Chanjief Chandrakumar

Thesis Title
Evaluation of New Zealand’s Absolute Environmental Sustainability Performance: Development and Application of a Method to Assess the Climate Change Performance of New Zealand's Economic Sectors

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Reflecting on the growing interest in the concept of absolute environmental sustainability, Mr Chandrakumar investigated the development of an innovative absolute environmental sustainability assessment framework. The framework called 'Absolute Sustainability-based Life Cycle Assessment' was based on the environmental indicators and environmental boundaries proposed in three popular frameworks: Planetary Boundaries, Sustainable Development Goals, and Life Cycle Assessment. The proposed framework was applied to evaluate the climate change performance of New Zealand and its economic sectors, particularly in terms of the two-degree Celsius climate target, using consumption- and production-based accounting approaches. The research showed that, for both approaches, New Zealand's climate change performance is not aligned with the two-degree Celsius climate target. The outcomes of Mr Chandrakumar's research has implications for future climate policies that could positively influence the consumption patterns of New Zealanders, and the production structure and efficiency of New Zealand and its trade partners.

Supervisors
Professor Sarah McLaren
Dr Nihal Jayamaha
Associate Professor Thiagarajah Ramilan

Chandrakumar, C., McLaren, S. J., Jayamaha, N.P., Childerhouse, P. (2017). Operationalisation of sustainable Development Goals using a Planetary Boundaries-based Life-Cycle Assessment framework. Life Cycle Management Conference 2017 (Accepted).