CO2 emissions production-based accounting vs consumption: Insights from the WIOD databases

The Kyoto protocol has defined the accounting framework for industrial GHG emissions on production-based accounting. Since then, international negotiations of Climate Change did not make significant progress on new GHG emissions ceiling. For numerous non-Annex 1 countries, an accounting framework based on consumption would be advantageous and could help in international negotiations. Similarly, in the European Union, criticisms arise against European Climate Change policy arguing that they mainly lead to carbon leakage. Indeed, the de-industrialisation of the developed countries in favor of developing countries led to a displacement of the pollutant activities towards developing countries without a similar reduction of manufactured goods consumption in developed countries. This paper aims to quantify CO2 emissions embodied in trade and displays the dynamics of CO2 emissions counts with regard to production and consumption using WIOD databases: WIOD Input-Output Tables and WIOD Environmental Accounts. ∗Lab. ERASME, Ecole Centrale Paris, Grande voir des Vignes, 92295 Chatenay-Malabry, France Tel: 0033 1 41 13 16 35 E-mail: baptiste.boitier[at]erasme-team.eu. †Acknowledgments: The author would like to sincerely thank all partners of the WIOD project which is a project funded by the European Commission, Research Directorate General as part of the 7th Framework Programme, Theme 8: Socio-Economic Sciences and Humanities. The author would also express his sincere appreciation to the SEURECO-ERASME team for their remarks and comments.