Value chain · CLM-0828
In plain terms
The authors say ESA's own space life-cycle guidance advises against the cost-based method because it tends to overstate environmental impact, and the authors then add that the same method's lower level of detail can also cause it to understate impact.
The claim as recorded
Wilson, Oqab and Dietrich state that the ESA LCA guidelines "specifically discourage the use of EEIO analyses, stating that as they tend to "overestimate the environmental impacts"", and immediately add their own qualification that "EEIO LCIs are generally less detailed than process-based LCIs which can also lead to underestimations".
Scope and limits
"discourage" is the word printed. It is not "prohibit" and not "recommend against", and this record may not be used to support either. The ESA guidelines themselves were not read; this is SRC-009 reporting them via its reference [11], so the claim is about what SRC-009 says ESA says. 2026-10-03 (OI-034): Issue 2 (2025, SRC-738) was read, not the 2016 Issue 1 that reference [11] cites. Issue 2 section 5.4.2 (PDF p.27) says "It is thus recommended not to apply I/O data for LCA of space systems." and reads "overestimate an environmental impacts", so SRC-009's quoted wording is not found in Issue 2 and Issue 1 remains unread. See CLM-1379. The authors' own immediately following sentence limits how far the "tends to overestimate" characterisation generalises, and that qualification is part of the fact rather than a caveat on it.
What it assumes
No assumptions are recorded against this claim.
Where it comes from
Printed p.5, quoted complete: "This is reinforced by the ESA LCA guidelines, which specifically discourage the use of EEIO analyses, stating that as they tend to "overestimate the environmental impacts" [11]. Despite this, EEIO LCIs are generally less detailed than process-based LCIs which can also lead to underestimations."
Related records
- Answers question
- QST-008 not published in this release
Cite this
energyaperture.com/c/clm-0828
CLM-0828, Energy Aperture, as of 2024.
Connected records
Other published records linked to this one. A list, not a judgement.
- Also from SRC-009
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