Consumption Emissions: A New Frontier for EU Climate Policy

The report highlights that while the EU has reduced territorial emissions, it has become a net importer of CO2 emissions since 2015, with a significant portion of its carbon footprint originating outside its borders, particularly from China, Russia, the United States, and India.

• While EU emissions decreased by 29% between 1990 and 2020, this figure excludes the environmental footprint created by importing emissions-intensive goods and services to meet EU demand.
• Since 2015, the EU has been a net importer of CO2 emissions, meaning emissions from imports for EU consumption are higher than those associated with its exports. Over 30% of these imported emissions come from outside the EU, with China (8.5%), Russia (4.8%), the United States (1.6%), and India (1.6%) being the largest exporters of emissions to the EU.
• Environmental impacts of EU consumption are projected to rise until 2030. To mitigate this, the authors recommend implementing binding EU-level targets, standardizing CBE accounting, mandating member state reporting, strengthening legislation, increasing value chain transparency, and supporting developing countries' sustainable trade practices.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2024). Consumption Emissions: A New Frontier for EU Climate Policy. https://www.sei.org/publications/consumption-emissions-new-frontier-eu-climate-policy

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Consumption Emissions: A New Frontier for EU Climate Policy. 2024. https://www.sei.org/publications/consumption-emissions-new-frontier-eu-climate-policy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Consumption Emissions: A New Frontier for EU Climate Policy |date=18 June 2024 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/consumption-emissions-new-frontier-eu-climate-policy |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2024consumption, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Consumption Emissions: A New Frontier for EU Climate Policy}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/consumption-emissions-new-frontier-eu-climate-policy}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }