Most developed countries generate more CO2 emissions for their imports than they generate to produce exports, while most developing countries generate more CO2 emissions to produce exports than they generate foreign emissions to produce their imports. Most developed countries ‘im
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Most developed countries generate more CO2 emissions for their imports than they generate to produce exports, while most developing countries generate more CO2 emissions to produce exports than they generate foreign emissions to produce their imports. Most developed countries ‘import’ CO2 emissions in net terms, while most developing countries ‘export’ CO2 emissions in net terms. There has been a negative cross-country correlation between net CO2 emission transfers and per-capita income.
Two interpretations exist. On one side, the emission transfers between the developed and developing economies may stem from the shift of CO2-intensive production from the developed to the developing economies. On the other side, the size and direction of international emission transfers may also be determined by international technology differences: in the presence of technology differences, the exchange of identical products of similar monetary value would imply emission transfers. This dissertation uses Environmentally-Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE MRIO) analysis to study the international emission transfers and regression analysis to assess whether the economy-emission decoupling observed in developed countries is indeed valid.
Additionally, there arises a need to explore specific mechanisms to address the increase in CO2 emissions. Carbon tax represents one such mechanism. A carbon tax generates revenue and creates incentives for behavioral changes among both producers and consumers. However, in the short run, a carbon tax leads to price increases and disproportionately affects poor households. This dissertation combines EE MRIO and microsimulation analysis to analyze the distributional impacts of carbon tax reform.@en
