Regional inequality and CO2 emissions-based trade across value chains networks: a multiscalar analysis from Brazilian states

Abstract

This article analyses the interregional linkages and the relative intensity of CO2 emissions embedded into domestic and global value chains from Brazilian states. An extended environmentally interregional input–output model (EEIIO) was applied to measure the bilateral trade in value-added (TiVA) and the total implicit emissions trade (TTE). The results reveal unbalanced pollution patterns in space. Few manufacturing hubs in core Brazilian states (mainly São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) are net importers of intensive greenhouse gas (GHG) inputs from peripheries, implying an environmental responsibility driven by networks’ governance and relative position. By recognizing the role that multiscalar integration plays in implicit CO2 in both production and trade, it is possible to build local strategies to reduce sustainable spatial gaps.

Keywords

• greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
• implicit GHG
• trade in value-added
• Brazil
• value chains
• regional sustainable