Indirect carbon dioxide emissions from interregional trade in Japan under the target of carbon neutrality

Abstract

With Japan’s emphasis on domestic demand and the gradual expansion of interregional trade, indirect carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have become an important factor limiting Japan’s realization of carbon neutrality in 2050. In this study, using regional trade data, input-output analysis was applied to study indirect CO2 emissions from the domestic exports/imports of 30 prefectures in Japan in 2010, and log-mean Divisia index decomposition analysis was conducted to analyze the factors influencing the net indirect CO2 emissions of each prefecture. The main results are as follows: (1) some manufacturing prefectures with obvious characteristics of an export-oriented economy supply the market demand of most areas in Japan with their industrial products and have become the main net CO2 exporters undertaking the vast majority of CO2 emission reduction tasks; (2) consumer prefectures not only guide the output of manufacturing prefectures to a certain extent but also export a substantial amount of indirect CO2 emissions to other prefectures through the service industry, which is widely seen as a low-carbon emitter and is as such neglected by regulations aimed at reducing emissions. Therefore, the implementation of carbon neutrality needs to balance the relationship between production and consumption. While reforming the technology of the manufacturing prefecture from the production side to reduce CO2 emissions, the market demand of the consumer prefecture should also be adjusted from the consumption side to enhance the concept of sustainable consumption.