Energy and Carbon Embodied in the International Trade of Brazil

Shifting the economicstructure of a country towardsenergy-intensive industries may lead tosignificant effect on the environment. Oneof the major environmental impactsassociated to such changes is the increaseof the Carbon Dioxide emissions – the mainfactor behind the greenhouse effect. In thelast decades, structural changes in theBrazilian economy were close related tochanges in the country's tradespecialization. This paper analyzes to whatextent energy use and its associatedCO2 emissions of Brazil in the 90's maybe overloaded by changes in the country's trade specialization towards a moreenergy-intensive mix. This study finds thatBrazil exported, in net terms, significantamounts of energy and carbon (C) embodied ingoods traded with the rest of the world inthe 90's. In fact, some 6.6% of the finalenergy used by the industrial sector andaround 7.1% of its C emissions areprompted by international trade. Byoverloading the country'S energy use andits associated environmental damage (bothlocal and global), this situation seems tocontribute to increase not only local butalso global environmental damage, sinceC leakage from non-Annex I countriesdue to international trade may lead tohigher C concentration in theatmosphere.

[1]  N. Fieleke.  The energy content of U.S. exports and imports , 1974 .

[2]  A. Strout.  Energy-intensive materials and the developing countries , 1985 .

[3]  Eric D. Larson,et al.  Materials, Affluence, and Industrial Energy Use , 1987 .

[4]  Amulya K. N. Reddy,et al.  Energy for the Developing World , 1990 .

[5]  M. T. Tolmasquim.  Energie et mode de développement : la stratégie brésilienne d'adaptation aux chocs pétroliers : une comparaison avec la France et le Japon , 1990 .

[6]  M. Porter.  The Competitive Advantage Of Nations , 1990 .

[7]  David M. Pepper,et al.  The photorefractive effect , 1990 .

[8]  W. H. Donnelly.  Energy use and the US economy: US Congress, Office of Technology Assessment OTA-BP-E-57, Washington, DC, 1990, 65 pp, $3.50 (USA) $4.40 (elsewhere) , 1991 .

[9]  Steinar Strøm,et al.  Manufacturing energy use in eight OECD countries: Decomposing the impacts of changes in output, industry structure and energy intensity , 1991 .

[10]  Lee Schipper,et al.  Manufacturing Energy Use in Eight OECD Countries: Trends through 1988 , 1991 .

[11]  Luiz Pinguelli Rosa,et al.  An analytical model to compare energy-efficiency indices and CO2 emissions in developed and developing countries , 1993 .

[12]  W. Labys,et al.  Divergences in manufacturing energy consumption between the North and the South , 1994 .

[13]  Joseph M. Roop,et al.  The embodiment of carbon in imports of manufactured products: Implications for international agreements on greenhouse gas emissions , 1994 .

[14]  G. Grossman,et al.  Economic Growth and the Environment , 1994 .

[15]  Yoshihisa Godo,et al.  Development Economics: From the Poverty to the Wealth of Nations , 1997 .

[16]  G. V. Machado,et al.  Patterns of energy use in the Brazilian economy: Can the profile of Brazilian exports determine the future energy efficiency of its industry? , 1997 .

[17]  Ernst Worrell,et al.  Energy intensity in the iron and steel industry: a comparison of physical and economic indicators , 1997 .

[18]  Dale S. Rothman,et al.  Environmental Kuznets curves—real progress or passing the buck?: A case for consumption-based approaches , 1998 .

[19]  Duane Chapman,et al.  Economic growth, trade and energy: implications for the environmental Kuznets curve , 1998 .

[20]  Lia Haguenauer,et al.  Estimativas do valor da produção industrial e elaboração de coeficientes de exportação e importação da indústria brasileira: 1985-96 , 1998 .

[21]  Gilberto De Martino Jannuzzi,et al.  The efficient use of electricity in Brazil: progress and opportunities , 1998 .

[22]  Sandrine Simon,et al.  International trade and the sustainability footprint: a practical criterion for its assessment , 1999 .

[23]  R. Schaeffer,et al.  Energy and carbon embodied in the international trade of Brazil: an input–output approach , 2001 .

[24]  Jesper Munksgaard,et al.  CO2 accounts for open economies: producer or consumer responsibility? , 2001 .