Harry C. Wilting

Environmental Load from Dutch Private Consumption: How Much Damage Takes Place Abroad?

Summary nThis article describes a method for determining the environmental load of Dutch private consumption. The method generates detailed information about consumption-related environmental impacts. The environmental load of households (direct) and production (indirect) was determined for 360 expenditure categories reported in the Dutch Expenditure Survey. The indirect environmental load was calculated with linked input-output tables covering worldwide production and trade. The environmental load per Euro turnover of industries was linked to consumer expenditures. With this method we can quantify several types of environmental load per expenditure category and per economic production region. n nIt was found that food production, room heating, and car use are the most important elements in the environmental load of Dutch private consumption. The impacts taking place abroad were—with the exception of emission of greenhouse gases and road traffic noise—found to be larger than domestic impacts. Most land use was found to take place in developing (non-OECD) countries, whereas most emissions occur in industrialized (OECD) countries.

CARBON AND LAND USE ACCOUNTING FROM A PRODUCER'S AND A cONSUMER'S PERSPECTIVE – AN EMPIRICAL EXAMINATION COVERING THE WORLD

National policies for reducing environmental pressures stemming from emissions and the use of natural resources usually adopt a producer approach, i.e. the legislation refers to pressures occurring within the territorial boundaries of a country. An alternative approach to environmental accounting is the consumer approach, which includes environmental pressures associated with imports for domestic consumption, wherever these pressures occur. The carbon footprint, for example, is such an approach, in which CO2 or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered from a consumers perspective. The consumer approach may offer new ways for policies to reduce pressures, and therefore it would be interesting to adopt this perspective in national environmental policy-making and international negotiations. To gain insight into the differences between the approaches, this paper discusses the concepts of both, showing the results of an empirical analysis and going into the application of the two different perspectives in (international) environmental policies. Due to international trade, the environmental pressures accounted for in a producers and a consumers perspective are usually not the same for a country. This paper presents a worldwide overview, comparing the outcomes for the two approaches with regard to GHG emissions and land use, for 12 world regions. Furthermore, for GHG emissions, a quantitative comparison was made between 87 countries and regions covering the world. Consumption-related GHG emissions and land use per capita were calculated with a full multi-regional input–output (MRIO) model. MRIO analysis is an attractive method for footprint analyses in an international context. The research shows that, for most developed countries, GHG emissions and land use are higher in the consumer approach than in the producer approach. For most developing countries, the opposite is true. Before applying national targets to the consumer approach – for instance, in climate policies – further improvements and standardisation of methodology and data will be necessary.

SENSITIVITY AND UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS IN MRIO MODELLING; SOME EMPIRICAL RESULTS WITH REGARD TO THE DUTCH CARBON FOOTPRINT

Environmental multi-regional input–output (MRIO) models require large amounts of data that all have their specific uncertainties. This paper presents a sensitivity and uncertainty analysis in order to gain an understanding of the directions in which efforts should be made to reduce these uncertainties. The analyses were carried out for an MRIO model to calculate the Dutch carbon footprint. A sensitivity analysis of the technical coefficients showed that changes in the coefficients in the domestic blocks and in the Dutch import blocks had the largest effects on the calculated footprint. The uncertainty analysis consisting of a Monte Carlo simulation based on probability distributions around the model coefficients showed a relatively low degree of uncertainty in the total Dutch carbon footprint; uncertainties in the carbon emissions allocated to regions, sectors and products were larger. Both analyses showed that, in certain cases, it is justified to apply a partial MRIO analysis.

A METHOD TO CREATE CARBON FOOTPRINT ESTIMATES CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL ACCOUNTS

Although multiregional input–output (MRIO) databases use data from national statistical offices, the reconciliation of various data sources results in significantly altered country data. This makes it problematic to use MRIO-based footprints for national policy-making. This paper develops a potential solution using the Netherlands as case study. The method ensures that the footprint is derived from an MRIO dataset (in our case the World Input–Output Database (WIOD)) that is made consistent with Dutch National accounts data. Furthermore, usage of microdata allows us to separate re-exports at the company level. The adjustment results in a foreign footprint in 2009 that is 22% lower than the original WIOD estimates and a significantly altered country allocation. We demonstrate that already in the data preparation phase due to the treatment of re-exports and margins, large differences arise with Dutch national statistics, which may help explain the variation in footprint estimates across MRIO databases.

Reducing the variation of environmental footprint estimates based on multiregional input–output databases

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study reducing the variation of environmental footprint estimates based on multiregional input–output (MRIO) databases. Footprint estimates from various MRIO databases sometimes vary significantly. As a result, conclusions about the absolute levels or trends of a footprint may be inconsistent. The sources of these variations are attributable to three phases in the footprint calculations: differences in data preparation, MRIO database construction and footprint calculation. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides a literature overview and a breakdown of the computation of footprints based on MRIO database. Based on these insights, strategies that lead to lower variation in footprint estimates are formulated. Findings – Convergence of footprint estimates require enhanced cooperation amongst academics, among statisticians and between academics and statisticians. Originality/value – Reducing the variation in footprint estimates is a major challenge. This pap...

EU Resource efficiency perspectives in a global context

This study explores the relevance and implications of resource efficiency for five distinct, vitally important resource themes: energy, land, phosphorus, fresh water and fish stocks. Natural resources underpin the functioning of both the European and the global economy. They critically shape prospects for current and future quality of life over the coming decades. Key questions addressed in this study are: What are the impacts of current and projected resource use up to 2050 and in which parts of the world will they be felt most? What are the potential effects of boosting resource efficiency in different world regions? Is policy intervention conceivable? How would such interventions interact with other resources not targeted; and how does resource efficiency relate to efforts to mitigate climate change?

Global Environmental Impact of Dutch Private Consumption

Worldwide ecosystems are under pressure of economic activities. The main impetus for this is human demand for food, other goods and services. How household spend their money is an important factor in the magnitude of the damage inflicted on the environment. The distribution of environmental damage among the different household expenditures can provide insight in how this damage can be reduced. On the issue of consumption related environmental impacts many studies have been performed. However, most of these studies only focus on a specific part of our consumption (e.g. assessments [LCAs] of goods and services), on a specific impact category (e.g. energy or greenhouse gases) or on consumption on an aggregated level (e.g. footprint assessments of nations or cities). A comprehensive assessment covering the whole of consumption, while allowing detailed insight into its composition, and taking many environmental impacts into account, has not yet been performed. As early as 1976, Herendeen and Tanaka (1976) published their ‘energy cost of living’, using input-output (IO) based energy intensities of household expenditures. Several studies in this field were performed, for example in Europe (e.g. Weber and Fahl 1993; Reinders et al. 2003), India (Pachauri et al. 2002) Australia (Lenzen 1998) and New Zealand (Peet et al. 1985). Besides energy, emissions have been analyzed in a similar fashion (e.g. Morioka and Yoshida 1995; Breuil 1992; Munksgaard 2000; Alfredsson 2002). Later on, as LCA data became available, IO based data were complemented with process-based data to allow hybrid analysis.