Summary
International trade separates consumption of goods from related environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land-use change (together referred to as “land-use emissions”). Through use of new emissions estimates and a multiregional input-output model, we evaluated land-use emissions embodied in global trade from 2004 to 2017. Annually, 27% of land-use emissions and 22% of agricultural land are related to agricultural products ultimately consumed in a different region from where they were produced. Roughly three-quarters of embodied emissions are from land-use change, with the largest transfers from lower-income countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, and Argentina to more industrialized regions such as Europe, the United States, and China. Mitigation of global land-use emissions and sustainable development may thus depend on improving the transparency of supply chains.
Outcomes reported
Referenced by Nature Reviews food production environment report as citation 28; likely supports topic area: climate change / scenarios; land use / agriculture / food systems. Topics: climate change / scenarios; land use / agriculture / food systems Evidence type: Research article / other Source report: Nature Reviews food production environment report Ref#: Nature Reviews food production environment report #28 Original: Hong, C. et al. Land-use emissions embodied in international trade. Science 376, 597-603 (2022).
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