Direct and indirect carbon emissions of Korean exports and imports from 1995 to 2010

초록

A country’s international trade depends on (energy and natural) resources endowment, availability of capitals and technology and labor costs among other input factors. The Korean economy is very trade oriented. Its export and import shares in the GDP were 45.4% and 41.5%, respectively in 2010. An energy (hence carbon) poor country like Korea should import more energy and carbon intensive products and export less energy and carbon intensive but knowledge intensive and higher value ones. As information on energy and carbon intensities of exported and imported goods and services are not readily available, there is a need to assess direct and total (embodied) energy and carbon intensities of the international trade. One method to assess such intensities is the input-output analysis. The study shows that the Korean exports were more carbon intensive than its imports. The Korean industry should move to a higher value added production structure. The so-called Pollution Haven Hypothesis, arguing that developing countries would export energy and carbon intensive goods produced in a not environmental-friendly manner to industrialized countries due to less constraining national policies of carbon emission abatement, seems to be rather selfish on the part of industrialized countries.