A cross-national study of the association between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and exports to the United States

Abstract

This research uses panel data (1989–2003) to examine the relationship between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and exports for 169 countries. Fixed effects regression results indicated that within country worldwide exports and United States exports are positively related to per capita carbon dioxide emissions. However, when both exports to the world and to the U.S. are examined simultaneously, only exports to the U.S. are related to carbon dioxide emissions. Additional analysis suggests that not all exports to the U.S. are responsible for the carbon-exports relationship. Specifically, the association between per capita carbon dioxide emissions and exports to the U.S. is largely the result of the oil and gas, petroleum and coal products, chemicals, and re-import industries. The data suggest consumption practices in the U.S. are partially responsible for elevated per capita carbon dioxide emissions in other nations, and that carbon dioxide trends in other nations are in part driven by U.S. demands for goods. These results also indicate that inefficient production methods among countries that export products to the United States may signal a problematic trend in global carbon dioxide emissions.