Developed Nations Exporting Jobs and Emissions

An interesting shift is taking place as multinationals shift their hiring to developing nations – they are also shifting their greenhouse gas emissions there.

The Kyoto Protocol, which is under force until 2012, required countries that signed on to reduce emissions by a measly 5.2% below 1990 levels by 2012. About 40 industrialized nations signed on – developing countries were exempt.

When countries measure their emissions, they measure the emissions produced within their borders. Those countries have been reporting stablized emissions and particularly in the EU, they seemed to be on track to meet some significant targets – 20% by 2020.

However, when emissions from imports are included in the equation, the picture changes. The vast amount of products, from TVs to cars, are manufactured in developing nations – in which China is still counted – where emissions aren’t measured.

These "ghost" emissions surged from 400 million tons of CO2 in 1990 to 1.6 billion ton in 2008, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Scientists are urging the UN shift its accounting method to include emissions generated by international trade in addition to territorial emissions. Emissions from the production of exported goods accounted for 26% of world emissions in 2008 – world emissions skyrocketed from 21.9 billion tons in 1990 to 30.3 billion tons in 2008.

"Today, developed countries have to report their CO₂ emissions, but we consume a lot of stuff that is produced in China and other developing countries.  Their CO₂ emissions are helping support my consumption. This study shows that consumption is increasingly depending on CO₂ emissions in other countries. If we want to be able to control emissions, we need to keep tabs on emissions transfers that occur through international trade," said Ken Caldeira from the Carnegie Institution for Science in the United States. Caldeira authored a study on the issue in 2010.

The study "Growth in emission transfers via international trade from 1990 to 2008" was conducted by researchers at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research – Oslo (CICERO), Technical University Berlin, Science and Technology Policy Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.