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During the last two decades, the scientific literature has focused on the allocation of emissions embodied in international trade by implementing accounting procedures based on consumer-oriented perspective. While the Multi Regional Input-Output analysis has been accepted by the scientific community as an alternative to the IPCC accounting, some concerns arise from the feasibility and the actual implementation of this methodology. In this paper, we apply a simplified framework recently introduced by Caro et al. (2014a), called NCI (National Carbon Intensity) method, and estimate the total CO 2 emissions due to consumption in 175 countries during the period 2008–2012, with a focus on the Mediterranean area. We estimate CO 2 emissions embodied in trade, assigning emission responsibility on the basis of each country's demand. Globally in 2012, 8129 Mt CO 2 emissions were related to goods produced in one country and consumed outside its boundaries. A relevant example is the export from China to consumers located in the USA, Japan, and Germany. A focus on the Mediterranean area, that resulted as a net importer of CO 2 embodied in traded goods, identifies the export of emissions from Italy and Spain to France and from Libya and Algeria to Italy as the dominant flows. The NCI method provides a realistic picture of emissions due to consumption that differs from high resolution Multi Regional Input-Output database by less than 10%. The method can be largely adopted as a more feasible preliminary step towards consumption-based emission accounting and responsibility assignment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Municipal heating by coal contributes considerably to the haze pollution in Chinese cities during cold period, e.g., Beijing 53%. It is widely considered that, as a supplement of natural gas, the use of coal-based synthetic natural gas (SNG) to replace coal for municipal heating is conductive to mitigate the haze pollution in metropolitan areas. Would it still be a good alternative if the whole life cycle of SNG were taken into consideration? In this study, SNG as an alternative for municipal heating is analyzed in comparison with coal. To target cleaner production, life cycle assessment methodology is used to analyze SNG contribution to haze pollutants and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, as well as energy consumption. Compared to coal heating route, SNG heating route could reduce 44% of the haze pollutants emissions from life cycle perspective and up to 98% of the emissions in urban area. Thus, if municipal heating were entirely supplied by natural gas and SNG, there would be 52% less haze pollutants emissions in winter of Beijing. However, this “good” performance is at the cost of transferring haze pollutants emissions from urban areas to SNG-producing regions. It is also at the cost of consuming 90% more coal and emitting 65% more GHGs than the coal heating route from life cycle point of view. To tackle the problems of haze pollutants transfer and the increase of GHGs emissions, the paper suggests implementing ecological compensation and carbon tax policies in the coal-based SNG industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]