Manufacturing nations in the Global North are stockpiling energy and emission problems by outsourcing energy-intensive industrial processes to countries in the Global South, a new study reveals.
Concerns about the energy associated with the manufacturing of a product or service or so-called embodied energy in international trade have been increasing due to global energy shortages and environmental degradation. "Policymakers must address the question of which countries benefit from embodied energy and offshoring unsustainable production processes. This is fundamental to fostering equity, sustainability, and shared responsibility in the global economic landscape."
The team also calls on companies and governments in the Global North to play their part by contributing substantial technical support to enhance the efficiency of industrial processes in the Global South. Using the most up-to-date multi-regional input-output database , the researchers analysed the spatial pattern and driving forces of change for energy embodied in international trade among developed and developing countries, from 2000 to 2019.