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Tales From The Tails: Sector-Level Carbon Intensity Distribution

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  • BARAN DODA

    (CCCEP & Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London, WC2A 2AE, UK)

Abstract

The level of GDP, its sector composition and the carbon intensity of individual sectors together determine a country’s emissions. To evaluate the contribution of changes in each determinant, I construct counterfactual emissions scenarios in a sample consisting of 34 sectors in 37 countries over 1995–2009. I compare these scenarios quantitatively using a novel metric, namely the relative cumulative emissions. I find that the composition of output and the carbon intensity of sectors individually or jointly constrained emissions in a large majority of countries. This motivates an analysis of high- and low-carbon intensity sectors, denoted HCI and LCI, where emissions and value-added tend to be concentrated, respectively. I document the cross-country variation in HCI sectors’ carbon intensity and show it declines over time largely due to improvements in developing countries. HCI sectors tend to account for a smaller share of employment; be more capital intensive; and employ a workforce with a lower average skill level. Employment declined in HCI sectors and increased in LCI sectors with its composition shifting towards high-skilled workers in both. Capital intensity growth was faster but multifactor productivity growth was slower in HCI sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Baran Doda, 2018. "Tales From The Tails: Sector-Level Carbon Intensity Distribution," Climate Change Economics (CCE), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 9(04), pages 1-27, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ccexxx:v:09:y:2018:i:04:n:s2010007818500112
    DOI: 10.1142/S2010007818500112
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Hyungsu Kang & Hyunmin Daniel Zoh, 2022. "Classifying Regional and Industrial Characteristics of GHG Emissions in South Korea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-16, October.

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