While it may be impossible to accurately predict what the world will look like in the future, we can be certain that it will be different from the world of today. By extension, we know that using today's data in life cycle assessment (LCA) studies claiming to represent future scenarios is problematic. For the future impact of products to be estimated in a consistent and meaningful manner in LCA, the background system, most commonly the ecoinvent database, needs to be projected into the future alongside the foreground system modeled in a given study. Futura is a new piece of open-source software which allows LCA practitioners to create and share novel background databases representing arbitrary scenarios. It allows users to import a base database and then start making targeted changes. These changes take three main forms—adding new technologies, regionalizing new or existing technologies, and altering market compositions. All changes made are automatically added to a "recipe." This recipe file can be shared publicly. This recipe can be imported by other users and used to exactly recreate the modified database. The additive and transparent nature of this system means that initially simple scenarios can be built upon by others to progress toward more comprehensive scenarios in a stepwise manner. The inability to build on the work of others is a serious barrier to the progress of the LCA field. Futura goes some way to reduce this barrier in the field of prospective LCA.

中文翻译：

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Futura：前瞻性生命周期评估中透明和可共享情景分析的新工具

虽然可能无法准确预测未来的世界会是什么样子，但我们可以肯定它会与今天的世界不同。通过扩展，我们知道在声称代表未来情景的生命周期评估 (LCA) 研究中使用今天的数据是有问题的。为了在 LCA 中以一致且有意义的方式估计产品的未来影响，需要将背景系统（最常见的是 ecoinvent 数据库）与给定研究中建模的前景系统一起预测到未来。Futura 是一款新的开源软件，它允许 LCA 从业者创建和共享代表任意场景的新颖背景数据库。它允许用户导入基础数据库，然后开始进行有针对性的更改。这些变化采取三种主要形式——增加新技术，区域化新技术或现有技术，并改变市场构成。所做的所有更改都会自动添加到“配方”中。此配方文件可以公开共享。此配方可以由其他用户导入并用于精确地重新创建修改后的数据库。该系统的附加性和透明性意味着其他人可以在最初简单的场景的基础上逐步发展为更全面的场景。无法在他人工作的基础上再接再厉，是 LCA 领域取得进展的严重障碍。Futura 在一定程度上减少了预期 LCA 领域的这一障碍。此配方可以由其他用户导入并用于精确地重新创建修改后的数据库。该系统的附加性和透明性意味着其他人可以在最初简单的场景的基础上逐步发展为更全面的场景。无法在他人工作的基础上再接再厉，是 LCA 领域取得进展的严重障碍。Futura 在一定程度上减少了预期 LCA 领域的这一障碍。此配方可以由其他用户导入并用于精确地重新创建修改后的数据库。该系统的附加性和透明性意味着其他人可以在最初简单的场景的基础上逐步发展为更全面的场景。无法在他人工作的基础上再接再厉，是 LCA 领域取得进展的严重障碍。Futura 在一定程度上减少了预期 LCA 领域的这一障碍。