EXIOBASE 3: Developing a time series of detailed environmentally extended multi-regional input-output tables

Environmentally extended multiregional input-output (EE MRIO) tables have emerged as a key framework to provide a comprehensive description of the global economy and analyze its effects on the environment. Of the available EE MRIO databases, EXIOBASE stands out as a database compatible with the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) with a high sectorial detail matched with multiple social and environmental satellite accounts. In this paper, we present the latest developments realized with EXIOBASE 3—a time series of EE MRIO tables ranging from 1995 to 2011 for 44 countries (28 EU member plus 16 major economies) and five rest of the world regions. EXIOBASE 3 builds upon the previous versions of EXIOBASE by using rectangular supply-use tables (SUTs) in a 163 industry by 200 products classification as the main building blocks. In order to capture structural changes, economic developments, as repor ted by national statistical agencies, were imposed on the available, disaggregated SUTs from EXIOBASE 2. These initial estimates were further refined by incorporating detailed data on energy, agricultural production, resource extraction, and bilateral trade. EXIOBASE 3 inherits the high level of environmental stressor detail from its precursor, with further improvement in the level of detail for resource extraction. To account for the expansion of the European Union (EU), EXIOBASE 3 was developed with the full EU28 country set (including the new member state Croatia). EXIOBASE 3 provides a unique tool for analyzing the dynamics of environmental pressures of economic activities over time

The capital load of global material footprints

Despite calls for large-scale reductions in material use and efforts to initiate a “circular economy” that promotes recycling and reuse, a limited decoupling between overall resource extraction and economic growth has been historically found. This is particularly true if resource use is measured with the life-cycle or consumption-based material footprint (MF) indicator that allocates material extraction to final goods and services. However, this indicator treats capital goods as final products rather than part of the production process. In this paper, we introduce the capital-augmented material footprint (CAMF), a new indicator of material use that includes all the materials embedded in capital goods. Results for 49 countries and regions over the period 1995–2015 show that for mineral use, about 50–60% of the total footprint of final consumption is embodied in capital goods, whereas for biomass, the figure is around 10%. The largest increase in material requirements was observed in non-OECD countries and in service sectors in general. More countries achieve relative and absolute decoupling when using the CAMF as indicator of material use. Our results underpin the need for comprehensive indicators when assessing options to decrease the impacts of consumption