Consumer to consumer (C2C) emissions

What is it about?

Instead of the traditional embedding of intermediate industrial production (output) emissions to final consumers and trade, a lesser-known solution promotes the embedding of intermediate industrial consumption (input) induced CO2 and pollutant discharges (i.e., emissions caused by the internal and external inputs of a sector) to final consumers and trade (imports or exports).This study aims to explain the theory and methodology of embedding industrial consumption-induced emissions to final demand.

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Photo by Jasmin Sessler on Unsplash

Photo by Jasmin Sessler on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The input-output model has long been used to link industrial production emissions to final demand. Un- like conventional embedding of industrial production emissions to final demand, industrial consumption-induced emissions consider the emission intensities of the product’s production sector and the entire upstream supply chain. As a result, lowering a single product’s consumption-embedded GHG emissions improves the CO2 (or pollutant) intensities of the product’s entire upstream supply chain, as well as the emission intensity of its own manufacturing industry. Only the target industry’s emission intensity can be improved in the traditional production and consumption-based approaches, in which intermediate production (output) emissions are embedded into final demand. Despite the obvious benefits of embedding intermediate industrial consumption emissions (internal plus emissions from a sector’s intermediate purchases) into final demand, few studies have taken this approach. Our study's straightforward description of the concept of industrial consumption embodied final emissions may persuade more academics to employ this little- known process. Finally, policymakers may be convinced to accept this strategy for efficient final demand targeted mitigation of state, provincial, and municipal GHG emissions.

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