170
Virtual water embodied in trade makes up between 22 and 30 % of total global
water use, with the USA taking on a dual role of both largest exporter and importer
of virtual water (though some studies suggest that China is the main exporter).
When adjusting water use numbers with a factor for its scarcity in regions and countries of extraction, almost one third (32 %) of this ‘scarce water’ is associated with
trade. India is the largest exporter of scarce water, the USA its largest importer.
Comparable numbers for the share of total impact embodied in trade are reported
for other environmental indicators: 20–24 % for land use, 30 % for threatened species and 35 % for energy. Even higher is the share for raw materials: 41 % of all raw
materials (biomass, fossil fuels, construction materials, minerals and metal ores) are
extracted worldwide only in order to enable the export of goods and services from
the country of extraction. And for metal ores the majority of extraction occurs due
to export activities: 62 % of the global iron ore extraction and 64 % of the global
bauxite mined are associated with trade. On average, only about one third of all raw
materials actually leave the country of origin on a cargo ship, truck or plane. The
rest are process wastes and auxiliary material fl ows that, whilst remaining near
extraction sites, can still be attributed to the material footprint of other countries that
import goods and services for their fi nal consumption.
For most environmental impacts the direction of burden shifting (see Sect. 2.1 ) is
from developed countries to developing countries, but not for all. An indirect threat
to species through trade is experienced in countries such as Papua New Guinea,
Madagascar or Indonesia, whereas air pollution and GHG emissions embodied in
exports occur mostly in China . Russia exports embodied energy and emissions from
traded fossil fuels as well as land. For the virtual use of land through trade, there are
mixed results, depending on the type of land and on the characteristics of the model
used for the analysis. In addition to Russia as the largest exporter of embodied land,
China has been identifi ed as exporting the most biologically productive land area
and the USA as exporting the most cropland. Resource-rich countries that physically export large quantities of raw materials are also amongst the top exporters of
embodied materials, e.g. India for biomass, Russia for fossil fuels, Chile for metal
ores in general and more specifi cally Brazil for iron ore and Australia for bauxite.
China virtually exports 39 % of all construction materials extracted worldwide (5.2
Gt of 13.3 Gt). Again, most of this material is not physically shipped abroad but
used domestically in China to build up infrastructure for a highly export-oriented
economy.
A strong driver of globalisation has been the move of production to places where
wages and therefore total production costs are relatively low (Timmer et al. 2014 ).
A large workforce in developing low-wage countries is employed to manufacture
goods for exports, mostly to the developed world. Often working conditions are
poor, and workers have low skills or are exposed to health and safety hazards.
Sometimes children and other vulnerable persons are forced to work. Women often
experience more detrimental conditions than men.
Industrial ecology research entered a new fi eld when several studies were published in 2014 that investigated the ‘ labour footprint’ of nations and the role of trade
in employment conditions of exporting countries. On average, about 16–18 % of all
T. Wiedmann
Virtual water embodied in trade makes up between 22 and 30 % of total global
water use, with the USA taking on a dual role of both largest exporter and importer
of virtual water (though some studies suggest that China is the main exporter).
When adjusting water use numbers with a factor for its scarcity in regions and countries of extraction, almost one third (32 %) of this ‘scarce water’ is associated with
trade. India is the largest exporter of scarce water, the USA its largest importer.
Comparable numbers for the share of total impact embodied in trade are reported
for other environmental indicators: 20–24 % for land use, 30 % for threatened species and 35 % for energy. Even higher is the share for raw materials: 41 % of all raw
materials (biomass, fossil fuels, construction materials, minerals and metal ores) are
extracted worldwide only in order to enable the export of goods and services from
the country of extraction. And for metal ores the majority of extraction occurs due
to export activities: 62 % of the global iron ore extraction and 64 % of the global
bauxite mined are associated with trade. On average, only about one third of all raw
materials actually leave the country of origin on a cargo ship, truck or plane. The
rest are process wastes and auxiliary material fl ows that, whilst remaining near
extraction sites, can still be attributed to the material footprint of other countries that
import goods and services for their fi nal consumption.
For most environmental impacts the direction of burden shifting (see Sect. 2.1 ) is
from developed countries to developing countries, but not for all. An indirect threat
to species through trade is experienced in countries such as Papua New Guinea,
Madagascar or Indonesia, whereas air pollution and GHG emissions embodied in
exports occur mostly in China . Russia exports embodied energy and emissions from
traded fossil fuels as well as land. For the virtual use of land through trade, there are
mixed results, depending on the type of land and on the characteristics of the model
used for the analysis. In addition to Russia as the largest exporter of embodied land,
China has been identifi ed as exporting the most biologically productive land area
and the USA as exporting the most cropland. Resource-rich countries that physically export large quantities of raw materials are also amongst the top exporters of
embodied materials, e.g. India for biomass, Russia for fossil fuels, Chile for metal
ores in general and more specifi cally Brazil for iron ore and Australia for bauxite.
China virtually exports 39 % of all construction materials extracted worldwide (5.2
Gt of 13.3 Gt). Again, most of this material is not physically shipped abroad but
used domestically in China to build up infrastructure for a highly export-oriented
economy.
A strong driver of globalisation has been the move of production to places where
wages and therefore total production costs are relatively low (Timmer et al. 2014 ).
A large workforce in developing low-wage countries is employed to manufacture
goods for exports, mostly to the developed world. Often working conditions are
poor, and workers have low skills or are exposed to health and safety hazards.
Sometimes children and other vulnerable persons are forced to work. Women often
experience more detrimental conditions than men.
Industrial ecology research entered a new fi eld when several studies were published in 2014 that investigated the ‘ labour footprint’ of nations and the role of trade
in employment conditions of exporting countries. On average, about 16–18 % of all
T. Wiedmann