Intercountry inequality on greenhouse gas emissions and world levels: An integrated analysis through general distributive sustainability indexes. (July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Duro, Juan Antonio
• Is Part Of: Ecological indicators. Volume 66(2016)
• Page Start: 173
• Page End: 179
• Publication Date: 2016-07
• Subjects: Sustainability indexes -- Greenhouse gases -- Environmental equity; Environmental monitoring -- Periodicals; Environmental management -- Periodicals; Environmental impact analysis -- Periodicals; Environmental risk assessment -- Periodicals; Sustainable development -- Periodicals; 333.71405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.01.026
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1470-160X

Abstract

Highlights: The General Distributive Sustainability Indexes can be a useful instrument for global environmental policy assessment. In terms of GHG, these measures have improved since 1990 but have typically worsened since 2000. This last reduction has been basically explained by reduction of the world mean. Contrarily, international inequalities in average sustainability would have clearly reduced over the period 1990–2012. By type of gas some different results are detected and sometimes also in terms of index used. Abstract: Up until now, analyses of the inter-country distribution of pollutant emissions have not paid sufficient attention to the implications that, in terms of global sustainability, the combined evolution of the global world average entails. In this context, this paper proposes the use of general distributive sustainability indexes in order to make a comprehensive examination of the international equity factor and also the mean (world) factor in this field. The proposed methodology, which is adapted from the welfare and inequality economics literature, is implemented empirically in order to explore the evolution of the greenhouse gases and its main components: CO2, CH4 and N2 O during the period 1990–2012. The main results found are as follows: firstly, typically, the general distributive sustainability associated with the overall greenhouse gases in per capita terms increased over the global period but, contrarily, it seems to decrease since 2000; secondly, typically this last reduction is basically explained by the increase in world mean average, given the clear reduction on cross-country inequalities; thirdly, the analysis of different gases also points out some differences in temporal variations and depending on the index used. These results would seem to be relevant in policy and academic terms.