A Carbon Footprint Proportional to Expenditure - a Case for Norway?

Abstract

Assuming that emissions originate from the consumption of goods and services, we study the relationship between consumption-based per capita carbon footprint and per capita expenditure for Norway, using 2007 data. A two-region input-output model reveals that the consumption-based per capita carbon footprint is directly proportional to expenditure with an estimated elasticity close to unity. We show that this result is at least partly driven by a near zero-emission power sector, which leads to comparatively low emission intensities for domestically-produced goods and services.