The European Geosciences Union estimates that approximately 22% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from goods produced and consumed across borders. In light of this, Swedish political parties recently agreed to include carbon emissions from consumption in their climate targets, becoming the first country in the world to include overseas carbon emissions in domestic reporting.
Sweden adds consumption emissions to its climate targets to tackle transnational carbon emissions
National climate targets primarily report carbon emissions generated within a country's territory. Sweden, for example, has used this data to enshrine its 2045 net-zero emissions target into law, making it one of the most aggressive countries in Europe in reducing emissions.
Climate Home reported that in order to strengthen climate ambition, the Swedish Parliament's Environment Committee agreed on April 7 to include "consumption-based carbon emissions" in the national climate goals, that is, to include carbon pollution from overseas imported products.
"Including consumption emissions in Sweden's emissions targets is historic and something many organizations have been pursuing for a long time," said Karin Lexén, secretary general of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation.
Greta Thunberg, a young climate activist from Stockholm, has long argued that wealthy countries should take responsibility for reducing emissions based on their consumption and reduce emissions.
The Environment Committee's recommendations still need to be adopted, and other details, such as how to account for Swedish exports and international shipping emissions, need to be worked out. Calculating consumption-based emissions is difficult due to the lack of an internationally standardized methodology, and the lack of reliable reporting on carbon-intensive manufacturing processes also affects the results.
Whether the Paris Agreement goals can be achieved depends on changes in human behavior
According to calculations by the Global Carbon Project, about 60% of Sweden's total emissions come from imported goods. For a country with a strong track record of developing clean energy domestically, this is a significant flaw in its climate strategy.
“Sweden’s move could set a new standard for tackling consumer emissions and spur other European countries to follow suit,” climate scientist Zeke Hausfather told Climate Home.
Elisabetta Cornago, a climate expert at the Centre for European Reform, agreed: "This increases the enthusiasm for climate action and may encourage other countries that want to portray themselves as climate leaders to follow suit." However, she also believes that although consumption emissions are an issue that will have to be faced sooner or later, it is difficult to say whether other EU countries are prepared to change the way they set national targets.
The Environment Commission's recommendations were heavily influenced by research on consumption patterns at Chalmers University of Technology. Associate Professor Jörgen Larsson, project manager at Chalmers University of Technology, said that achieving the Paris Agreement goals hinges on changing human behavior. "To achieve truly low emissions, we need significant investments in new climate-smart technologies and significant changes in our consumption of goods and services."
This includes repairing appliances instead of buying new ones, eating falafel instead of meatballs, and walking, biking, or taking the bus instead of driving on imported gasoline.
76% of Swedes support government measures to change behavior
According to a 2021 European Investment Bank survey, 76% of Swedes support government measures to change behavior patterns, which shows that Sweden at least has the conditions to try to meet consumption carbon emission targets.
But if other large emitters fail to comply with the Paris Agreement, then Sweden’s domestic behaviour and technological upgrades will still not be enough, and that’s where an EU carbon tax on certain imports comes into play.
Sweden's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) will fully take effect in 2026 and cover imports of cement, steel, fertilizers, aluminum and electricity.
Annika Hedberg, a senior analyst at the European Policy Centre, said the CBAM, along with ongoing discussions on anti-deforestation rules and due diligence, showed the EU was taking its overseas emissions more seriously than ever before.
Tim Gore, climate director at the Institute for European Environmental Policy, said this should be coupled with support for poorer trading partners and cleaning up their export industries. "Scaling up international climate finance and technical support to trading partners to reduce emissions will be key," he said.
Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/233841)
