The worldwide increase in consumption levels is a major cause of the dramatic rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A thorough understanding of the dynamics of consumption-based carbon emissions and the factors in...The worldwide increase in consumption levels is a major cause of the dramatic rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A thorough understanding of the dynamics of consumption-based carbon emissions and the factors influencing it would facilitate the design of climate policies. This article employs data in the multi-regional input-output tables and on sectoral carbon emissions from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) to develop a multi-regional input-out (MR/O) model, setting up a consumption-based carbon emission accounting inventory and analyzing global consumption-based carbon emissions and the spillover effects of international carbon emissions. The results show that global consumption- based carbon emissions in 2009 were 28850 Mt, of which about 20 percent were embodied in international trade. A large part of these emissions derived from production in and exportsfrom China and the region comprising Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, Australia and Turkey (BRIIAT), production and exports which were consumed in NAFTA and the Eurozone. If the factor of intemational trade is taken into consideration, the inter-regional gap in carbon emission intensity narrows, ranging from 2.4 t (BRIIAT) to 14.7 t (NAFTA) consumption-based emissions per capita. Whereas embodied imported carbon accounted for 33 percent and 17 percent in NAFTA and the Eurozone respectively, 29 percent of China's carbon emissions were caused by the consumption of other countries. Therefore, setting up a consumption-based carbon emission accounting inventory has become increasingly important for international climate negotiations. Moreover, allocating responsibility for carbon emissions between the producer and the consumer will help change the existing mode of consumption and promote emission reduction.展开更多
基金support from the MOE Key Research Project in Philosophy and Social Sciences(NO.11JZD025)the Youth Project of the Natural Science Foundation(NO.71103066)the MOE Youth Project in Humanities and Social Sciences(NO.11YJC790226)
文摘The worldwide increase in consumption levels is a major cause of the dramatic rise in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A thorough understanding of the dynamics of consumption-based carbon emissions and the factors influencing it would facilitate the design of climate policies. This article employs data in the multi-regional input-output tables and on sectoral carbon emissions from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) to develop a multi-regional input-out (MR/O) model, setting up a consumption-based carbon emission accounting inventory and analyzing global consumption-based carbon emissions and the spillover effects of international carbon emissions. The results show that global consumption- based carbon emissions in 2009 were 28850 Mt, of which about 20 percent were embodied in international trade. A large part of these emissions derived from production in and exportsfrom China and the region comprising Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, Australia and Turkey (BRIIAT), production and exports which were consumed in NAFTA and the Eurozone. If the factor of intemational trade is taken into consideration, the inter-regional gap in carbon emission intensity narrows, ranging from 2.4 t (BRIIAT) to 14.7 t (NAFTA) consumption-based emissions per capita. Whereas embodied imported carbon accounted for 33 percent and 17 percent in NAFTA and the Eurozone respectively, 29 percent of China's carbon emissions were caused by the consumption of other countries. Therefore, setting up a consumption-based carbon emission accounting inventory has become increasingly important for international climate negotiations. Moreover, allocating responsibility for carbon emissions between the producer and the consumer will help change the existing mode of consumption and promote emission reduction.