and factors influencing household and industrial emissions across all 27 countries of
the European Union, calculating CO 2 emissions induced by final demands in each
country.
National CO 2 emissions are usually estimated based on levels of energy consumed during production of goods and services in producing districts. If consumption of goods is also included in CO 2 emission calculations, results vary
considerably (Fujikawa et al. 2015). The CO 2 emissions of countries that are net
importers are hugely underestimated. In contrast, net exporters of goods (producing
countries) overestimate their CO 2 emissions. Responsibility for environmental conservation can be attributed more fairly to producing and consuming countries by
using embodied environmental load (Fujikawa et al. 2015, p. 130). Responsibility
for regional CO 2 emissions can be shifted from producing to consuming countries.
The continuing growth of regional international trade is likely to support this
distinction, e.g., using the international input-output structure in the Asia-Pacific
region based on analysis of Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) models (Lee
et al. 2016, pp. 349). If the trade deals allow for the transfer of low-carbon
technology (e.g., from Japan and Korea to China), then it would be possible to
simultaneously achieve higher production levels and lower emission levels (Lee
et al. 2016, p. 348).
2
Research on responsibility for environmental issues has also been conducted in
the field of air pollution.
3 Consumption-based accounting is necessary to support
international policies that distribute the burden of mitigation among all beneficiaries
according to their ability and willingness to pay (Guan et al. 2014, p. E2631).
Rapidly developing regions such as China have been generating huge emissions,
leading to environmental destruction. As Asia increasingly becomes the “world’s
factory” and the “world’s market,” emissions will continue to increase, highlighting
the political, economic, and societal importance of low-carbon development (Ueta
2010, pp. 2, 4). Economic globalization leads to international carbon flow; this
international carbon transfer must be analyzed in order to understand how CO 2
emissions can be reduced.
In this chapter, we quantitatively assess international carbon flow due to economic globalization based on input-output analysis using the World Input-Output
Database (WIOD). In Sect. 16.2, we discuss global trends in CO 2 emissions. The
WIOD and computational methods are described in Sect. 16.3. Section 16.4 presents
2 Lee et al. (2016) quantitatively assessed the macroeconomic and environmental effects of various
free trade agreements (eliminating tariffs) among East Asian countries using the E3ME-Asia and
GTAP-E models. Their results show that free trade can modestly improve the macroeconomic
situation (GDP and employment), but higher production levels will lead to higher CO 2 emissions
(Lee et al. 2016, p. 348).
3 For example, as the United States outsourced manufacturing to China, sulfate pollution in 2006
increased in the western United States but decreased in the eastern United States, reflecting the
competing effects from enhanced transport of Chinese pollution and reduced US emissions (Lin
et al. 2014).
16 An Empirical Analysis of International Carbon Transfer
291
the European Union, calculating CO 2 emissions induced by final demands in each
country.
National CO 2 emissions are usually estimated based on levels of energy consumed during production of goods and services in producing districts. If consumption of goods is also included in CO 2 emission calculations, results vary
considerably (Fujikawa et al. 2015). The CO 2 emissions of countries that are net
importers are hugely underestimated. In contrast, net exporters of goods (producing
countries) overestimate their CO 2 emissions. Responsibility for environmental conservation can be attributed more fairly to producing and consuming countries by
using embodied environmental load (Fujikawa et al. 2015, p. 130). Responsibility
for regional CO 2 emissions can be shifted from producing to consuming countries.
The continuing growth of regional international trade is likely to support this
distinction, e.g., using the international input-output structure in the Asia-Pacific
region based on analysis of Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) models (Lee
et al. 2016, pp. 349). If the trade deals allow for the transfer of low-carbon
technology (e.g., from Japan and Korea to China), then it would be possible to
simultaneously achieve higher production levels and lower emission levels (Lee
et al. 2016, p. 348).
2
Research on responsibility for environmental issues has also been conducted in
the field of air pollution.
3 Consumption-based accounting is necessary to support
international policies that distribute the burden of mitigation among all beneficiaries
according to their ability and willingness to pay (Guan et al. 2014, p. E2631).
Rapidly developing regions such as China have been generating huge emissions,
leading to environmental destruction. As Asia increasingly becomes the “world’s
factory” and the “world’s market,” emissions will continue to increase, highlighting
the political, economic, and societal importance of low-carbon development (Ueta
2010, pp. 2, 4). Economic globalization leads to international carbon flow; this
international carbon transfer must be analyzed in order to understand how CO 2
emissions can be reduced.
In this chapter, we quantitatively assess international carbon flow due to economic globalization based on input-output analysis using the World Input-Output
Database (WIOD). In Sect. 16.2, we discuss global trends in CO 2 emissions. The
WIOD and computational methods are described in Sect. 16.3. Section 16.4 presents
2 Lee et al. (2016) quantitatively assessed the macroeconomic and environmental effects of various
free trade agreements (eliminating tariffs) among East Asian countries using the E3ME-Asia and
GTAP-E models. Their results show that free trade can modestly improve the macroeconomic
situation (GDP and employment), but higher production levels will lead to higher CO 2 emissions
(Lee et al. 2016, p. 348).
3 For example, as the United States outsourced manufacturing to China, sulfate pollution in 2006
increased in the western United States but decreased in the eastern United States, reflecting the
competing effects from enhanced transport of Chinese pollution and reduced US emissions (Lin
et al. 2014).
16 An Empirical Analysis of International Carbon Transfer
291