sei-wp-2012-01-low-ghg-consumption-2ac0c050b214dc9d.pdf

This research paper by the Stockholm Environment Institute examines the economic trade-offs of low-greenhouse-gas (GHG) consumption strategies in high-income countries, specifically focusing on the potential negative impacts on lower-income countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Using the United Kingdom as a primary example and a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model, the authors find that shifting consumption from high-GHG goods to low-GHG services can reduce emissions but may disproportionately harm the GDP of poor exporting nations.

• Shifts in consumer behaviour in high-income countries, such as reducing the purchase of 'stuff' and high-GHG items like red meat, could reduce consumption-associated emissions by at least 10 per cent.
• Implementing low-GHG consumption strategies in the United Kingdom would likely increase the U.K.'s GDP by 4.6% because spending would shift from imported goods to domestically produced services.
• Low-GHG consumption shifts in the U.K. would have a disproportionate negative economic impact on the world's poorest countries, with Least Developed Countries (LDCs) seeing a 0.7% decline in GDP.
• If all high-income countries adopted the same low-GHG consumption strategies as the U.K.'s WRAP scenario, the economic impact on developing nations would be severe, with GDP losses of up to 4.5% for lower-income countries and 5.7% for LDCs.
• The negative economic impacts on lower-income countries are primarily driven by reduced consumption of clothing and other manufactured goods, rather than diet shifts or reduced vehicle purchases.
• The GHG intensity of clothing production varies significantly by country, with some producers (e.g., China) being more than four times as GHG-intensive as others (e.g., Romania and Pakistan).
• Preferentially sourcing products from low-GHG and low-income regions could potentially provide both climate and development benefits; for example, shifting U.K. clothing production from China to Bangladesh could reduce emissions by nearly 3 million tonnes CO2e.
• The authors suggest three potential remedies to align low-GHG consumption with development goals: sourcing from poor and low-GHG countries, importing higher-cost/higher-quality value-added goods, and lowering the GHG intensity of production in poor countries through technology transfer or finance.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (n.d.). sei-wp-2012-01-low-ghg-consumption-2ac0c050b214dc9d.pdf. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2012-01-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. sei-wp-2012-01-low-ghg-consumption-2ac0c050b214dc9d.pdf. n.d. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2012-01-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=sei-wp-2012-01-low-ghg-consumption-2ac0c050b214dc9d.pdf |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2012-01-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitutendseiwp201201lowghgconsumption2ac0c050b214dc9dpdf, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{sei-wp-2012-01-low-ghg-consumption-2ac0c050b214dc9d.pdf}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-WP-2012-01-Low-GHG-Consumption.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }