Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Post-Kyoto greenhouse gas inventories: production versus consumption

  • Published:
Climatic Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

For the long-term stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations it is important that post-Kyoto policy has broad participation to ensure environmental integrity. Many post-Kyoto frameworks have been debated, but surprisingly approaches that focus on consumption have received little attention in the climate change literature despite broader interest in other areas. In this article we extend the argument for constructing GHG inventories using a country’s consumption rather than production. First, we argue that constructing GHG inventories using a country’s economic activity instead of geographic territory solves allocation issues for international activities such as international transportation and carbon capture and storage. Second, we argue that consumption-based GHG inventories have many advantages over production-based inventories. The main advantages are to address carbon leakage, reduce the importance of emission commitments for developing countries, increase options for mitigation, encourage environmental comparative advantage, address competitiveness concerns, and naturally encourage technology diffusion.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ahmad N, Wyckoff A (2003) Carbon dioxide emissions embodied in international trade of goods. DSTI/DOC(2003)15, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

  • Aldy JE (2005) An environmental Kuznets curve analysis of U.S. state-level carbon dioxide emissions. J Environ Dev 14(1):48–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldy JE (2006) Divergence in state-level per capita carbon dioxide emissions. Discussion Paper 06-07, Resources for the Future

  • Aldy JE, Barrett S, Stavins RN (2003) Thirteen plus one: a comparison of global climate policy architectures. Clim Policy 3:373–397

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldy JE, Orszag PR, Stiglitz JE (2001) Climate change: an agenda for global collective action. Prepared for the conference on “The Timing of Climate Change Policies”, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/stiglitz.pdf

  • Babiker MH (2005) Climate change policy, market structure, and carbon leakage. J Int Econ 65(2):421–445

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrett S, Stavins R (2003) Increasing participation and compliance in international climate change agreements. Int Environ Agreem: Politics, Law and Econ 3:349–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bastianoni S, Pulselli FM, Tiezzi E (2004) The problem of assigning responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions. Ecol Econ 49:253–257

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Battjes J, Noorman K, Biesiot W (1998) Assessing the energy intensities of imports. Energy Econ 20:67–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bodansky D, Chou S, Jorge-Tresolini C (2004) International climate efforts beyond 2012: a survey of approaches. Pew Center on Global Climate Change, http://www.pewclimate.org/

  • Bosi M, Riey B (2002) Greenhouse gas implications of international energy trade. IEA Information Paper: Presented at COP 8, New Delhi, International Energy Agency

  • CAIT (2005) Climate analysis indicators tool (CAIT) Version 3. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, http://cait.wri.org/

  • Chung H-S, Rhee H-C (2001) Carbon dioxide emissions of Korea and Japan and its transmission via international trade. Int Econ J 15(4):117–136

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cooper RN (1998) Toward a real global warming treaty. Foreign Aff 77(2):66–77

    Google Scholar 

  • de Cendra J (2006) Can emissions trading schemes be coupled with border tax adjustments? An analysis vis-á-vis WTO law. Rev Eur Community Int Environ Law 15(2):131–145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Haan M, Keuning SJ (1996) Taking the environment into account: the NAMEA approach. Rev Income and Wealth 42(2):131–148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dimaranan BV (ed) (2006) Global trade, assistance, and production: the GTAP 6 data base. Center for Global Trade Analysis, Purdue University

  • Eder P, Narodoslawsky M (1999) What environmental pressures are a region’s industries responsible for? A method of analysis with descriptive indices and input–output models. Ecol Econ 29: 359–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eskeland GS, Harrison AE (2003) Moving to greener pastures? Multinationals and the pollution haven hypothesis. J Dev Econ 70(1):1–23

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission (2001) Nameas for air emissions: results of pilot studies. European Communities, Luxembourg

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferng J-J (2003) Allocating the responsibility of CO2 over-emissions from the perspectives of benefit principle and ecological deficit. Ecol Econ 46:121–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher B, Costanza R (2005) Regional commitment to reducing emissions. Nature 438:301–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallego B, Lenzen M (2005) A consistent input–output formulation of shared producer and consumer responsibility. Econ Syst Res 17(4):365–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Global Commons Institute (2005) Contraction & convergence. Web page accessed: December 2005, http://www.gci.org.uk/

  • Gravgård Pedersen O, de Haan M (2006) The system of environmental and economic accounts – 2003 and the economic relevance of physical flow accounting. J Ind Ecol 10(1–2):19–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubb M (2004) Kyoto and the future of international climate change responses: from here to where? Int Rev Environ Strategies 5(1):15–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Grubb MJ, Hope C, Fouquet R (2002) Climatic implications of the Kyoto protocol: the contribution of international spillover. Clim Change 54(1–2):11–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hasselmann K, Latif M, Hooss G, Azar C, Edenhofer O, Jaeger CC, Johannessen OM, Kemfert C, Welp M, Wokaun A (2003) The challenge of long-term climate change. Science 302:1923–1925

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hovi J, Holtsmark B (2006) Cap-and-trade or carbon taxes? The feasibility of enforcement and the effects of non-compliance. Int Environ Agreem 6:137–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IEA (2005) Energy statistics manual. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and International Energy Agency

  • IPCC (1996) Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories (3 volumes). Intergovernmental panel on climate change

  • IPCC (2000) Good practice guidance and uncertainty management in national greenhouse gas inventories. Intergovernmental panel on climate change

  • IPCC (2001) Climate Change 2001: mitigation. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller W (2004) International technology diffusion. J Econ Lit 42(3):752–782

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kondo Y, Moriguchi Y, Shimizu H (1998) CO2 emissions in Japan: influences of imports and exports. Appl Energy 59(2–3):163–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenzen M (1998) Primary energy and greenhouse gases embodied in Australian final consumption: an input–output analysis. Energy Policy 26:495–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenzen M (2003) Environmentally important paths, linkages and key sectors in the Australian economy. Struct Chang Econ Dyn 10(6):545–572

    Google Scholar 

  • Lenzen M, Murray J, Sack F, Wiedmann T (2007) Shared producer and consumer responsibility – theory and practice. Ecol Econ 61(1):27–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lenzen M, Pade L-L, Munksgaard J (2004) CO2 multipliers in multi-region input–output models. Econ Syst Res 16(4):391–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leontief W (1970) Environmental repercussions and the economic structure: an input–output approach. Rev Econ Stat 52(3):262–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Machado G, Schaeffer R, Worrell E (2001) Energy and carbon embodied in the international trade of Brazil: an input–output approach. Ecol Econ 39:409–424

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metz B, Davidson O, de Coninck H, Loos M, Meyer L (eds) (2005) IPCC Special report: carbon dioxide capture and storage. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

  • Mongelli I, Tassielli G, Notarnicola B (2006) Global warming agreements, international trade and energy/carbon embodiments: an input–output approach to the Italian case. Energy Policy 34(1):88–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munksgaard J, Pedersen KA (2001) CO2 accounts for open economies: producer or consumer responsibility? Energy Policy 29:327–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muradian R, O’Connor M, Martinez-Alier J (2002) Embodied pollution in trade: estimating the ‘environmental load displacement’ of industrialised countries. Ecol Econ 41:51–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakicenovic N, Swart R (eds) (2000) Special report on emission scenarios. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Nijdam D, Wilting HC, Goedkoop MJ, Madsen J (2005) Environmental load from Dutch private consumption: how much pollution is exported? J Ind Ecol 9(1–2):147–168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordhaus WD (2001a) After Kyoto: alternative mechanisms to control global warming. A paper prepared for a joint session of the American Economic Association and the Association of Environmental and Resource Econmists

  • Nordhaus, W. D., (2001b) Global warming economics. Science 294:1283–1284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olivier J, Peters J (1999) International marine and aviation bunker fuel: trends, ranking of countries and comparison with national CO2 emissions. RIVM report 773301 002, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands, http://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/773301002.pdf

  • Oppenheimer M, Petsonk A (2005) Article 2 of the UNFCCC: historical origins, recent interpretations. Clim Chang 73:195–226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pacala S, Socolow R (2004) Stabilization wedges: solving the climate problem for the next 50 years with current technologies. Science 305:968–972

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters GP, Hertwich EG (2006a) Pollution embodied in trade: the Norwegian case. Global Environ Chang 16:379–389

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters GP, Hertwich EG (2006b) Structural analysis of international trade: environmental impacts of Norway. Econ Syst Res 18(2):155–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters GP, Hertwich EG (2006c) Trade and the environment: implications for climate change policy. In: Ninth biennial conference of the international society for ecological economics on ecological sustainability and human well-being. New Delhi, India

  • Peters GP, Hertwich EG (2007) The application of multi-regional input–output analysis to industrial ecology: evaluating trans-boundary environmental impacts. In: Suh S (ed) Handbook of input–output analysis for industrial ecology. Springer, Dordrecht (in press)

    Google Scholar 

  • Philibert C (2004) Lessons from the Kyoto protocol: implications for the future. Int Rev Environ Strategies 5(1):311–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues J, Domingos T, Giljum S, Schneider F (2006) Designing an indicator of environmental responsibility. Ecol Econ 59:256–266

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothman DS (1998) Environmental Kuznets curves – real progress or passing the buck? A case for consumption-based approaches. Ecol Econ 25:177–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez-Chóliz J, Duarte R (2004) CO2 emissions embodied in international trade: evidence for Spain. Energy Policy 32:1999–2005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sijm J, Jansen J, Torvanger A (2001) Differentiation of mitigation commitments: the multi-sector convergence approach. Clim Policy 1(4):481–497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Norway (2003) National accounts 1995–2002: production, uses and employment. NOS D 258, Statistics Norway, http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/09/01/nos_d258_en/nos_d258_en.pdf

  • Strømman AH (2005) Selected developments and applications of Leontief models in industrial ecology. Ph.D. thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

  • Subak S (1995) Methane embodied in the international trade of commodities: implications for global emissions. Global Environ Chang 5(5):433–446

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suh S, Kagawa S (2005) Industrial ecology and input–output economics: an introduction. Econ Syst Res 17(4):349–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suri V, Chapman D (1998) Economic growth, trade and energy: implications for the environmental Kuznets curve. Ecol Econ 25:195–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tjernshaugen A (2005) United States participation in future climate agreements: an assessment. CICERO Policy Note 2005:01, CICERO

  • Turner K, Lenzen M, Wiedmann T, Barrett J (2007) Examining the global environmental impact of regional consumption activities – Part 1: a technical note on combining input–output and ecological footprint analysis. Ecol Econ 62(1):37–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNFCCC (1997) Australia: data and supporting information on differentiation indicators listed in Annex B of the Revised Negotiating Text. FCCC/AGBM/1997/MISC.3/Add.2, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

  • UNFCCC (2003) Methodoligical issues: emissions resulting from fuel used in international aviation and maritime transportation. FCCC/SBSTA/2003/INF.3, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

  • UNFCCC (2005) Key GHG Data: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data for 1990–2003. United Nations

  • United Nations (1992) United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. United Nations

  • United Nations (1993) System of national accounts 1993. United Nations

  • United Nations (2003) Handbook of national accounting: integrated environmental and economic accounting 2003. United Nations, European Commission, International Monetary Fund, Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, World Bank

  • Victor DG, House JC, Joy S (2005) A Madisonian approach to climate policy. Science 309:1820–1821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wackernagel M, Rees W (1996) Our ecological footprint: reducing human impact on the earth. New Society Publishers

  • Watson R, the Core Writing Team (eds) (2001) Climate Change 2001: synthesis report. A Contribution of Working Groups I, II, and III to the Third Assessment Report of the Integovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiedmann T, Lenzen M, Turner K, Barrett J (2007) Examining the global environmental impact of regional consumption activities – Part 2: review of input–output models for the assessment of environmental impacts embodied in trade. Ecol Econ 61:15–26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WTO (2001) Ministerial Declaration (Fourth Session, Doha, 9–14 November 2001). WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1, World Trade Organization

  • WTO (2005) International trade statistics: Statistics database. Online database. Accessed: 29 April, 2005, World Trade Organization, http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/statis_e.htm

  • Wyckoff AW, Roop JM (1994) The embodiment of carbon in imports of manufactured products: Implications for international agreements on greenhouse gas emissions. Energy Policy 22:187–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ziesing H (2005) Worldwide CO2 emissions reached new record high. Weekly Report 29/2005, DIW Berlin, http://www.diw.de/

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Industrial Ecology Programme, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Glen P. Peters & Edgar G. Hertwich

Authors
  1. Glen P. Peters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Edgar G. Hertwich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Glen P. Peters.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Peters, G.P., Hertwich, E.G. Post-Kyoto greenhouse gas inventories: production versus consumption. Climatic Change 86, 51–66 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-007-9280-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-007-9280-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation