International Differences in Emissions Intensity and Emissions Content of Global Trade

Understanding international differences in the emissions intensity of trade and production is essential to understanding the effects of greenhouse gas limitation policies. We develop data on emissions from 48 industrial sectors in 32 countries and estimate the CO2 emissions intensity of production and trade. We find no evidence that developing countries specialize in emissions-intensive sectors; instead, emissions intensities differ systematically across countries because of differences in production techniques. Northern and Western European countries have the lowest emissions-intensity, while Southern and Eastern European countries and China have the highest emissions-intensity. Developed countries such as Japan and the United States whose trading partners are mostly developing countries import the most emissions.