A third of the European Union’s carbon footprint is caused by its imports
A new INSEE report indicates that Europeans emit 1.5 times more greenhouse gases per capita than the world average.
A large proportion of the greenhouse gases emitted for European consumption are emitted on other continents. According to the latest INSEE study on the subject, a third of the European Union’s carbon footprint is due to its imports.
The aim of the carbon footprint is to measure the amount of greenhouse gases emitted to cover the consumption of the inhabitants, by country, including emissions related to domestic production, direct emissions from households, but also emissions related to imports to be added. A bill that allows not only to focus on production on national territory.
11 tons per European per year
In 2018, this European carbon footprint reached 4095 million tons of CO2 equivalent, which is 11 tons per European compared to 21 in the United States and 8 tons in China. That’s more than one and a half times the world average. However, “in relation to their GDP, their European GHG emissions are below the global average‘ the Insee nuanced. The economic weight of the European Union on the world stage is around 16% in purchasing power parity, while its carbon footprint accounts for 10.5% of global emissions.
France is characterized by this, “through an energy mix and thus a production that is overall less CO2-intensive than its partners, especially Germany “, states the INSEE. However, to achieve climate neutrality in 2050, with a 55% reduction in greenhouse gases in 2030, despite this specificity, it is necessary to reduce emissions by 5.5% each year from 2031 to 2050.The level is high‘ the report warns, stating that the rate of decline was 1.7% between 2005 and 2021.
In general, INSEE recalls that global greenhouse gas emissions increased by half (+49%) between 2000 and 2018. However, this increase is unevenly distributed, since they have fallen by 6% on European territory, while in China they have tripled. A large gap that can be explained in particular by the fact that western countries are more geared towards a service economy that emits fewer greenhouse gases.
SEE ALSO – “The day we select our pair of Nikes based on a carbon criterion, we will force the world to change the way it is produced”, stresses Guillaume Poitrinal.
