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Energy footprint(EnF) quantifies the impact of human energy activities and the concept is evolving due to its broad coverage of environmental, social, economic and technical implications. This study performs the first comprehensive retrospective study on the general EnF concept with the aim to clarify its definition, mark recent practical developments and key modeling considerations. Given the existing variability in the definition of EnF, we propose a comprehensive and adaptive definition framework to address and better integrate this concept. The EnF has a wide range of practical uses for the country, industry, company, product and process. Typically, it can be considered as a sub-dimension of environmental footprint, serving to raise public awareness, guide energy policy, and inform technical improvements. Furthermore, we contend that EnF, as a practical indicator, can encompass not only environmental burden but also other facets such as economic well-beings, social costs and benefits. Thus, future studies should be carried out in a holistic perspective, considering the complex nexus between the energy-environment and the socioeconomic system. Priorities should be placed on detailed environmental and social life cycle assessment in renewable products and technology, with particular attention directed towards addressing uncertainty issues.

Introduction: Timber and its products are key carriers of carbon stocks and can cause a hysteresis effect of carbon release in the carbon cycle of forest ecosystems. The literature regarding the cross-regional flow of timber carbon stock mainly pays attention to production- and consumption-based perspectives, which cannot reflect how the primary inputs drive timber carbon stock flow. The income-based perspective accounting can identify the influence of primary input suppliers and supplement research on timber carbon stock embodied in trade. The goal of this paper is to explore the cross-regional flow of global timber carbon stock and identify the critical countries from an income-based perspective.Methods: We used the Ghosh-multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to calculate the income-based timber carbon stock flow among 190 countries. Furthermore, combined with the Leontief-MRIO model, a comparative analysis is carried out to analyze the different results of the income-based, production-based, and consumption-based methods.Results: The results showed that the income-based timber carbon stock of the United States and China were among the top countries in imports and exports simultaneously. However, their export volumes were significantly larger, meaning that these countries have invested more primary resources in timber products. The timber carbon stock of the United States mainly flows into Canada and Brazil. In China, the largest flow went to Canada. Furthermore, the flow to the United States increased significantly. Moreover, comparing the three perspectives shows that the United States’ primary inputs have a greater impact on the global timber production chain than their production- and consumption-based roles. Brazil and Russia, as main primary resource suppliers of timber carbon stock, are more important than as final consumers.Discussion: The research can contribute to clarify the flow of forest resources embodied in global trade activities. Furthermore, it also provides a scientific basis to fairly account for carbon offset shares to achieve better the goal of forest resource protection agreed upon in COP26.

The cropland soil erosion (CSE), a major driver of land degradation and water pollution, is directly caused by agricultural production processes driven by food demand in a globalized food market. However, it is essential to determine what role global trade and agricultural value chains play in regional CSE, especially when imbalanced erosion is embodied in global agricultural trade. In this study, the Revised Universal Soil and Water Loss Equation and the Environment Expanded Multi Region Input-Output Model were used to quantify the global distribution of CSE and the value added in global agricultural value chains to identify trade imbalances. We introduce the Local Environmental Coefficient, the Regional Environmental Coefficient, and the Agricultural Trade Environment Inequality (AEI) index, which were used to analyze the overall and bilateral inequalities in agricultural trade among the world's regions. The results showed that 34.65 % of the global CSE was embodied in international trade, whereas the ratio of the value added was 30.80 %. The global trade in agricultural products is generally unbalanced, as indicated by the AEI index of developed regions such as Norway and Japan, which is more than 30 times higher than that of regions such as China and Brazil, and more than 20 times higher than the global average. In terms of bilateral trade, China, the United States, and Brazil face more prominent imbalances in their international trade. Major agricultural producers generally bear more environmental costs with less value-added benefits in trade. This study quantifies, for the first time, the implied imbalances of CSE transfer in agricultural trade. Global ecological governance thus requires accountability from all regions, especially in an era of increasing globalization of agricultural trade. Timely adoption of ecological compensation and technology transfer for both large agricultural producers and less-developed regions are key to achieving sustainable global agricultural production. • Unequal cropland soil erosion and value-added transfer hidden in trade were analyzed. • Most economies benefit from trade, but the degree of benefit varies greatly. • Developed economies outsource more soil erosion while retain more economic gains. • The gains of major agricultural economies cannot commensurate with environmental costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the factors that hinder IT departments in moving towards a consumption-based operating model (OpEx). The study explores the views of major stakeholders in a large global technology company on the possible introduction of the model. These views are triangulated with those of a select number of external experts. IT funding decisions have been complex problems for organisations. In the real world there are conflicts between the nominal IT funding practices and the actual IT operational practices currently being employed. The IT funding process skews the downstream management controls. Further research is required to understand the dynamism between the two. The study uses the lens of Behavioural Cloudonomics, which is at the intersection of psychology, economics, and the cloud and is well positioned to help us understand and address the factors that underpin the economic decision-making behaviours around the move to the Cloud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We conduct the first comprehensive retrospective study on the general concept of energy footprint. • A consistent conceptual framework of energy footprint is proposed. • Uncertainties in the assessment of the energy footprint are discussed in detail. • Renewable products and technology need comprehensive environmental and social life cycle assessment. Energy footprint(EnF) quantifies the impact of human energy activities and the concept is evolving due to its broad coverage of environmental, social, economic and technical implications. This study performs the first comprehensive retrospective study on the general EnF concept with the aim to clarify its definition, mark recent practical developments and key modeling considerations. Given the existing variability in the definition of EnF, we propose a comprehensive and adaptive definition framework to address and better integrate this concept. The EnF has a wide range of practical uses for the country, industry, company, product and process. Typically, it can be considered as a sub-dimension of environmental footprint, serving to raise public awareness, guide energy policy, and inform technical improvements. Furthermore, we contend that EnF, as a practical indicator, can encompass not only environmental burden but also other facets such as economic well-beings, social costs and benefits. Thus, future studies should be carried out in a holistic perspective, considering the complex nexus between the energy-environment and the socioeconomic system. Priorities should be placed on detailed environmental and social life cycle assessment in renewable products and technology, with particular attention directed towards addressing uncertainty issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urban expansion and economic development has led to severe demands of energy and water resources, which poses serious challenges to sustainability and environment. Previous studies have taken more consideration of one resource flow ignoring the interconnectedness between energy and water. In this paper, an urban energy-water nexus framework is constructed considering both domestic and international trade, based on the environmentally extended multi-scale input-output (EE-MSIO) model. This method allows us to trace energy and water flows in a multi-scale economic system from production and consumption perspectives. In basis of that, the nexus strengthen indicator is constructed to evaluate the energy-water nexus of the trading regions with Shanghai city in the domestic and international trade to present the integrated environmental pressure externalized in Shanghai's rapid economic development. Findings indicate that Shanghai is a net importer of energy and water flow. This result is compatible with the fact that Shanghai is a consumer city. Additionally, the seven domestic regions in China are net exporters toward Shanghai, supporting around 55.10% of energy and 70.56% of water import flows driven by city's final demand. Shanghai largely imports flows of energy and water from Mainland China and developing regions across the globe, whereas export little to developed nations. Nexus results indicate that from consumption perspective, Hebei and Shandong are of the highest nexus strength embodied in domestic trade with Shanghai, with nearly equal contribution for both energy and water. While USA is the largest energy-water nexus node embodied in international trade with Shanghai, around 60% energy and 40% water contributed to the nexus. During these tradeoffs, Shanghai is the major beneficiary, being able to externalize environmental pressures by consumption of domestic and international exported goods and services. The study outcomes suggest that a higher coordination, together with a rearrangement of the regional trade structure, should be the key leverages for an effective management of resources and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between economic development and water pressures using a global Multiregional Input-Output model (MRIO) dataset that takes into account the increasingly connected global supply chains underlying the economic systems. In particular, we analyse differences in water indicator outcomes by income level among European Union countries (EU27) from 1995 to 2008, focusing specifically on production and consumption-based water metrics for the member states. We use panel fixed effects regressions to study the dynamics of adjustment of water resources alongside controlling for individual country heterogeneity. Our main results indicate that the effects differ substantially depending on the approach used for measurement, especially when we conditioned on the country economic development, indicating opposite trajectories of water consumption and per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Furthermore, the analysis of the main components associated to water indicators highlight the role of water embodied in trade flows as the transmission mechanisms of the main effects. In particular, our estimates suggest that the growth path followed by the most developed areas in the EU27 is based on the externalisation of the environmental burden over the less developed European partners, and external developing countries. On the policy front, our findings call for the implementation of integrated water resources management, technological specific policies and the corresponding environmental regulation to combine the conservation of water ecosystems and sustainable economic growth at the national, supranational and global levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the content of the climate policy to meet the 2 °C targets, actions in all economic sectors, including agriculture, are required to mitigate global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Although there has been an ever-increasing focus on agricultural GHG emissions, little is known about the environmental benefits of individual crops, making it challenging to link production to consumption (including trade) and GHG emissions. In this study, we estimated GHG emissions related to rice in 227 countries and three sectors, taking time series data from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) from 1986 to 2017. The results showed that production-based emissions increased by 25.5%, and actual consumption-based presented the same trend while assuming domestic production (no trade) expanded by 45.1%. The reason for the unbalance between the two sectors is that the total transfer volume embodied in the rice trade increased by 151.6% in 32 years. Meanwhile, we found that trade flows increased from low- to high-emission intensity countries, while rice emissions intensity was significantly reduced, contributing to a global GHG emission reduction of an average of 56.3Mt per year. Our results provide a comprehensive, forward-looking assessment of the environmental impacts of global growing rice production and consumption on the main countries and their trading relationships. Thus, besides domestic policies, main importing countries should also consider environmental benefits in developing sustainable international trade to limit the negative environmental impacts of its growing rice consumption. • Differences between production-based and consumption-based GHG emissions are investigated. • GHG transfer embodied in the rice trade regulates the imbalance of production and consumption. • Trade contributed to a reduction of GHG emissions of above 56.3Mt yr−1. • Rice-related emissions deserve more policy attention toward sustainable food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : Current climate change mitigation policies, including the Paris Agreement, are based on territorial greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting. This neglects the understanding of GHG emissions embodied in trade. As a solution, consumption-based accounting (CBA) that reveals the lifecycle emissions, including transboundary flows, is gaining support as a complementary information tool. CBA is particularly relevant in cities that tend to outsource a large part of their production-based emissions to their hinterlands. While CBA has so far been used relatively little in practical policymaking, it has been used widely by scientists. Methods and design : The purpose of this systematic review, which covers more than 100 studies, is to reflect the policy implications of consumption-based carbon footprint (CBCF) studies at different spatial scales. The review was conducted by reading through the discussion sections of the reviewed studies and systematically collecting the given policy suggestions for different spatial scales. We used both numerical and qualitative methods to organize and interpret the findings of the review. Review results and discussion : The motivation for the review was to investigate whether the unique consumption perspective of CBA leads to similarly unique policy features. We found that various carbon pricing policies are the most widely supported policy instrument in the relevant literature. However, overall, there is a shortage of discussion on policy instruments, since the policy discussions focus on policy outcomes, such as behavioral change or technological solutions. In addition, some policy recommendations are conflicting. Particularly, urban density and compact city policies are supported by some studies and questioned by others. To clarify the issue, we examined how the results regarding the relationship between urban development and the CBCF vary. The review provides a concise starting point for policymakers and future research by summarizing the timely policy implications.

Urbanisation increases household carbon footprints in developing economies. However, the results from developed countries have varied, particularly in Europe. This study provides a coherent comparison of the impact of the degree of urbanisation on income, expenditure and carbon footprints in Europe. On average, carbon footprints are 7% lower in cities than in rural areas when income and household characteristics are controlled. However, this is compensated by the 6% higher average income in cities. The patterns are not uniform in all countries. In Eastern Europe, the pattern is similar to other developing regions. In some Western European countries, both the income level and the carbon footprints are lower in urban areas than in rural areas. In the rest of Europe, the differences in income level between rural and urban areas are small, but they still largely compensate for the efficiency benefits of urban areas. We call for more systemic emissions accounting and climate strategies.

Guangdong is one of many fast-developing regions in China that are confronting the challenges of air pollution mitigation and sustainable economic development. Previous studies have focused on the characterization of production-based emissions to formulate control strategies, but the drivers of emission growth and pattern changes from the consumption side have rarely been explored. In this study, we used environmentally extended input-output analysis with well-established production-based emission inventories to develop a consumption-based emission inventory for seven pollutants in the years 2007 and 2012. The results showed that the demands of construction, transport and other services dominated the emissions from the consumption perspective, followed by electric power and some machinery and light industries. The varying trends of air pollutants from 2007 to 2012 were associated with production-based control measures and changes in economic structure and trading patterns. From the consumption perspective, due to the stringent control of SO 2 in power plants and key industries, the SO 2 emissions underwent substantial declines, while the less controlled PM 10 , PM 2.5 , VOC and CO emissions continued to grow. The contributions of the cleaner (that is, with lower emission intensity) service sectors (third-sector industries, excluding transport, storage and post) to all seven pollutants increased. This increase could be a consequence of the expansion of the service sector in Guangdong; in this five-year period, the service sector grew by 41% in terms of its contributions to Guangdong’s gross domestic product. Meanwhile, exports accounted for more than half of the emissions, but their share had started to decrease for most pollutants except VOC and CO. The results suggest that Guangdong moved towards a cleaner production and consumption pathway. The transformation of the industrial structure and increase in of urban demand should help to further reduce emissions while maintaining economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining is one of the most significant water users in the socioeconomic system. To safeguard water resources while ensuring mining safety and maintaining economic growth, it is vital to decouple water usage from mining industry expansion. Previous studies have mainly focused on direct water withdrawal in the power sector, whereas water usage, especially the embodied water footprint (WF) in the mining sector, has received less attention. This study employed the Tapio decoupling index and input‒output analysis to explore the relationship between the mining industrial development of four major mining sectors and their Production-based Water Usage (PWU) and Consumption-based Water Usage (CWU) in China from 2002 to 2015. We found that (1) During the study period, the total PWU, which presents an inverted U-shaped tendency increasing by 31.74%, was much larger than the CWU, decreasing by 18.6%, and their gap gradually widened. The " Mining and Washing of Coal" (MWC) and the " Mining and Processing of Metal Ores" (MPMO) were the largest consumers in the PWU and CWU, respectively. (2) The PWU of the whole mining sector presented a strong negative decoupling from 2002 to 2015. The " Mining and Processing of Nonmetal Ores" (MPNO) achieved strong decoupling, while MPMO and MWC presented strong negative decoupling and the " Extraction of petroleum and natural gas" (EPNG) displayed weak negative decoupling. (3) In terms of the CWU, except for EPNG, the other three sectors displayed recession decoupling, resulting in the whole mining sector presenting a recession decoupling state. Overall, our results could provide a scientific basis for the rational use of water resources in the mining sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is now the largest emitter of CO 2 in the world, having contributed nearly half of the global increase in carbon emissions between 1980 and 2010. The existing literature on China׳s carbon emissions has focused on two dimensions: the amount of CO 2 emitted within China׳s geographical boundaries (a production-based perspective), and the drivers of, and responsibility for, these emissions (a consumption-based perspective). The current study begins with a comprehensive review of China׳s CO 2 emissions, and then analyzes their driving forces from both consumption and production perspectives, at both national and provincial levels. It is concluded that China׳s aggregate national CO 2 emissions from fossil fuel consumption and cement production maintained high growth rates during 2000–2010. National emissions reached 6.8–7.3 billion tons in 2007, nearly 25% of which were caused by net exports (i.e., exports minus imports) to other countries. However, emission characteristics varied significantly among different regions and provinces, and considerable emission leakage from the developed eastern regions to inland and western areas of the country was found. The objectives of China׳s policies should therefore be broadened from continued improvement of energy efficiency to accelerating regional technology transfer and preventing mere relocation of carbon-intensive economic activities from developed coastal regions to less developed, inland provinces. To rapidly and effectively cut down China׳s carbon emissions, moreover, its energy supply should be aggressively decarbonized by promoting renewable and low carbon energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For human pharmaceuticals, sewage treatment plants (STPs) are a major point of entry to surface waters. The receiving waters provide vital functions. Modeling the impact of STPs on susceptible functions of the surface water system allows for a spatially smart implementation of abatement options at, or in the service area of, STPs. This study was performed on a nation-wide scale for the Netherlands. Point source emissions included were 345 Dutch STPs and nine rivers from neighboring countries. The Dutch surface waters were represented by 2511 surface water units. Modeling was performed for two extreme discharge conditions. Monitoring data of 7 locations along the rivers Rhine and Meuse fall mostly within the range of modeled concentrations. Half of the abstracted volumes of raw water for drinking water production, and a quarter of the Natura 2000 areas (European Union nature protection areas) hosted by the surface waters, are influenced by STPs at low discharge. The vast majority of the total impact of all Dutch STPs during both discharge conditions can be attributed to only 19% of the STPs with regard to the drinking water function, and to 39% of the STPs with regard to the Natura 2000 function. Attributing water treatment technologies to STPs as one of the possible measures to improve water quality and protect susceptible functions can be done in a spatially smart and cost-effective way, using consumption-based detailed hydrological and water quality modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a globalized market, part of the goods/services consumed in a country might be produced abroad using diverse energy sources. To properly assess the extent to which a country is moving towards more sustainable energy sources, it is imperative to consider both, the amount of renewable energy produced within its boundaries along with that embodied in the imported goods/services. This work quantifies the amount of solar energy embodied in trade using environmentally extended input–output models. Numerical results reveal that some countries are net importers of solar energy (the amount of solar energy consumed anywhere in the world for producing the goods and services they require is greater than the amount of solar energy they generate locally), while others are net exporters (the opposite situation occurs). Additionally, it was found that the production of solar energy in the top economies has increased in the last two decades. Our analysis aims to facilitate the design of more effective environmental policies for promoting the use of solar energy worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research papers on urban water resources accounting were confined to the perspectives of production and consumption, ignoring the perspective of income. This paper proposes a systems framework to analyze the income, production, and consumption-based water uses and underlying driving forces of a city based on the methods of multi-scale input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis. A case study is performed for Shanghai as a megacity. The results show that the income, production and consumption-based water uses of Shanghai had decreased from 5.70 billion m 3 , 10.85 billion m 3 and 28.45 billion m 3 in 2007 to 2.80 billion m 3 , 6.20 billion m 3 and 24.10 billion m 3 in 2017, respectively. Domestic imported primary inputs had emerged as an important virtual water supplier of Shanghai and its share of total supply-side water use had increased from 23.92% in 2007 to 42.95% in 2017. Meanwhile, about 46% and 40% of Shanghai's total consumption-based water use had been imported from other Chinese regions and foreign countries in 2017, respectively. It is revealed that trade played an important role in relieving water use pressure in Shanghai. The factors that had increased the uses of water resources in Shanghai include population, per capita value-added, per capita output, final consumption structure, and per capita final consumption. The factors that had reduced the water uses in Shanghai include technology, value added mix, output structure, value added structure, domestic import, commodity mix, and foreign import. It is suggested that in addition to curbing urban water use from the production side, more targeted water-saving measures should be devised from the supply (e.g., restricting loan to heavy water-consuming enterprises) and consumption sides (e.g., encouraging residents to buy low-water products)., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To minimize energy consumption while maintaining the economic growth, this paper proposed a novel consumption-based multi-objective optimization model (CMOM), which would provide a more systemic perspective than previous production-based model (PMOM). We have selected China as our study case. The results showed the CMOM performed better than the previous PMOM. The proposed CMOM can achieve higher economic growth and energy saving goals by the smaller adjustment of the current industrial structure. It indicated it was necessary to include the systemic influence of sectoral consumption demand on global energy consumption. The results also showed there were some principal sectors and economic linkages between sectors that played special roles in the optimization of the industrial structure. To achieve the energy saving and economic growth goals, some sectors should significantly reduce their total output such as Chemical Materials and Products, while other sectors could continue to increase their total outputs such as Construction. Some sectors should reduce inputs to themselves such as Processing of Non-ferrous Metals, while other sectors should significantly increase inputs to themselves such as Other Services. Non-metallic Mineral Products should increase inputs to Construction. These results suggest our method can provide key policy targets for optimizing the current industrial structure. • We propose a consumption-based multi-objective optimization model. • The proposed optimization model performs better than previous approaches. • Some key sectors are identified for economic structure optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing fossil fuel consumption is a top priority option for climate change mitigation, which requires collaborations of partners along the supply chain, such as energy suppliers, energy consumers and final consumers of goods and services. A comprehensive analysis of fossil fuel consumption is useful for policymakers to reduce demand but still absent. This study explores the national contribution to global energy consumption from different perspectives in the global supply chain and is designed to complement current energy reduction policies. For the developed countries, energy consumptions are stable from 2000 to 2014, while that of emerging countries almost doubled (e.g., China and India). Most of the developing countries are producers whose production-based and final production-based energy consumptions are higher than their consumption-based ones, except India after the global financial crisis. In contrast, the developed countries are consumers, whose consumption-based energy consumptions are higher. At the sectoral level, the service sector is the largest contributor to consumption- and income-based energy consumption. The analysis in this study can create opportunities for all the parties alongside the supply chain in reducing fossil fuel consumption. • Different frameworks of energy consumption are proposed and discussed. • National energy consumptions at different production stages are identified. • Sectoral contributions to energy consumption are identified. • China accounts for the majority of global energy consumption. • Energy consumptions of emerging countries increased faster than the developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Virtual water use of five energy sectors in Chinese provinces are quantified. • Virtual energy-water flows between each pair of provinces are visualized. • The domestic interprovincial trade of energy caused 8.6%∼15.6% of virtual water outsourcing. • There are a general north-to-south flow and a west-to-east flow of virtual energy-water within China. • Inner Mongolia and Shanxi are the largest outsourcers of virtual energy water mainly due to the north region's consumption. The energy industry in China is responsible for the largest water withdrawal and consumption in the secondary industry. In addition to the large quantities, another important feature of energy-water use in China is a critical spatial mismatch between water consumption and water availability. We used a multiregional input-output model to investigate virtual water of the energy industry in the Chinese provinces, and to determine virtual water flows embedded in energy-related trade among the provinces. The domestic interprovincial trade of energy in China has caused virtual water being used outside of the energy production province, including 8.6% of the virtual water withdrawal and 15.6% of the virtual water consumption. The results demonstrate there are a general north-to-south flow and a west-to-east flow of virtual energy-water within China. This flowing pattern indicates the energy consumption in the more-developed provinces, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, are supported by water use from the less-developed provinces where water scarcity is severe. Particularly, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia are two major exporters of virtual energy-water because more than half of the water resources in these two provinces outflow mainly to the north region, imposing huge pressure on the scarce domestic water resources in these two provinces. This study has proved the great importance of and also provided an approach to integrating water-energy nexus into energy industry planning and management in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol came to an end in 2012 and more developing countries began to participate in the new phase of world carbon emission reduction. Kazakhstan is an important energy export country and a pivot of the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI). Despite its emissions are relatively small compared with huge emitters such as China and the US, Kazakhstan also faces great pressure in terms of CO 2 emission reduction and green development. Accurately accounting CO 2 emissions in Kazakhstan from both production and consumption perspectives is the first step for further emissions control actions. This paper constructs production-based CO 2 emission inventories for Kazakhstan from 2012 to 2016, and then further analyses the demand-driven emissions within the domestic market and international trade (exports and imports) using environmentally extended input-output analysis. The production-based inventory includes 43 energy products and 30 sectors to provide detailed data for CO 2 emissions in Kazakhstan. The consumption-based accounting results showed that certain sectors like construction drive more emissions and that the fuel consumption in different sectors varies. Furthermore, Russia and China are major consumers of Kazakhstan's energy and associated emissions, with the construction sector playing the most important role in it. The results suggested that both technology and policy actions should be taken into account to reduce CO 2 emissions and that the BRI is also a good chance for Kazakhstan to develop a "Green Economy". • CO 2 emission inventories are estimated in Kazakhstan from 2012 to 2016. • Consumption-based emissions patterns are different from production-based ones. • Construction drives most emissions embodied in trade. • Kazakhstan should develop renewable energy to achieve the "Green Economy". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]