title: Implications of a consumer-based perspective for the estimation of GHG emissions. The illustrative case of Luxembourg.
abstract: The Kyoto protocol has established an accounting system for national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions according to a geographic criterion (producer perspective), such as that proposed by the IPCC guidelines for national GHG inventories. However, the representativeness of this approach is still being debated, because the role of final consumers (consumer perspective) is not considered in the emission allocation system. This paper explores the usefulness of a hybrid analysis, including input-output (IO) and process inventory data, as a complementary tool for estimating and allocating national GHG emissions according to both consumer- and producer-based perspectives. We assess the historical GHG impact profile (from 1995 to 2009) of Luxembourg, which is taken as a case study. The country's net consumption over time is estimated to generate about 28,700 Gg CO2e/year on average. Compared to the conventional IPCC inventory, the IO-based framework typically shows much higher emission estimations. This relevant discrepancy is mainly due to the different points of view obtained from the hybrid model, in particular with regard to the contribution of imported goods and services. Detailing the GHG inventory by economic activity and considering a wider system boundary make the hybrid IO method advantageous as compared to the IPCC approach, but its effective implementation is still limited by the relatively complex modeling system, as well as the lack of coordination and scarce availability of datasets at the national level.
authors.affiliation: Ecodynamics Group/DEEPS, Department of Environment, Earth and Physical Sciences, University of Siena, Via A. Moro, 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy; Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. Electronic address: caro2@unisi.it.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Caro
authors.affiliation: Public Research Centre Henri Tudor (CRPHT), Resource Centre for Environmental Technologies (CRTE), 6A, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rugani
authors.affiliation: Ecodynamics Group/DEEPS, Department of Environment, Earth and Physical Sciences, University of Siena, Via A. Moro, 2, I-53100 Siena, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Pulselli
authors.affiliation: Public Research Centre Henri Tudor (CRPHT), Resource Centre for Environmental Technologies (CRTE), 6A, avenue des Hauts-Fourneaux, L-4362 Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Benetto
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000032:analysis; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D008189:Luxembourg; D008697:Methane / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D008697:Methane
keywords: Carbon accounting; Greenhouse gas (GHG); Hybrid LCIA; IPCC inventory; Input–output; Life Cycle Assessment (LCA); Net consumption