Carbon dioxide emissions due to Swedish imports and consumption: estimates using different methods

Global trade of products and services challenges the traditional way in which emissions of carbon dioxide are declared and accounted for. Instead of only considering territorial emissions there are now strong reasons to determine how the carbon dioxide emitted in the production of imports are partitioned around the world and how the total emissions change for a country's final consumption compared to final production. In this report results from four different methods of calculating the total carbon dioxide emissions from Sweden's overall consumption are presented. Total carbon dioxide emissions for Sweden's final consumption vary from 57 to 109 M tons during one year depending on the methodology. The four methods used for estimating these emissions give results of 57, 61, 68 and 109 Mton of carbon dioxide. Two methods are based on information concerning Sweden's imports and our national production of goods and services excluding production that is exported while two methods are based on final consumer expenditures. Three of the methods use mainly emission data from Sweden while one method depends entirely upon emission data from Sweden's trading partners. The last method also gives the highest emissions level, 109 Mton of carbon dioxide. The calculations performed here can be compared to the emissions reported by Sweden, 54 Mton of carbon dioxide per year. Our estimates give per capita emission levels of between 6,3 and 12 tons of carbon dioxide per year. The estimate of 12 tons per capita is a result of using emissions data from Sweden's trading partners. The total emissions as a result of Sweden's imports are 26 or 74 M tons of carbon dioxide depending on how they are calculated. The lower figure is based upon the imports of today but with emissions as if everything was produced as in Sweden. The higher level is based upon using existing but partly inadequate international emission statistics. These levels can be compared to the about 35 M tons of carbon dioxide that are emitted in Sweden as a result of Sweden's own productions when emissions connected to exports are subtracted. The calculations show that we may seriously underestimate emissions from imports when only Swedish emission data are used. A substantial part of the emissions caused by Sweden's imports occur within the European Union, almost 70 %. Other countries in the world with substantial emissions connected to Sweden's imports are Russia, Norway, China and United States. Imports of fossil fuels and electricity accounts for 17 % of the emissions of carbon dioxide from the imports. Private households account for 87-89 percent of the carbon dioxide emissions that are caused by end consumers in Sweden when products life cycles are considered. The public sector accounts for the remaining part. Further studies should seek to ameliorate the emission data from the main trading partners and include emissions of other greenhouse gases in addition to carbon dioxide. The other greenhouse gases are foremost connected to the agricultural end energy sector.