Climate & Environment
Production-Based Emissions
Definition
Production-based (or territorial) emissions are greenhouse gas emissions counted in the territory where they physically occur, following IPCC inventory guidelines; this is the accounting basis for national inventories and Paris Agreement targets. The alternative, consumption-based accounting, attributes emissions to final consumers, including emissions embodied in imports and excluding those in exports.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Production-Based Emissions” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The distinction structures policy debates on consumption-based targets, border carbon adjustments and responsibility for embodied emissions in trade.
Why it matters
Accounting perspective determines who appears responsible for emissions; production-based inventories alone can hide the offshoring of a nation's carbon footprint.