Applying Structural Production Layer Decomposition

Recent empirical assessments revealed that carbon footprints calculated with various MRIO databases deliver deviating results. The application of inter-model structural decomposition approaches helped to better understand how the various elements in the databases affect the resulting footprints. In this paper, we propose a new method which complements the existing analytical approaches, called structural production layer decomposition (SPLD). SPLD enables differentiating between effects stemming from specific parts in the technology matrix, e.g. trade blocks vs. domestic blocks, while still allowing to generalise the results by linking the various effects to the total sector or region footprint. We analyse the differences in the carbon footprint of the EU-28 for the year 2011 between EXIOBASE, Eora, GTAP and WIOD. Identical environmental data are used across all MRIO databases. In all model comparisons, variations in the domestic blocks have a more significant impact on the carbon footprint than variations in the trade blocks.