Video: U.S. Outsourcing Emissions, Too, Resarchers Say

Increased trade with other nations over the last decade, including China, has caused the United States to outsource more of its greenhouse gas emissions, according to two Carnegie Mellon University researchers.

"We've seen that although our consumption level has gone up considerably over the last decade, our greenhouse gas emissions have not gone up accordingly, which is mostly due to the fact that these emissions have been outsourced to the other countries who are making all the goods we are consuming here," says Christopher Weber, Carnegie Mellon researcher, Civil & Environmental Engineering.

The percentage of emissions from imports has nearly doubled over about the last decade, says H. Scott Matthews, associate rofessor, Civil & Environmental Engineering/Engineering & Public Policy.

Emissions from international trade, therefore, need to be better taken into account in global negotiations over climate, they say.

Watch a quick, five-minute video clip of Weber and Matthews describing their work on demand on Energy Policy TV. Visit the Climate Change Channel and click on "Trade Emissions."

Bookmark http://universeeverything.blogspot.com/ and drop back in sometime.