 3, 3.44e - 4, and 7.53e - 5 DALY/m3 for the three classes of users, showing a 57, 89, and 98% reduction compared to previous characterization models. Country-specific EF values range from 7.5e - 05 to 8.7e - 04 DALY/m3 deprived (M: 2.5e - 04; SD: 1.8e - 04), representing a reduction of 72.2 to 97.6% compared to previous models. New 11987 CFs were compiled ranging from 0 to 7.63e - 04 DALY/m3 consumed (M: 1.9e - 6; SD: 2.1e - 5). The global potential impact induced by water consumption over the year 2019 computed with our model reaches 2.77e + 7 DALYs, corresponding to 50% of the water-related burden of diarrheal disease calculated by a recent epidemiology study, which confirms the plausibility of our results.ConclusionsUnlike previous methods, our revised EFs acknowledge inequalities in domestic water consumption within a country. Revised EFs are calculated by country, going beyond the global resolution of previous models, compared to which they show a reduction of 72 to 98%. A sanity check confirms the plausibility of our CFs but does not rule out a potential overestimation. Future research is needed to provide empirical evidence supporting a causal link between water deprivation and diarrheal diseases and to assess uncertainties of the model results.
Spatial and temporal specific characterisation factors for water use impact assessment in Spain
Núñez, Montserrat; Pfister, Stephan; Vargas, Mar; et al. (2014)
The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment
BOARD-INVITED REVIEW: Quantifying water use in ruminant production
Legesse, G.; Ominski, K. H.; Beauchemin, K. A.; et al. (2017)
Journal of Animal Science
Global site-specific health impacts of fossil energy, steel mills, oil refineries and cement plants
Oberschelp, Christopher; Pfister, Stephan; Hellweg, Stefanie (2023)
Scientific Reports
Climate change and particulate matter air pollution present major threats to human well-being by causing impacts on human health. Both are connected to key air pollutants such as carbon dioxide (CO 2), primary fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO 2), nitrogen oxides (NO x) and ammonia (NH 3), which are primarily emitted from energy-intensive industrial sectors. We present the first study to consistently link a broad range of emission measurements for these substances with site-specific technical data, emission models, and atmospheric fate and effect models to quantify health impacts caused by nearly all global fossil power plants, steel mills, oil refineries and cement plants. The resulting health impact patterns differ substantially from far less detailed earlier studies due to the high resolution of included data, highlighting in particular the key role of emission abatement at individual coal-consuming industrial sites in densely populated areas of Asia (Northern and North-Eastern India, Java in Indonesia, Eastern China), Western Europe (Germany, Belgium, Netherlands) as well as in the US. Of greatest health concern are the high SO 2 emissions in India, which stand out due to missing flue gas treatment and cause a particularly high share of local health impacts despite a limited number of emission sites. At the same time, the massive infrastructure and export capacity build-up in China in recent years is taking a substantial toll on regional and global health and requires more stringent regulation than in the rest of the world due to unfavorable environmental conditions and high population densities. The current phase-out of highly emitting industries in Europe is found not to have started with sites having the greatest health impacts. Our detailed site-specific emission and impact inventory is able to highlight more effective alternatives and to track future progress.
10. Sustainability assessment of battery supply chains and externalities in e-bike mobility
Schenker, Vanessa; Miotti, Marco; Pfister, Stephan (2025)
The E-Bike City: Designing sustainable streets
In the context of the E-Bike City, we assessed the environmental impacts of battery production and material sourcing to better understand the sustainability of electric mobility. Lithium, one of the key battery materials, shows highly variable environmental impacts depending on where and how it is produced, in most cases higher than previously estimated. These differences were integrated into updated emission factors and used to compare transport modes. Based on these findings, we report updated greenhouse gas emission intensities per km for different modes of transport, along with corresponding overall externalities.
Is lithium from geothermal brines the sustainable solution for Li-ion batteries?
Schenker, Vanessa; Bayer, Peter; Oberschelp, Christopher; et al. (2024)
Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
The rising demand for Li, paramount for energy storage, necessitates expanded supply. As the supply is concentrated in a few countries, this poses supply chain risks for Li-ion battery makers. To diversify suppliers, alternative Li ore deposits such as geothermal brines are being explored. However, Li extraction from geothermal brines is challenging due to the unique chemistry and elevated temperatures. Since Li-extraction from geothermal brines is in its infancy, data availability and quality are still poor, hampering life cycle assessments. Hence, this study provides a parametrized life cycle inventory model of Li carbonate production from geothermal brines. The model accounts for site-specific environmental conditions and technological features. Life cycle impacts at the Salton Sea in the US (1686 cases) and the Upper Rhine Graben in Germany (1982 cases) are quantified. The high case numbers are chosen to mitigate the high uncertainties in input parameters. Specifically, the brine chemistry, adsorption yield, drilling required and energy inputs are varied. Climate change impacts of selected cases vary within 18–59 kg CO2eq/kg Li carbonate at the Salton Sea and within 5.3–46 kg CO2eq/kg Li carbonate at the Upper Rhine Graben, compared to 2.1–11 kg CO2eq/kg Li carbonate in existing ecoinvent data sets. The wide range of potential impacts underscore the necessity of early-stage assessments of the technologies. In case of high drilling demand and use of fossil energy, climate change impacts of Li-ion batteries using Li carbonate from geothermal brines can increase by 30–41 % compared to literature values.
Estimating Water Consumption of Potential Natural Vegetation on Global Dry Lands
Núñez, Montserrat; Pfister, Stephan; Roux, Philippe; et al. (2013)
Environmental Science & Technology

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