Of embodied emissions and inequality: Rethinking energy consumption
Open accessAbstract
This paper situates concepts of energy consumption within the context of growing research on embodied emissions. Using the UK as a case study I unpack the global socio-economic and ecological inequalities inherent in the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions on a territorial basis under the international climate change framework. In so doing, I problematise questions of distribution, allocation and responsibility with regards to the pressing need to reduce global GHG emissions and the consumption that generates them. I challenge the disproportionate emphasis that energy policy places on supply as opposed to demand, as well as its overriding focus on the national scale. Consequently I argue that any low carbon transition, in addition to a technological process, is also a geographical one that will involve the reconfiguration of "current spatial patterns of economic and social activity" (Bridge et al., 2013:331), as well as relationships both within countries and regions and between them.
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Local governments can use this momentum to enhance their role as climate champions, taking responsibility for emissions beyond their own borders.
“Finally, local governments can use this momentum to enhance their role as climate champions, taking responsibility for emissions beyond their own borders (Baker 2018;Solecki et al. 2018).”
From Making embodied carbon mainstream: a framework for cities to leverage waste, equity, and preservation policy to reduce embodied emissions in buildings (2023) · cites this paper as Baker 2018
Section 5 argues that responsibility for embodied emissions requires looking beyond national and regional borders and accounting for geographically dispersed supply chains. It does not discuss local governments using momentum to become climate champions or taking on that responsibility themselves; its discussion is at a different level of governance. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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Global production networks and the analysis of economic development
Henderson, J., Dicken, P., Hess, M., Coe, N., & Yeung, H. W.-C. (2002) · Review of International Political Economy · doi:10.1080/09692290210150842 · Cited by 2,216 · see citing works
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Research works printed but not linked: 13
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Teicher, H. M. (2023) · Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences · doi:10.1007/s13412-023-00836-7 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
- Authors
- Baker, L.
- Affiliations
- University of Sussex (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Baker, Lucy
- ORCID
- Baker, Lucy
- Venue
- Energy Research & Social Science
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-02
- Volume
- 36
- Pages
- 52-60
- ISSN
- 2214-6296 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2772265662
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7
- FWCI
- 2.46
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Energy Research & Social Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Open Research Online (The Open University) (acceptedVersion)
- Sussex Research Online (University of Sussex) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/K011790/1)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Climate Change Policy and Economics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Sustainability and Ecological Systems Analysis
- Keywords
- embodied emissions, energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions measurement, global inequality, socioeconomic disparities, ecological inequality, energy policy, low-carbon transition, spatial reconfiguration, United Kingdom
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