Global GHG Emissions Driven by the U.S. Household Consumption from 1995-2009

GHG emissions;household carbon footprint;School for Environment and Sustainability

Song, KaihuiQu, Shen ;

University of Michigan

关键词: GHG emissions;    household carbon footprint;    School for Environment and Sustainability;   

Others  :  https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/143186/Song_Kaihui_Thesis.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: The Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship

【 摘 要 】

In the Paris Agreement, 195 countries are committed to making joint efforts to limit globaltemperature increase below 2℃ this century. Countries are motivated to take voluntaryclimate actions, but few studies have provided systematical analysis to inform householdsabout their carbon footprints. This study analyzed global GHG emissions driven by U.S.household consumption between 1995 and 2009. Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO)method is applied to analyze global trade networks. Consumer Expenditure Survey islinked with the trade networks to provide details on the emission profile of U.S.households. The research finds that total GHG emissions driven by U.S. households rangedfrom 4.8 to 6.2 billion tCO2eq/yr with an increasing trajectory over time. Housing andtransportation contributed nearly 70% of the total domestic GHG emissions. Emissionsoverseas increased from 13% to over 20% of the total emissions in the studied period,mostly embodied in manufactured products including clothing, electronics and machinerysupplies. Household carbon footprint amounted to 18.6-20.8 tCO2eq/cap∙yr-1, ranging from11.5 to 29.6 tCO2eq/cap∙yr-1among rich and poor households. This study implicates thattrade policies could be applied to green the global supply chain, and people with higherincome should take more climate responsibility to achieve the goal of sustainableproduction and consumption.