Carbon Voyage Tool
Embodied Carbon in Trade
Access the tool from this link: https://carbonvoyagetool.com
Embodied carbon in trade
Embodied emissions in trade account for around a quarter of global GHG emissions and are currently not accounted for in most GHG accounting systems and climate policies, leading to a carbon loophole where emissions associated with traded goods are not attributed to the consuming country's emissions reporting. As countries work towards net-zero emissions, the significance of emissions embodied in imported goods increases, emphasizing the need for consumption-based accounting (CBA).
In 2022, Global Efficiency Intelligence published a report titled “Embodied Carbon in Trade: Carbon Loophole.” This report aims to provide a newly updated analysis of embodied carbon in global trade (carbon loophole, also known as imported consumption-based emissions). Using the latest EXIOBASE (version 3.8.2) database, along with additional data, we estimated global embodied carbon in trade by developing the Environmentally-Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE MRIO) model. Our analysis investigated global trends and did a deep dive into several key countries/regions and industry sectors.
Introducing the Carbon Voyage Tool
The Carbon Voyage Tool is a web-based application developed by Global Efficiency Intelligence to quantify embodied carbon in traded products. Embodied emissions refer to the total amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions generated from all upstream processes required to deliver a certain product or service.
The Carbon Voyage Tool provides crucial data on embodied carbon in international trade and global carbon emissions. It offers a macro-analysis of embodied carbon in trade for specific countries/regions and key carbon-intensive products, such as steel, cement, clinker, and aluminum over time up to 2019. The tool is built on an Environmentally-Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE MRIO) model, which measures the portion of global CO2 emissions transferred through global trade. Utilizing the latest version of the EXIOBASE 3 database (3.8.2), the model enables the measurement of both direct and indirect emissions embodied in domestic and foreign consumption.
The Carbon Voyage Tool presents the data on embodied carbon in international trade in various graphical forms to help users to get a better understanding of the carbon flow globally across countries and also do a deeper dive for certain carbon-intensive sectors.
The Carbon Voyage Tool presents the data for 44 countries and five ROW aggregate regions up to 2019. The Carbon Voyage tool offers visualized answers to the following questions:
• How much are the emissions embodied in a country's exports and imports?
• Where does a country export embodied emissions to or import emissions from?
• How much are the emissions embodied in a country's exports or imports of emission-intensive products (e.g. steel, aluminum, cement, and clinker)?
• Where does a country export embodied emissions of steel, aluminum, or cement to or import from?
• What is the share of embodied emissions in exports or imports of a country in total global embodied emissions in trade?
The Carbon Voyage tool is a powerful tool for policymakers and other stakeholders to explore the size and directions of embodied emissions in trade across countries and regions over time. By providing insights into the emissions embodied in a country's exports and imports, the tool can help identify opportunities for reducing emissions through trade agreements or other policy interventions such as EU Carbon Border Adjustment (CBAM). The tool also provides information on the emissions embodied in specific trade relationships, sectors, and materials, which can be used to identify potential areas for collaboration and partnership between countries to reduce emissions.
Whether you are a policy-maker, business leader, or researcher, the Carbon Voyage Tool provides valuable insights into the state of embodied carbon in international trade and can support the development of more effective climate policies and practices.
Access the tool from this link: https://carbonvoyagetool.com
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