Carbon emission mitigation by Consumption-based Accounting and Policy

The Carbon-CAP project assesses the effectiveness and feasibility of consumption-based carbon accounting (CBCA) and demand-side policies to address emissions embodied in trade. By analyzing sectors such as food, buildings, and transport, the report identifies a suite of promising policy instruments—ranging from regulatory standards to carbon-intensive material charges—that could potentially reduce the EU's carbon footprint by up to 48% theoretically, or 4-10% when accounting for realistic behavioral responses by 2050. The study emphasizes that while production-based policies are standard, CBCA provides a critical macro-level indicator of an economy's carbon intensity and the responsibility of consuming nations for global emissions.

• Consumption-based carbon accounting (CBCA) reveals that the EU's actual carbon footprint increased by 8% from 1990 to 2010, despite a 13% decline in territorial production emissions, because demand is increasingly met by imports from countries without binding GHG targets.
• The total technical GHG reduction potential of all identified consumption-side options combined is estimated at 48% of the EU footprint, though realistic behavioral responses reduce the estimated production-based CO2 emission reductions in the EU to between 7.5% and 14% by 2050.
• Policy instruments that alter the range of available products, their ease of access, or their cost are ranked as most effective. The first-tier promising instruments include approved technology lists, supply chain procurement requirements, carbon-intensive materials charges, infrastructure improvements, and regulatory standards.
• In the building sector, the most effective mitigation option is the zero-emissions house, which combines thermal insulation and rooftop solar cells. Combined building options could potentially reduce the EU27 total GHG footprint by 12%.
• Transport-related improvements, specifically shifting to electric and hydrogen cars, public transport, and reducing vehicle weight, offer significant potential, with a combined scenario potentially reducing EU production-based CO2 emissions by 7.2% to 20.3% by 2050.
• Food-related options, such as reducing food waste and shifting to less emission-intensive diets, have a lower impact on CO2 alone due to rebound effects, where savings are spent on other carbon-intensive categories. However, they could reduce methane emissions by 14%.
• A proposed material charge on carbon-intensive materials, with rates rising from €20/tCO2 in 2020 to €80/tCO2 in 2050, could alone achieve up to half of the maximum potential emissions reductions identified in the study.
• Trade is a significant driver of global GHG growth, but it is less influential than growth in affluence (consumption per capita) and overall industry efficiency. In developed economies, trade is a more important driver for labour footprints than for energy or GHG footprints.

APA

van de Lindt, M., Emmert, S., Tukker, A., Anger-Kraavi, A., Neuhoff, K., Blachowicz, A., Derwent, H., Carr, A., Canzi, G., & Crawford-Brown, D. (2017). Carbon emission mitigation by Consumption-based Accounting and Policy. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CCAP-Final-Report.pdf

Chicago

van de Lindt, Martin, Sophie Emmert, Arnold Tukker, Annela Anger-Kraavi, Karsten Neuhoff, Andrzej Blachowicz, Henry Derwent, et al. Carbon emission mitigation by Consumption-based Accounting and Policy. Climate Strategies, 2017. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CCAP-Final-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{vandelindt2017carbon, author = {van de Lindt, Martin and Emmert, Sophie and Tukker, Arnold and Anger-Kraavi, Annela and Neuhoff, Karsten and Blachowicz, Andrzej and Derwent, Henry and Carr, Alexandra and Canzi, Germana and Crawford-Brown, Dough}, title = {{Carbon emission mitigation by Consumption-based Accounting and Policy}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2017}, month = feb, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CCAP-Final-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }