First empirical comparison of energy footprints embodied in trade: MRIO versus PLUM

The study finds that while NFA-PLUM and MRIO models produce comparable total figures for UK imports and exports, they diverge significantly when results are broken down by economic sector. The discrepancies are attributed to NFA-PLUM's omission of services, upstream fossil fuel impacts, and the use of inappropriate embodied energy factors, leading the authors to conclude that MRIO models are better suited for comprehensive footprint accounting.

• While the total energy footprints for imports and exports are similar across both methods, there is little correlation and significant difference between the NFA-PLUM and MRIO results when analyzed by economic sector.
• The differences between the two calculation methods are primarily caused by the NFA-PLUM's failure to account for trade in services (specifically transport), the upstream impacts of fossil fuels, and the application of incorrect embodied energy factors.
• The authors argue that input-output based approaches, specifically MRIO models, are more effective for comprehensive footprint accounting because they can track international supply chains, inter-industry linkages, and multi-national trade flows.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2009). First empirical comparison of energy footprints embodied in trade: MRIO versus PLUM. https://www.sei.org/publications/first-empirical-comparison-energy-footprints-embodied-trade-mrio-versus-plum/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. First empirical comparison of energy footprints embodied in trade: MRIO versus PLUM. 2009. https://www.sei.org/publications/first-empirical-comparison-energy-footprints-embodied-trade-mrio-versus-plum/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=First empirical comparison of energy footprints embodied in trade: MRIO versus PLUM |date=1 May 2009 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/first-empirical-comparison-energy-footprints-embodied-trade-mrio-versus-plum/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2009first, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{First empirical comparison of energy footprints embodied in trade: MRIO versus PLUM}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2009}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/first-empirical-comparison-energy-footprints-embodied-trade-mrio-versus-plum/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }