Chapter 01 · Climate & transitionClimate & Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Consumption emissions
Definition
Consumption emissions allocate greenhouse gas emissions to final consumers rather than producers. A territory's consumption-based emissions equal its domestic production emissions, plus emissions embodied in imports, minus emissions embodied in exports. The approach captures the climate impact of traded goods and complements territorial (production-based) inventories reported under the UNFCCC.
References
definition and accounting identity
trade context
Overview
What it means
If a country imports carbon-intensive goods, a consumption perspective assigns those emissions to the buyer's footprint rather than the producer's national inventory.
How it is used
Research institutes (e. g. SEI's work on EU consumption emissions) and policy analysts use the measure to assess carbon leakage, offshored emissions and the fairness of consumption-side policy.
Why it matters
Consumption accounting reveals that many wealthy economies' footprints exceed their territorial emissions, informing debates on trade policy, border carbon adjustments and demand-side measures.