The true cost of greenhouse gas emissions: analysis of 1,000 global companies

PLoS One. 2013 Nov 12;8(11):e78703. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078703. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

This study elucidated the shadow price of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for 1,024 international companies worldwide that were surveyed from 15 industries in 37 major countries. Our results indicate that the shadow price of GHG at the firm level is much higher than indicated in previous studies. The higher shadow price was found in this study as a result of the use of Scope 3 GHG emissions data. The results of this research indicate that a firm would carry a high cost of GHG emissions if Scope 3 GHG emissions were the focus of the discussion of corporate social responsibility. In addition, such shadow prices were determined to differ substantially among countries, among sectors, and within sectors. Although a number of studies have calculated the shadow price of GHG emissions, these studies have employed country-level or industry-level data or a small sample of firm-level data in one country. This new data from a worldwide firm analysis of the shadow price of GHG emissions can play an important role in developing climate policy and promoting sustainable development.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Carbon Dioxide / analysis
  • Competitive Behavior
  • Gases / analysis*
  • Gases / chemistry
  • Greenhouse Effect / economics*
  • Industry / economics*
  • Internationality*

Substances

  • Gases
  • Carbon Dioxide

Grants and funding

This research was funded by a Grant-in-Aid for Japanese Ministry of the Environment conducted in 2011 and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from (B) in 2011 from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.