Consumption emissions: opportunities for EU climate mitigation

This policy brief examines the opportunities and barriers for the European Union to reduce consumption-based emissions (CBEs), which include emissions from the entire supply chain of goods and services consumed within the EU regardless of where production occurs. Based on policy analysis and case studies from France, Denmark, and Sweden, the brief argues that while territorial emissions have decreased, the EU's carbon footprint remains significant due to imports, necessitating coordinated EU-level targets and a shift from simple efficiency gains to systematic changes in consumption patterns.

• In 2021, the EU's consumption-based CO2 emissions were estimated at 3.5 billion metric tonnes, representing approximately 9% of global CO2 emissions. This is disproportionate to the EU's 5.7% share of the global population.
• Consumption-based emissions (CBEs) vary significantly across EU member states. In 2021, the average footprint per person in the EU 27 was 8.0 tonnes CO2 equivalent, with a range from 4.6 tonnes in Slovakia to 11.0 tonnes in Denmark and Luxembourg.
• The primary consumption 'hotspots' for emissions at the EU level are mobility, housing, and food. While food and household goods show the least variation between member states, appliances show the largest variation, followed by housing and mobility.
• The EU faces several barriers to addressing CBEs, including a lack of standardized monitoring systems, limited transparency in global supply chains, and a need for better coordination among member states. Current efforts focus heavily on efficiency gains rather than systematic transitions in consumption patterns.
• Trade significantly impacts the EU's carbon footprint, with 69% of consumption-based CO2 emissions in 2021 generated from imports between EU countries. Outside the EU, China was the largest exporter of goods to the EU (8.5%), followed by Russia (4.8%), the US (1.6%), and India (1.6%).

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2024). Consumption emissions: opportunities for EU climate mitigation. https://www.sei.org/publications/consumption-emissions-opportunities-eu-climate-mitigation/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Consumption emissions: opportunities for EU climate mitigation. 2024. https://www.sei.org/publications/consumption-emissions-opportunities-eu-climate-mitigation/.

Wikipedia

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

BibTeX

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