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Bridging the climate mitigation gap with economy‐wide material productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Kate Scott
  • Jannik Giesekam
  • John Barrett
  • Anne Owen

Abstract

Projections of UK greenhouse gas emissions estimate a shortfall in existing and planned climate policies meeting UK climate targets: the UK's mitigation gap. Material and product demand is driving industrial greenhouse gas emissions at a rate greater than carbon intensity improvements in the economy. Evidence shows that products can be produced with fewer carbon intensive inputs and demand for new products can be reduced. The economy‐wide contribution of material productivity and lifestyle changes to bridging the UK's mitigation gap is understudied. We integrate an input‐output framework with econometric analysis and case study evidence to analyse the potential of material productivity to help the UK bridge its anticipated emissions deficits, and the additional effort required to achieve transformative change aligned with 2 and 1.5°C temperature targets. We estimate that the emissions savings from material productivity measures are comparable to those from the Government's planned climate policy package. These additional measures could reduce the UK's anticipated emissions deficit up to 73%. The results demonstrate that material productivity deserves greater consideration in climate policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Kate Scott & Jannik Giesekam & John Barrett & Anne Owen, 2019. "Bridging the climate mitigation gap with economy‐wide material productivity," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 23(4), pages 918-931, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:inecol:v:23:y:2019:i:4:p:918-931
    DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12831
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard Wood & Karsten Neuhoff & Dan Moran & Moana Simas & Michael Grubb & Konstantin Stadler, 2020. "The structure, drivers and policy implications of the European carbon footprint," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(S1), pages 39-57, April.
    2. John Barrett & Steve Pye & Sam Betts-Davies & Oliver Broad & James Price & Nick Eyre & Jillian Anable & Christian Brand & George Bennett & Rachel Carr-Whitworth & Alice Garvey & Jannik Giesekam & Greg, 2022. "Energy demand reduction options for meeting national zero-emission targets in the United Kingdom," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 7(8), pages 726-735, August.
    3. Matilda Axelson & Sebastian Oberthür & Lars J. Nilsson, 2021. "Emission reduction strategies in the EU steel industry: Implications for business model innovation," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(2), pages 390-402, April.
    4. Tomer Fishman & Niko Heeren & Stefan Pauliuk & Peter Berrill & Qingshi Tu & Paul Wolfram & Edgar G. Hertwich, 2021. "A comprehensive set of global scenarios of housing, mobility, and material efficiency for material cycles and energy systems modeling," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(2), pages 305-320, April.
    5. Lucia Mancini & Philip Nuss, 2020. "Responsible Materials Management for a Resource-Efficient and Low-Carbon Society," Resources, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-14, June.

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