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How responsible is a region for its carbon emissions? An empirical general equilibrium analysis

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  • Turner, Karen
  • Munday, Max
  • McGregor, Peter
  • Swales, Kim

Abstract

CO2 reduction targets tend to be set in terms of the amount of pollution emitted within a given region. However, there is increasing public and policy interest in the notion of a carbon footprint, or CO2 generated globally to serve final consumption demand within a region. This raises an issue in that, despite the local economic benefits, the latter involves effectively absolving the region of responsibility for CO2 generated in the production of exports. Using a CGE model of Wales, we illustrate by simulating an increase in export demand for the output of an industry (metal production) that is both carbon and export intensive and generally produces to meet intermediate rather than final demands. The key result is economic growth accompanied by a widening gap between regional CO2 generation and the carbon footprint, raising questions as to the identification of precisely ‘whose’ carbon footprint these additional emissions should be allocated to.

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  • Turner, Karen & Munday, Max & McGregor, Peter & Swales, Kim, 2012. "How responsible is a region for its carbon emissions? An empirical general equilibrium analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 70-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:76:y:2012:i:c:p:70-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.02.001
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    6. Mura, Matteo & Longo, Mariolina & Toschi, Laura & Zanni, Sara & Visani, Franco & Bianconcini, Silvia, 2021. "The role of geographical scales in sustainability transitions: An empirical investigation of the European industrial context," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    7. Wei Li & Zhijie Jia, 2017. "Carbon tax, emission trading, or the mixed policy: which is the most effective strategy for climate change mitigation in China?," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 973-992, August.
    8. Raúl Hernández-Martín & Hugo Padrón-Ávila, 2021. "The Carbon Footprint of Airport Ground Access as Part of an Outbound Holiday Trip," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-19, August.
    9. Duarte, Rosa & Sánchez-Chóliz, Julio & Sarasa, Cristina, 2018. "Consumer-side actions in a low-carbon economy: A dynamic CGE analysis for Spain," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 199-210.
    10. Ignacio Cazcarro & Rosa Duarte & Julio Sánchez Chóliz & Cristina Sarasa & Ana Serrano, 2016. "Modelling regional policy scenarios in the agri-food sector: a case study of a Spanish region," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(16), pages 1463-1480, April.
    11. Duarte, Rosa & Feng, Kuishuang & Hubacek, Klaus & Sánchez-Chóliz, Julio & Sarasa, Cristina & Sun, Laixiang, 2016. "Modeling the carbon consequences of pro-environmental consumer behavior," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1207-1216.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Computable general equilibrium modelling; Input–output accounting; CO2 targets; Carbon footprints; Environmental responsibility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D57 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Input-Output Tables and Analysis
    • D58 - Microeconomics - - General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium - - - Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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