Non-CO2 emissions embodied in trade of Danish pork

Abstract

As an alternative to the traditional IPCC-based accounting of GHG emissions based on a geographical perspective (only emissions relating to activities that occur nationally are taken into account), consumption-based accountings have shown the quantity of CO2 emissions embodied in international trade. However, few studies have focused on the contribution of non-CO2 emissions such as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). This paper presents a comprehensive study of non-CO2 emissions due to the consumption of pig meat (PM) in Denmark, estimating the amount of non-CO2 emissions embodied in trade during the period 2000–2016. In 2016, 595 Gg of CO2eq were released in Denmark for producing PM consumed in another country, corresponding to 53% of PM emissions produced in Denmark. Denmark is a net exporter of PM-related emissions and during the period 2000–2016 the gap between emissions due to production and consumption increased by 24%. The largest importing countries were Germany, Poland and Italy (36, 15 and 10%, respectively, of total emissions exported from Denmark). The Danish emission intensity (emissions per t of PM produced) was lower than the emission intensity for the largest importing countries. Hence, the Danish export of PM is advantageous in terms of total non-CO2 emissions.

Keywords

• emissions embodied in trade
• livestock emissions
• ipcc guidelines
• meat sector