Global CO2 emissions from the production of traded goods and services have increased from 4.3 Gt CO2 in 1990 (20% of global anthropogenic emissions) to 7.8 Gt CO2 in 2008 (26%), according to a new open access study by researchers from Germany and the US, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Despite the emergence of regional climate policies, growth in global
CO2 emissions has remained strong. From 1990 to 2008 CO2 emissions
in developed countries (defined as countries with emission reduction
commitments in the Kyoto Protocol, Annex B) have stabilized,
but emissions in developing countries (non-Annex B) have
doubled. Some studies suggest that the stabilization of emissions
in developed countries was partially because of growing imports
from developing countries.
To quantify the growth in emission
transfers via international trade, Peters et al. developed a trade-linked
global database for CO2 emissions covering 113 countries and 57
economic sectors from 1990 to 2008.
They found that most developed countries have increased their
consumption-based emissions faster than their territorial emissions,
and non–energy-intensive manufacturing had a key role in the
emission transfers.
The net emission transfers via international trade from developing to developed countries increased from 0.4 Gt CO2 in 1990 to 1.6 Gt CO2 in 2008, which exceeds the Kyoto Protocol emission reductions.
Our results indicate that international
trade is a significant factor in explaining the change in emissions
in many countries, from both a production and consumption perspective.
We suggest that countries monitor emission transfers via
international trade, in addition to territorial emissions, to ensure
progress toward stabilization of global greenhouse gas emissions.—Peters et al.
Resources
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Glen P. Peters, Jan C. Minx, Christopher L. Weber, and Ottmar Edenhofer (2011)
Growth in emission transfers via international trade from 1990 to 2008. PNAS doi: 10.1073/pnas.1006388108