IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v150y2015icp296-307.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the impact of foreign content in China’s exports on the carbon outsourcing hypothesis

Author

Listed:
  • Xia, Yan
  • Fan, Ying
  • Yang, Cuihong

Abstract

Much academic attention has been given to the so-called carbon outsourcing hypothesis: the idea that increased outputs and exports of energy intensive goods from developed countries, especially China, has allowed more developed countries to grow, while reducing their carbon emissions. However, most studies on the issue overlook the complexities of increasingly globalized input markets, where exports themselves are made up of inputs assembled from around other countries around the world. This study estimates such effects on China’s net carbon dioxide emissions by accounting for the energy and carbon embodied in its processing and non-processing exports sectors. China’s policies of carbon dioxide emission intensity aimed at reducing its carbon dioxide emission intensity are then re-evaluated. To do this we use an extended input–output framework with new assumptions for estimating energy and carbon intensities. This includes a detailed energy disaggregation for domestic use of energy, processing exports and non-processing exports. In across 32 industries, after which a multiplicative structural decomposition analysis is applied. Our findings confirm that industrial emission intensity and final demands were driving factors behind the significant downward shift in national emission intensity from 2002 to 2007. However, by considering the embodied emissions effects of imported inputs into Chinese exports, we found that the energy and resource intensive industries accounted for a smaller proportion of exports than typically understood. However, we also found that within the industry sector changes in structure contributed to an increase in energy intensity.

Suggested Citation

  • Xia, Yan & Fan, Ying & Yang, Cuihong, 2015. "Assessing the impact of foreign content in China’s exports on the carbon outsourcing hypothesis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 296-307.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:150:y:2015:i:c:p:296-307
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.04.028
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261915004833
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.04.028?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Battjes, J. J. & Noorman, K. J. & Biesiot, W., 1998. "Assessing the energy intensities of imports," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 67-83, February.
    2. Turner, Karen & Lenzen, Manfred & Wiedmann, Thomas & Barrett, John, 2007. "Examining the global environmental impact of regional consumption activities -- Part 1: A technical note on combining input-output and ecological footprint analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 37-44, April.
    3. Chen, Z.M. & Chen, G.Q., 2011. "Embodied carbon dioxide emission at supra-national scale: A coalition analysis for G7, BRIC, and the rest of the world," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(5), pages 2899-2909, May.
    4. Shui, Bin & Harriss, Robert C., 2006. "The role of CO2 embodiment in US-China trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(18), pages 4063-4068, December.
    5. López, Luis Antonio & Arce, Guadalupe & Zafrilla, Jorge Enrique, 2013. "Parcelling virtual carbon in the pollution haven hypothesis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 177-186.
    6. Rodrigues, Joao & Domingos, Tiago & Giljum, Stefan & Schneider, Francois, 2006. "Designing an indicator of environmental responsibility," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(3), pages 256-266, September.
    7. Su, Bin & Huang, H.C. & Ang, B.W. & Zhou, P., 2010. "Input-output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: The effects of sector aggregation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 166-175, January.
    8. Osmo Forssell, 1998. "Extending Economy-wide Models with Environment-related Parts," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 183-199.
    9. Machado, Giovani & Schaeffer, Roberto & Worrell, Ernst, 2001. "Energy and carbon embodied in the international trade of Brazil: an input-output approach," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 409-424, December.
    10. Lenzen, Manfred & Murray, Joy & Sack, Fabian & Wiedmann, Thomas, 2007. "Shared producer and consumer responsibility -- Theory and practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 27-42, February.
    11. Tian, Xin & Chang, Miao & Lin, Chen & Tanikawa, Hiroki, 2014. "China’s carbon footprint: A regional perspective on the effect of transitions in consumption and production patterns," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 19-28.
    12. Weitzel, Matthias & Ma, Tao, 2014. "Emissions embodied in Chinese exports taking into account the special export structure of China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 45-52.
    13. Robbie Andrew & Glen Peters & James Lennox, 2009. "Approximation And Regional Aggregation In Multi-Regional Input-Output Analysis For National Carbon Footprint Accounting," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 311-335.
    14. Erik Dietzenbacher & Bart Los, 1998. "Structural Decomposition Techniques: Sense and Sensitivity," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(4), pages 307-324.
    15. Weber, Christopher L. & Peters, Glen P. & Guan, Dabo & Hubacek, Klaus, 2008. "The contribution of Chinese exports to climate change," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 3572-3577, September.
    16. Ackerman, Frank & Ishikawa, Masanobu & Suga, Mikio, 2007. "The carbon content of Japan-US trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 4455-4462, September.
    17. Wiedmann, Thomas, 2009. "A review of recent multi-region input-output models used for consumption-based emission and resource accounting," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 211-222, December.
    18. McGregor, Peter G. & Swales, J. Kim & Turner, Karen, 2008. "The CO2 'trade balance' between Scotland and the rest of the UK: Performing a multi-region environmental input-output analysis with limited data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(4), pages 662-673, July.
    19. Wiedmann, Thomas & Lenzen, Manfred & Turner, Karen & Barrett, John, 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," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 15-26, February.
    20. Li, You & Hewitt, C.N., 2008. "The effect of trade between China and the UK on national and global carbon dioxide emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 1907-1914, June.
    21. Wyckoff, Andrew W. & Roop, Joseph M., 1994. "The embodiment of carbon in imports of manufactured products : Implications for international agreements on greenhouse gas emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 187-194, March.
    22. Ipek Tunc, G. & Turut-Asik, Serap & Akbostanci, Elif, 2007. "CO2 emissions vs. CO2 responsibility: An input-output approach for the Turkish economy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 855-868, February.
    23. Atkinson, Giles & Hamilton, Kirk & Ruta, Giovanni & Van Der Mensbrugghe, Dominique, 2010. "Trade in'virtual carbon': empirical results and implications for policy," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5194, The World Bank.
    24. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W. & Low, Melissa, 2013. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade and the driving forces: Processing and normal exports," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 119-125.
    25. Gay, Philip W. & Proops, John L.R., 1993. "Carbon---dioxide production by the UK economy: An input-output assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2), pages 113-130.
    26. Sangwon Suh & Shigemi Kagawa, 2005. "Industrial ecology and input-output economics: an introduction," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 349-364.
    27. Jiahua Pan & Jonathan Phillips & Ying Chen, 2008. "China's balance of emissions embodied in trade: approaches to measurement and allocating international responsibility," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 24(2), pages 354-376, Summer.
    28. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W., 2014. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: A multi-region model for China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 377-384.
    29. Tang, Xu & Snowden, Simon & Höök, Mikael, 2013. "Analysis of energy embodied in the international trade of UK," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 418-428.
    30. Osmo Forssell & Karen Polenske, 1998. "Introduction: Input-Output and the Environment," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 91-97.
    31. Dietzenbacher, Erik & Pei, Jiansuo & Yang, Cuihong, 2012. "Trade, production fragmentation, and China's carbon dioxide emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 88-101.
    32. 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, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 88-100, January.
    33. Rhee, Hae-Chun & Chung, Hyun-Sik, 2006. "Change in CO2 emission and its transmissions between Korea and Japan using international input-output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(4), pages 788-800, July.
    34. Blanca Gallego & Manfred Lenzen, 2005. "A consistent input-output formulation of shared producer and consumer responsibility," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 365-391.
    35. Glen Peters & Robbie Andrew & James Lennox, 2011. "Constructing An Environmentally-Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output Table Using The Gtap Database," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(2), pages 131-152.
    36. Fan, Ying & Xia, Yan, 2012. "Exploring energy consumption and demand in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 23-30.
    37. Miller,Ronald E. & Blair,Peter D., 2009. "Input-Output Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521517133.
    38. Nadim Ahmad & Andrew Wyckoff, 2003. "Carbon Dioxide Emissions Embodied in International Trade of Goods," OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2003/15, OECD Publishing.
    39. Miller,Ronald E. & Blair,Peter D., 2009. "Input-Output Analysis," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521739023.
    40. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W., 2010. "Input-output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: The effects of spatial aggregation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 10-18, November.
    41. Johnson, Robert C. & Noguera, Guillermo, 2012. "Accounting for intermediates: Production sharing and trade in value added," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 224-236.
    42. Leontief, Wassily, 1970. "Environmental Repercussions and the Economic Structure: An Input-Output Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 52(3), pages 262-271, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang, Zhonghua & Zhao, Yuhuan & Su, Bin & Zhang, Yongfeng & Wang, Song & Liu, Ya & Li, Hao, 2017. "Embodied carbon in China’s foreign trade: An online SCI-E and SSCI based literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 68(P1), pages 492-510.
    2. Boya Zhang & Shukuan Bai & Yadong Ning & Tao Ding & Yan Zhang, 2020. "Emission Embodied in International Trade and Its Responsibility from the Perspective of Global Value Chain: Progress, Trends, and Challenges," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-26, April.
    3. Wen Wen & Qi Wang, 2017. "Are Developed Regions in China Achieving Their CO 2 Emissions Reduction Targets on Their Own?—Case of Beijing," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-25, November.
    4. Zhang, Youguo & Tang, Zhipeng, 2015. "Driving factors of carbon embodied in China's provincial exports," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 445-454.
    5. Guo, Ju’e & Zhang, Zengkai & Meng, Lei, 2012. "China’s provincial CO2 emissions embodied in international and interprovincial trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 486-497.
    6. Ding, Tao & Ning, Yadong & Zhang, Yan, 2018. "The contribution of China’s bilateral trade to global carbon emissions in the context of globalization," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 78-88.
    7. Zhang, Zengkai & Guo, Ju'e & Hewings, Geoffrey J.D., 2014. "The effects of direct trade within China on regional and national CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 161-175.
    8. Hongguang Liu & Xiaomei Fan, 2017. "Value-Added-Based Accounting of CO 2 Emissions: A Multi-Regional Input-Output Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-18, December.
    9. Misato Sato, 2014. "Embodied Carbon In Trade: A Survey Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 831-861, December.
    10. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W. & Low, Melissa, 2013. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade and the driving forces: Processing and normal exports," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 119-125.
    11. Serrano, Mònica & Dietzenbacher, Erik, 2010. "Responsibility and trade emission balances: An evaluation of approaches," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 2224-2232, September.
    12. Qi, Tianyu & Winchester, Niven & Karplus, Valerie J. & Zhang, Xiliang, 2014. "Will economic restructuring in China reduce trade-embodied CO2 emissions?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 204-212.
    13. Youguo Zhang, 2012. "Scale, Technique and Composition Effects in Trade-Related Carbon Emissions in China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 51(3), pages 371-389, March.
    14. Liu, Hongguang & Liu, Weidong & Fan, Xiaomei & Zou, Wei, 2015. "Carbon emissions embodied in demand–supply chains in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 294-305.
    15. Zhou, Dequn & Zhou, Xiaoyong & Xu, Qing & Wu, Fei & Wang, Qunwei & Zha, Donglan, 2018. "Regional embodied carbon emissions and their transfer characteristics in China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 180-193.
    16. Su, Bin & Huang, H.C. & Ang, B.W. & Zhou, P., 2010. "Input-output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: The effects of sector aggregation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 166-175, January.
    17. Chen, G.Q. & Zhang, Bo, 2010. "Greenhouse gas emissions in China 2007: Inventory and input-output analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 6180-6193, October.
    18. Liu, Qiaoling & Wang, Qi, 2015. "Reexamine SO2 emissions embodied in China's exports using multiregional input–output analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 39-50.
    19. Zhang, Bo & Chen, G.Q., 2010. "Methane emissions by Chinese economy: Inventory and embodiment analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4304-4316, August.
    20. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W., 2013. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: Competitive versus non-competitive imports," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 83-87.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:150:y:2015:i:c:p:296-307. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.