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A critical examination of the consumption‐based accounting approach: has the blaming of consumers gone too far?

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  • Lee Liu

Abstract

A series of studies has recently used emissions embodied in net imports (EENI) to argue for the consumption‐based accounting (CBA) approach. These publications have been generating much attention from the media and academia for ‘providing an opportunity to inform effective climate policy’. However, policymakers must be cautious when considering if CBA can be used to replace or just to supplement current practice of production‐based accounting (PBA). Terms such as ‘carbon leakage’, ‘emissions transfers’, and ‘CO2 outsourcing’ have been uncritically overused as there is little evidence that EENI is the result of climate policy. Furthermore, CBA overlooks ‘insourcing’ of polluting industries by producing regions when blaming consumers for emissions. To avoid misinformation, EENI should be called just that. CBA's practicality is limited as it involves more data‐intensive calculations and higher transaction costs than PBA. The success of CBA will rely on consumers to put pressure on producers. Eventually, it is still producers that need to reduce emissions. PBA is more practical by directly placing pressure on producers along with environmental laws and regulations. CBA will be counter‐productive to global emissions control if producers increase emissions due to reduced responsibility over the emissions incurred by the production of their exports. However, CBA could be used to persuade consumers to choose low‐emissions products, support producers' sustainability efforts, and reduce nonbasic consumption. WIREs Clim Change 2015, 6:1–8. doi: 10.1002/wcc.325 This article is categorized under: Climate Economics > Economics of Mitigation The Carbon Economy and Climate Mitigation > Policies, Instruments, Lifestyles, Behavior

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  • Lee Liu, 2015. "A critical examination of the consumption‐based accounting approach: has the blaming of consumers gone too far?," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 6(1), pages 1-8, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:wly:wirecc:v:6:y:2015:i:1:p:1-8
    DOI: 10.1002/wcc.325
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    1. Pérez-Sánchez, Laura & Velasco-Fernández, Raúl & Giampietro, Mario, 2021. "The international division of labor and embodied working time in trade for the US, the EU and China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    2. Pottier, Antonin & Combet, Emmanuel & Cayla, Jean-Michel & de Lauretis, Simona & Nadaud, Franck, 2021. "Who emits CO2 ? Landscape of ecological inequalities in France from a critical perspective," FEEM Working Papers 311053, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    3. Tilsted, Joachim Peter & Bjørn, Anders & Majeau-Bettez, Guillaume & Lund, Jens Friis, 2021. "Accounting matters: Revisiting claims of decoupling and genuine green growth in Nordic countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    4. André, Mathias & Bourgeois, Alexandre & Combet, Emmanuel & Lequien, Matthieu & Pottier, Antonin, 2024. "Challenges in measuring the distribution of carbon footprints: The role of product and price heterogeneity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    5. Aldy Darwili & Enno Schröder, 2023. "On the Interpretation and Measurement of Technology-Adjusted Emissions Embodied in Trade," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(1), pages 65-98, January.
    6. Yingying Du & Haibin Liu & Hui Huang, 2024. "Bibliometric Analysis of Research Progress and Trends on Carbon Emission Responsibility Accounting," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-23, April.
    7. Du, Ling & Jiang, Hua & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday & Awosusi, Abraham Ayobamiji & Razzaq, Asif, 2022. "Asymmetric effects of high-tech industry and renewable energy on consumption-based carbon emissions in MINT countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 1269-1280.
    8. Zhang, Zhihe & Hou, Yufei & Zhang, Zesen & Li, Mulin, 2023. "Natural resources, carbon neutrality, and fiscal federalism: Implications for G7 countries amid rising Covid-19 concerns," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).

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