Estimation of CO 2 Emissions Embodied in Domestic Trade and Their Influencing Factors in Japan

CO 2 emissions embodied in domestic trade between Japanese prefectures are gradually increasing and becoming an important growth point in the country’s CO 2 emissions. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the CO 2 emissions embodied in Japan’s domestic imports and exports to visualize the carbon transfer paths between prefectures according to the attributes of production and consumption: also to identify the influencing factors of the carbon flow. This study estimated the CO 2 emissions embodied in domestic imports and exports by prefectures using input–output analysis, followed by the log-mean Divisia index decomposition approach, which is used to quantify the influencing factor of net export CO 2 emissions across prefectures. The results show substantial regional differences in the CO 2 emissions embodied in domestic imports and exports across prefectures. Manufacturing prefectures satisfy most of Japan’s domestic demand for industrial products and are the main net exporters of CO 2 emissions. Carbon flow is more obvious in economically advanced regions (such as the Kanto and Kansai regions) and covers more prefectures through carbon transfer. Consumer prefectures import the most CO 2 emissions and export large amounts of CO 2 emissions to other prefectures. Among the three factors influencing net export CO 2 emissions, the technology effect has the most significant impact through the carbon intensity of domestic trade flows. These findings highlight the substantial differences in CO 2 emissions embodied in domestic trade and the influencing factors across prefectures in Japan. The responsibility for emission reduction is attributable to both manufacturing and consumer prefectures.