Carbon-economic inequality in global ICT trade

Xiaoyong Zhou; Ye Hang; Dequn Zhou; B W Ang; Qunwei Wang; Bin Su; Peng Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2022.105604

Carbon-economic inequality in global ICT trade

iScience. 2022 Nov 17;25(12):105604. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105604. eCollection 2022 Dec 22.

Authors

Xiaoyong Zhou^{1

2}, Ye Hang^{1

3}, Dequn Zhou^{1

3}, B W Ang^{4

5}, Qunwei Wang^{1

3}, Bin Su^{4

5}, Peng Zhou^{3

6}

Affiliations

¹ College of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China.
² College of Management, Guilin University of Aerospace Technology, Guilin, China.
³ Research Centre for Soft Energy Science, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, China.
⁴ Energy Studies Institute, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
⁵ Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
⁶ School of Economics and Management, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China.

Abstract

The expansion of information and communications technology (ICT) trade has contributed to rising trade imbalances and international tensions. A detailed assessment of the potential carbon and economic impacts of ICT trade is pertinent. We assess to what extent and how the carbon costs and economic benefits embodied in ICT trade were unevenly distributed among global regions in the period 2000-2018 using multiregional input-output models. We show that in 2018, emerging economies received 82% of the CO₂ emissions while developed economies gained 42% of the value-added in ICT exports. This carbon-economic inequality (CEI) decreased (i.e., improved) by 16% from 2000 to 2018, arising from global production fragmentation, with developed economies retaining downstream high value-added ICT marketing but outsourcing upper- and middle-stream carbon-intensive material extraction and manufacturing to emerging economies. This study provides insights for enhancing negotiations and cooperation among global regions to light a path toward sustainable ICT trade.

Keywords: Energy Modeling; Energy policy; Energy resources.