Tracing CO2 emissions in global value chains

This paper integrates two lines of research into a unified conceptual framework: trade in value-added and embodied emissions in trade. This allows both value-added and emissions to be systematically traced at the country, sector, and bilateral levels through various routes in global value chains. By combining value-added and emissions accounting in a consistent way, the potential environmental cost along global value chains can be estimated from different perspectives like production, consumption, and trade. Using this unified accounting framework, we trace value-added and CO2 emissions in global production and trade networks among 41 economies in 35 sectors from 1995 to 2009 based on the World Input-Output Database, and show how they improve our understanding of the impacts of cross-border production sharing on the environment.