Review of environmental and social footprints of trade

Environmentally Extended Input Output Section

A review article on the environmental and social impacts of global trade as calculated with global multi-region input-output analysis has been published in Nature Geoscience. Tommy Wiedmann from UNSW Sydney and Manfred Lenzen from the University of Sydney provide a conclusive overview of how effects such as air and water pollution, biodiversity decline, child labour or corruption have increasingly been displaced from consumption in developed countries towards developing countries. The authors describe how footprint indicators can help to avoid loopholes in national sustainability assessments and support the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Media article: https://sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2018/05/01/world-first-synthesis-of-globalisation-effects-on-people-and-planet.html

The full reference of the article is: Wiedmann, T. and Lenzen, M. (2018) Environmental and social footprints of international trade. Nature Geoscience, 11, 314-321. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0113-9