Tracking the carbon emissions of Denmark's five regions from a producer and consumer perspective

Abstract

This paper presents a calculation of Denmark's production and consumption-based accounting CO2e emissions for five regions in 2011. We apply an environmentally extended economic model for Danish municipalities known as the Local “INterregional” Economic (LINE) model, together with a multi-regional input-output model for the world economy (EXIOBASE v3.4). We find that Denmark's Capital region accounts for 41% (28 MtCO2e) and 31% (27 MtCO2e) of Denmark's production and consumption-based emissions respectively. By disaggregating regional emissions into industry and product categories, we provide relevant information to producers and consumers in each region concerning areas where the most significant differences towards reducing their carbon footprint can be realised. Mobility, services, food and shelter were the main drivers of emissions in all Danish regions. The Central, North and South Denmark accounted for more than half (9.56 MtCO2e) of Denmark's food production emissions. The Capital region was the largest source of emissions (3.79 MtCO2e) related to food consumption. We suggest that dietary changes towards less red meat and dairy products can potentially reduce regional food-related emissions of Danish households. Our results indicate that modest changes in consumer lifestyles are pivotal for local climate mitigation policies, especially in Denmark's biggest cities, Copenhagen, Århus, Aalborg and Odense.