Multi-sectorial convergence in greenhouse gas emissions

Area of Science:

• Environmental Economics
• Climate Change Science
• Econometrics

Background:

• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contribute significantly to global warming.
• Understanding emission trends and convergence is crucial for climate policy.
• Previous research has explored emission drivers but less on per capita convergence across sectors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis of per capita convergence in GHG emissions.
• To analyze convergence patterns for major pollutants across multiple economic sectors.
• To determine the timeframe for emission convergence.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) for multi-sectorial panel data.
• Applied random effects, fixed effects, and Arellano-Bond GMM estimators.
• Focused on key greenhouse gases like methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2).

Main Results:

• Robust evidence of per capita convergence in CH4 emissions found in agriculture, food, and services sectors.
• Moderate evidence of convergence in CO2 emissions observed in agriculture, food, non-durable manufacturing, and services.
• Convergence time for these emissions was consistently under 15 years.
• Moderate evidence for convergence in emissions from energy use was found only in the extractive industry.

Conclusions:

• Per capita GHG emissions exhibit convergence in several key sectors, particularly for CH4 and CO2.
• The findings suggest that emission reduction efforts can lead to convergence within a relatively short timeframe.
• Policy interventions aimed at emission control may accelerate this convergence process across global economies.