Multi-regional Input-output Analysis Research Articles

The carbon footprint of health care delivery in Western Australia's public health system

Health systems have a dual imperative to take action on climate change. First, they must develop climate resilient health services in response to the direct and indirect impacts of climate change on health. Second, they must reduce their own carbon footprint since health systems are a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. An environmentally-extended multi-region input-output analysis was carried out, incorporating National Accounts data for Australia and annual expenditure data from WA Health for financial year 2019-20. Expenditure data were categorised to one of 344 economic sectors and by location of the provider of goods or services purchased. WA Health contributes 8% of WA's total carbon footprint, driven by expenditure on chemicals (23.8% of total), transport (20.2% of total), and electricity supply (19.7% of total). These 3 sectors represent 63.7% of WA Health's carbon footprint, but only 10.8% of its total expenditure. Reducing emissions related to health service provision in WA will require a holistic approach that leverages carbon footprinting insights and integrates them into organisational decision-making across all health programs. The high carbon-intensity of the transport and chemicals sectors supports previous research calling for a reduction in unnecessary pathology testing and the transition to delivery of non-urgent health care via sustainable models of telehealth. The impact of WA's size and location presents challenges, with a predominantly non-renewable energy supply and reliance on transport and supply chains from other states adding significantly to emissions. The study received funding from the Australian Research Council, The University of Sydney, and the WA Department of Health. The full list of funding information can be found in Acknowledgements.

Harness the Co-Benefit and Avoid the Trade-off: The Complex Relationship between Income Inequality and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Abstract Given the dual crises of climate change and rising economic inequality, it is imperative to improve the synergy between climate mitigation and income inequality reduction. Domestic income inequality is linked to nations’ carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions through multiple theorized pathways. Using a multidimensional framework, multiregional input–output analysis, panel regression analysis, and a sample of 34 high-income nations from 2004 to 2015, I investigate the relationships between nations’ income inequality and four components of CO2 emissions with distinct implications for climate change mitigation: (1) emissions generated by domestic-oriented supply chain activities; (2) emissions embodied in exports; (3) direct emissions from end-user activities; and (4) emissions embodied in imports. I theorize that income inequality is heterogeneously related to the four emission components via different pathways. Results show that the relationships vary across emission components, change over time, and differ between inequality measures. The Gini coefficient is generally less influential on CO2 emissions than the income share of the top 10%. Notably, the income share of the top 10% is negatively related to direct end-user emissions from 2009 to 2011 and positively related to emissions in exports from 2011 to 2015, indicating variations in pathways both across emission components and over time—especially during and after the Great Recession. The findings underscore the multidimensionality in the income inequality-CO2 emissions relationship. Whether reducing income inequality can generate the co-benefit of emission abatement while avoiding a potential trade-off is a context-specific question that requires careful policy design and implementation.

Network Effects in Global Carbon Transfer: New Evidence from a Carbon-Connectedness Network Centered on China

Network Effects in Global Carbon Transfer: New Evidence from a Carbon-Connectedness Network Centered on China

Indonesia's contribution to global carbon flows: Which sectors are most responsible for the emissions embodied in trade?

Motivated by recent developments in global carbon policies, such as the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) in Europe and carbon pricing in Indonesia, this paper elaborates on CO2 emissions embodied in products entering and leaving Indonesia and identifies carbon-intensive sectors responsible for carbon leakage. This was performed by using global multi-regional input-output analysis and consumption-based accounting (CBA) - production-based accounting (PBA) ratio. In 2016, the annual CO2 emissions embodied in Indonesia's exports and imports were 114 and 95 Mt. CO2, respectively. Considering final demand only, these values reduce to 32 and 22 Mt. CO2 or 0.9 and 0.6 % of total CO2 emissions in global trade, respectively. The electrical and machinery sector makes up the most CO2 emissions in Indonesian exports. In terms of per USD, metal products and petroleum, chemical and non-metallic mineral products are among the most carbon-intensive sectors, thus likely to be affected by the CBAM policy. Furthermore, Indonesia's emissions under CBA were slightly lower than PBA, indicating that minor carbon leakage occurred in 2016, but this is subject to uncertainty. Assessing the relative CO2 emissions of various economic sectors is suitable for manufacturing goods whose processes are typically dominated by fossil combustion. However, this is not the case for the agriculture sector as its carbon footprint values are underestimated due to the exclusion of land use, land use change, and forestry emissions. Overall, our findings can serve as a baseline to further explore how a transition towards a low-carbon economy in Indonesia could improve global-trade carbon balances.

Multi-tier life cycle assessment for evaluating low carbon strategies in soil remediation

Addressing soil pollution and achieving global carbon neutrality requires low carbon remediation practices. When selecting the optimal remediation techniques, a comprehensive model is required to assess the environmental and economic impacts accurately. In the present study, a spatial three-tier framework that combines process cycle assessment (PLCA), Input output analysis (IOA) and Multi-Regional Input Output analysis (MRIOA) has been used to evaluate the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of three commonly used remediation alternatives at a contaminated site in Hubei Province, China, as well as the indirect GHG emissions of the industry chain at provincial and national scale. The three remediation techniques were coprocessing in a cement kiln (CCK), ex-situ solidification and stabilization (ESS), and soil washing (SLW). Using a tiered hybrid life cycle assessment (THLCA) approach, the results demonstrated the importance of including off-site emissions in life cycle assessments. It was found that CCK had the lowest total GHG emissions among the three alternatives. Off-site greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with three soil remediation alternatives vary significantly, with CCK exhibiting the lowest levels and ESS the highest. Soil remediation emissions mainly affected Hubei Province, with varying spillover effects on other regions, such as Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Liaoning, and Gansu, which supplied material resources and power supply for the soil remediation project. The production and supply of electricity and heat (PSE) sector contributed the most to off-site emissions, accounting for 56.05%, 67.76%, and 67.30% of total emissions for CCK, ESS, and SLW, respectively. Overall, the present study provides fresh insights to support a more holistic low-carbon assessment of soil remediation options.

Trade and Labor-Allocation: Evidence from Sectoral Embodied Labor Transfer between China and Africa

Trade and Labor-Allocation: Evidence from Sectoral Embodied Labor Transfer between China and Africa

Measuring performance of supply chains based on data envelopment analysis and multi-regional input-output analysis: An application to 18 manufacturing sectors in 43 countries

This study developed a novel framework that combined data envelopment analysis and multi–regional input–output database to investigate the economic and environmental productivity change in the global supply chains associated with 18 manufacturing sectors in 43 countries from 2000 to 2014. Two models are developed; manufacturer model is used to evaluate performance of direct production activity of a sector in countries and supplier model is used to evaluate performance of indirect production activity of upstream suppliers of the sector. The proposed framework enables us to separately analyze the performance of supply chains into direct production activity and indirect production activity of suppliers. The empirical results show that the environmental productivity of direct production activity of 18 manufacturing sectors was improved by 12.9 percent, while the environmental productivity of the upstream suppliers was improved by only 4.7 percent during 2000–2014 on average. Different patterns of economic and environmental productivity growth were observed between the direct production activity and upstream suppliers in all sectors. The finding suggests that the performance of an entire supply chain should be separately analyzed to consider industry-specific policies. The proposed framework is used to identify countries that succeed/fail to improve economic and environmental performance. Based on the results, this study discusses policies regarding production and supply chain management toward CO2 mitigation.

Tele-connections, driving forces and scenario simulation of agricultural land, water use and carbon emissions in China's trade

Exploring the virtual resources flow along supply chains and the coupling relationship among different resources is important for promoting sustainable agricultural development. In this study, by combing environmentally-extended multi-regional input-output (EEMRIO) and structural decomposition analysis (SDA) methods, we analyzed the transfer of agricultural virtual water, land and carbon emissions in China's regional trade and identified the hidden driving forces. We further explored agricultural water-land-carbon nexus evolution characteristics in different development scenarios. The results showed that trade-embodied agricultural land, water use and carbon emissions increase by 8.5 %, 15.4 % and 27.3 % from 2007 to 2017 respectively. The flow trend is mainly from water-starved northern China to southern and southeastern China. Virtual water flows reduce 41.5 % and embodied carbon emissions reduce 31.9 % after the improvement of water use efficiency and reduction of carbon intensity in 2030 under the W2LC2 scenario, where faces the least water-land-carbon pressure. The results provide important information for alleviating the inequality of regional resource and environmental pressure in China.

Carbon emissions embodied in investment: Assessing emissions reduction responsibility through multi-regional input-output analysis

Investment makes an outstanding contribution to the global economy while significantly impacting on global carbon emissions. However, few attempts have been made to analyze temporal changes in historical emissions induced by investment, and it is difficult to determine which countries are responsible for emissions reductions. Here we investigate the evolution in the carbon emissions embodied in investment (ECI) at global and national levels with the Global Multi-regional input-output (GMRIO) model, aiming to address the question of “Who should be responsible for how much, when it comes to emissions reductions?”. Our results show that global ECI increased by 72.4% from 1990 to 2021, with intermediate input structure being the key driver. Specifically, China, the United States and India had the highest ECI, and domestic investment level was responsible for promoting the growth of investment-related emissions. Improvements in emission intensity were the primary contributor to reductions. The construction, electrical and machinery, and transport equipment sectors were the leading sectors in shaping national investment-related emissions. To enable more effective reduction policies measures of ECI reduction, serious consideration should be given to technology cooperation and sharing.

Responsibility-sharing and compensation scheme of transboundary water pollution embodied in China's inter-provincial trade: a perspective from economic value capturing.

Transboundary water pollution induced by inter-regional trade is a complex and challenging issue due to the multiple jurisdictions involved. This study combined water pollution discharge inventory, multi-regional input-output analysis, discharge responsibility-sharing, and ecological compensation model to advance the collaborative control of water pollution embodied in China's inter-provincial trade. Over a fifth of China's water pollution discharges in 2017, equivalent to 1376 Kt, were a result of inter-provincial trade, which primarily flowed from wealthier coastal provinces to less developed ones. Moreover, the analysis demonstrates a mismatch between economic gains and environmental costs. In particular, Jiangxi and Guangxi bear the greatest environmental impact (64 and 58 Kt, respectively) while only receiving meager economic returns (131 and 80 billion Yuan). The economic benefit shared responsibility results for the great majority of provinces fell between production- and consumption-based discharges, and this compromise-based allocation of responsibility is more likely to gain acceptance across various regions. Provinces such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Beijing necessitate the highest compensation volumes to others, with 31 Kt, 25 Kt, and 20 Kt, respectively, while provinces including Guangxi, Jiangxi, and Ningxia require the largest inflows of compensation, totaling 26 Kt, 23 Kt, and 18 Kt, respectively. The compensation outcomes ensure that less developed regions, bearing a greater pollution burden, receive compensation from more developed regions with lower pollution burdens. The compensation values aligned with compensation volumes, with a few exceptions driven by variations in shadow prices of water pollution. Our study sheds light on the inter-provincial water pollution burdens and benefits and provides a quantitative basis for optimizing the responsibility-sharing and compensation strategies in China, thereby promoting regional cooperation on water pollution control.

Carbon footprint and employment generation produced by ICT networks for Internet deployment: A multi-regional input-output analysis

Internet is widely regarded as a necessary resource for economic and social development. The availability of this technology requires the deployment of ICT networks which have implications not only on the natural surroundings but also on the human environment. Understanding the impact generated on key areas of socio-ecological concern such as carbon footprint and employment generation is essential to ensure well-informed decision-making. This investigation utilized multiregional environmentally extended input-output (MRIO) methodology to evaluate the carbon footprint and the employment generation associated with providing internet to six geo-demographic scenarios, from urban to remote rural, using Peru as a reference site. The results showed that most of the carbon emissions (289–340 kg CO2 eq./subs./yr.) and employment (7–8 jobs/subs./yr.) associated with larger ICT networks intended for urban and suburban areas was attributable to the manufacturing of end-user devices. The sustainability of smaller ICT networks for rural areas was dominated by the construction of shared infrastructures (mainly 4G LTE equipment), while the contribution of the energy consumed was in all cases limited. Although the analysis considered ICT networks deployed in Peru, most impacts were generated in China, where the manufacturing of the electronic components was assumed to take place. This analysis highlights the value of econometric methods for sustainability assessment such as MR-EEIO, which are complementary to the more conventional process-based E-LCA.

Construction of a methodology framework to characterize dynamic full-sector land-use carbon emissions embodied in trade

The globally massive land-use changes associated with unprecedented urbanization rate are leading to prodigious quantities of carbon emissions. Nonetheless, the dynamics of land-use carbon emissions, particularly driven by supply-chain activities across all relevant industrial sectors, remain largely unexplored, especially in non-agricultural sectors. Here, we constructed a novel methodological framework to quantify full-sector land-use carbon emissions in Shenzhen, China, an international megacity grappling with acute land resource scarcity. Then, we integrated this framework with multiregional input-output analysis to uncover the multi-scale embodied land-use emissions propelled by Shenzhen's supply-chain activities. Our results indicate a marked increase in Shenzhen's embodied carbon emissions, approximately two orders of magnitude greater than its physical emissions, tripling during 2005–2018. Remarkably, non-agriculture sectors contributed 81.3–90.5 % of physical and 46.6–58.4 % of embodied land-use emissions. The land-use changes occurred outside Shenzhen accounted for 6.5–13.3 % of Shenzhen's total embodied land-use emissions. The sectoral analysis revealed a transition from traditional manufacturing (e.g., metallurgy, chemical products, textiles, wood products) in 2010–2015 to high-tech sectors (e.g., electronic equipment and other manufacture) in 2015–2018. This shift was primarily attributed to concurrent industry transfer actions, leading to aggressive changes in land-use emission intensity discrepancies within and outside Shenzhen. This study provides a scientific basis for designing effective strategies to mitigate land-use carbon emissions associated with supply-chain activities.

Impacts of water constraints on economic outputs and trade: A multi-regional input-output analysis in China

Water resource constraints pose significant challenges to sustainable development of economy, environment, and human society. This study addresses the existing gap in understanding the impacts of water resource constraints on economic outputs and inter-provincial trade in China. A water-use constrained multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model is developed to analyze the impacts on economic outputs resulting from different water constraints imposed on economic sectors. A series of scenarios are designed to represent different levels of sectoral water use restrictions based on short-term water policy and water stress alleviation targets. Results reveal that regions experience different levels of water stress displaying diverse economic impacts due to future water restrictions. Overall, national economic outputs will experience a 0.76–1.14% decrease compared to the baseline scenario, that is, the “business-as-usual” scenario. Provinces with lower levels of economic development tend to be less resilient to the economic losses arising from water constraints. As such, Ningxia and Shanxi show with the greatest relative economic impact, accounting for 7.09% and 4.21% of their respective provinces’ economic outputs under the baseline scenario. Furthermore, the direction of net bilateral trade, such as net trade between Henan and Shaanxi or between Henan and Hunan, would reverse under water constraint scenarios from the baseline scenario. This underscores the importance of considering the cascading effects of local water constraints on inter-provincial trade. Our study highlights the trade-offs between water conservation and economic development, emphasizing the need for region-specific water-saving measures.

Exploring the determinants of the evolution of urban and rural household carbon footprints inequality in China

Households are key actors in mitigating climate change and their carbon footprints are unequally distributed due to differences in the scale and patterns of consumption. This study separately estimates household carbon footprints inequality in urban and rural areas of China from 2012 to 2018 and identifies the factors contributing to the evolution of the inequality by applying environmentally extended multiregional input-output analysis, unconditional quantile regression and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. The results show that the largest emission growth occurred among the 50th–80th percentile of urban emitters and the highest rural emitters. The Gini coefficient of urban household carbon footprints decreased from 0.463 to 0.439, whereas that of rural household carbon footprints increased from 0.447 to 0.459. Notably, the changes of household characteristics exacerbated carbon inequality, with income growth, increased car ownership, and smaller household size being the three primary factors, while the changes in consumption preferences and technological advancements reduced carbon inequality. The latter are dominant in urban households and the former are dominant in rural households. To mitigate climate change and reduce inequality, the government should not only encourage high-emitting households to adopt greener low-carbon consumption and lifestyles, but also promote low-carbon technology innovation to reduce carbon intensity.

Identifying critical transmission sectors, paths, and carbon communities for CO2 mitigation in global supply chains

The critical transmission hubs in global supply chain networks have great potential to reduce carbon emissions, yet this has not received much attention from existing studies. This research combines the structural path betweenness, an extended structural path analysis, and a multi-level modularity optimization algorithm to identify key transmission sectors, paths, and carbon communities in a global supply chain network using the environmentally extended multi-regional input-output analysis. The results show that (1) China's metal industry, power industry, and non-metallic industry are the most crucial transmission centers, and some sectors, such as the paper industry and textile industry in China, are also key transmission hubs, yet they are ignored by traditional accounting methods. From a national viewpoint, China is the most key transmission hub, and its high betweenness is mainly caused by domestic demand. Meanwhile, the CO2 emissions transferred by China to satisfy foreign demand are mainly related to the US, ROW (especially the Asia-Pacific region), and Japan. (2) The transmitted carbon emission is mainly concentrated in the first four production layers, accounting for 69.46 % of the total. (3) The global carbon emission network can be divided into 20 carbon communities. And the largest communities are mainly led by mainland China. Most of the communities contain various national sectors, which offer evidence for international cooperation strategies. The results offer policymakers a new perspective on mitigating environmental stress.

Energy efficiency assessment of wastewater treatment plants in China based on multiregional input–output analysis and data envelopment analysis

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) play a pivotal role in natural water recycling and safeguarding the water security of approximately 42% of the world's population, yet they confront challenges posed by escalating energy consumption and regional energy constraints. In this study, we developed an evaluation framework that integrated regional energy scarcity with the operation conditions of WWTPs to quantify their energy efficiencies by applying multiregional input–output (MRIO) analysis and data envelopment analysis (DEA). A case study using this framework was conducted on 3776 WWTPs in 30 provinces in China. The results showed that the average scarcity-based energy efficiency level of WWTPs in China was low, of which those in northern provinces were higher compared to southeastern provinces. Furthermore, only 24 WWTPs in China attained the highest efficiency levels, while the rest had different degrees of input redundancy, indicating an energy-saving potential of 9.05 × 109 kWh. This paper enables the development of optimal efficiency strategies for WWTPs in different provinces considering the potential energy scarcity risks caused by trading activities.

Meeting the costs of decarbonising industry – The potential effects on prices and competitiveness (a case study of the UK)

Industry produces a third of global greenhouse gas emissions and needs to be decarbonised as countries strive for net zero. But how might the costs of this be met and what effect might the options have on businesses and consumers? Using the UK as a case study, we investigate the relative effect on prices and profit margins of three idealised illustrative scenarios for distributing the costs of decarbonising industry: (1) absorbing them, (2) passing them on to consumers, and (3) sharing them along the relevant value chains. To do this, we combine direct process cost projections from a detailed industry pathway model (covering 115 sector-process combinations and 96 unique low-carbon technologies) with techniques exploiting multi-regional input-output analysis. Industrial decarbonisation consistent with net-zero goals can be achieved with an aggregate increase in prices as low as 0.8%, and minimal impact on equality. However, the impact on some industries is more pronounced; while costs might be beneficially shared between sectors to some extent, some will find this more challenging. The findings are relevant to industrial decarbonisation policies and the support they need to provide, the effects that industrial decarbonisation might have on equality, and its potential effect on international competition.

From mines to consumption via global supply chains: A viewpoint on assessing modern slavery and disease interactions

Globalisation has narrowed the gap between producers and consumers, with complex global supply chain networks forming the basis of many of the products we consume today. Modern slavery risk is known to be an ‘invisible’ problem, as modern slavery impacts are embodied in products consumed in geographically distant regions. In this viewpoint, we highlight that modern slavery and disease risk interactions have not been explored in global supply chains. We explore the value of multi-region input-output (MRIO) analysis in exploring the effects of consumption activities on modern slavery and disease risk. Using the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a region where modern slavery and disease risks are known, as a case study, we explore the potential for an integrated framework based on MRIO analysis to identify modern slavery-disease risk hotspots in supply chains. We discuss the significance of this framework in global policy setting and explore avenues for future research.

Nexus between water-energy-carbon footprint network: Multiregional input-output and coupling coordination degree analysis

With rising concerns over global issues such as climate change, environmental degradation, and resource shortages, the need for coordinated development of the water-energy-carbon (WEC) nexus has become a pressing global issue. However, existing research mainly focuses on individual sectors or specific aspects of WEC and lacks a thorough comprehension of the link among them, especially in the full supply network. This study creates a multi-model evaluation technique to estimate the WEC network across various sectors and provinces in order to close this gap. Specifically, WEC multiregional input-output analysis including 42 industrial sectors and coupling coordination degree models is proposed to further analyze the interaction relationship among WEC. The results indicate that the implied carbon footprint is positively correlated with virtual water and implied energy, but the WEC footprint is negatively correlated with the external footprint. The energy-carbon correlation is the strongest relationship, followed by the energy-water correlation. In addition, the WEC coupled network shows an extreme disorder state, while it decreases from developed areas to less developed areas. The transfer of WEC is dominated by industries with higher consumption coefficients. This phenomenon also exists in the WEC flow in provinces. From less developed to more developed places, there is a considerable influx of WEC. The multi-model evaluation method proposed in our study could be applied by governments to estimate the WEC coupled network, compare it with other regions, and analyze the potential effects of environmental policies.

Agriculture related methane emissions embodied in China's interprovincial trade

Given that agriculture is the predominant source of anthropogenic methane, evaluating the spatio-temporal trends of agriculture related CH4 emissions embodied in trade and the related drivers is an important prerequisite for climate goals. This study first adopted the IPCC tier 2 method to account agriculture related methane emissions, by taking China as a case. The embodied CH4 emissions in the interprovincial trade were then explored by employing multiregional input-output analysis. Socioeconomic factors impacting embodied emissions were uncovered. The results show that the direct CH4 emissions from agriculture in China decreased from 15.50 Tg in 2010 to 12.49 Tg in 2020, mainly contributed by the decrease from livestock production. The direct emissions were dominated by Hunan, Sichuan and Jiangxi broken down by provinces, and rice cultivation and enteric fermentation by process. Total amount of embodied CH4 emissions increased from 11.36 Tg in 2012 to 12.10 Tg in 2015, and decreased to 11.48 Tg in 2017. Shandong had the largest embodied CH4 net inflow, while Heilongjiang had the largest embodied CH4 net outflow. The significant increases in embodied CH4 net outflow of Western China transferred from North were found. GDP per-capita and food production per unit GDP had the most positive and negative contributions to the embodied emissions, respectively. Reliability of the results was further demonstrated by using sensitivity analysis and comparing with similar studies. Finally, implications were raised, including reducing the direct emission intensities, bringing embodied CH4 emission into decision making and setting the interprovincial cooperation mechanisms.