Analysis on CO_2 Emissions Transferred from Developed Economies to China through Trade

摘要

Based on a global input-output model, this paper investigates the CO_2 emission transfer between China and developed economies through trade. The results show that approximately 15-23 percent of China's production-based emissions during 1995-2009 were induced by the production of goods and services satisfying final demand in developed economies. Decomposition of emission transfers shows that trade of intermediate products played a significant role in emission transfer from developed economies to China. Most developed economies have consumption-based emission responsibilities that are higher than their production-based responsibilities, whereas China 's consumption-based responsibility is significantly lower than its production-based responsibility. We argue that a fair and efficient carbon accounting approach should take CO_2 emission transfers from developed economies to developing economies into consideration. It is important that China and its developed trade partners cooperate in reducing emission transfers.