International trade separates consumption of goods from related environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land-use change (together referred to as “land-use emissions”). Through use of new emissions… Click to show full abstract
International trade separates consumption of goods from related environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land-use change (together referred to as “land-use emissions”). Through use of new emissions estimates and a multiregional input-output model, we evaluated land-use emissions embodied in global trade from 2004 to 2017. Annually, 27% of land-use emissions and 22% of agricultural land are related to agricultural products ultimately consumed in a different region from where they were produced. Roughly three-quarters of embodied emissions are from land-use change, with the largest transfers from lower-income countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, and Argentina to more industrialized regions such as Europe, the United States, and China. Mitigation of global land-use emissions and sustainable development may thus depend on improving the transparency of supply chains. Description Trade and land-use emissions International trade allows goods and services produced in one country to be consumed elsewhere, separating consumption from its environmental impacts. Greenhouse gas emissions from land use is one key impact. Hong et al. present estimates of land-use emissions embodied in global trade from 2004 to 2017. They found that 27% of all land-use emissions were related to agricultural products consumed in a different country from where they were produced. They also identified the trade relationships representing the largest transfers of land-use emissions, which could help target efforts to improve the sustainability of land use and agricultural production. The authors suggest that improving transparency by regular accounting of land-use emissions embodied in trade could support strategic trade adjustments that would mitigate land-use emissions. —AMS Consumption in industrialized regions contributes to land-use change and greenhouse gas emissions in low-income regions.
               
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