Ecologically unequal exchange and the carbon intensity of well-being, 1990–2011

ABSTRACT

Carbon intensity of well-being (CIWB) quantifies the relationship between carbon emissions and human well-being and is a way to represent and compare the sustainability of nation-states. Reducing CIWB is one strategy to improve sustainability. While most research examines the impact of economic growth on CIWB, this study examines the underexplored role of global trade. Ecologically unequal exchange theory highlights the disproportionate access that countries with unequal levels of development have to resource tap and waste sink capacities of the natural environment and the related human well-being implications. Drawing upon this theoretical perspective, I ask, how do uneven levels of global trade integration and uneven trade relationships affect the CIWB of nations, and how do these relationships change over time? I use longitudinal modeling techniques to analyze data for 81 countries from 1990 to 2011. I find uneven integration into global trade and uneven trade relationships affect the CIWB of nations, and the associations vary by nations’ level of development. In addition to finding empirical support for ecologically unequal exchange theory, this research highlights the importance of considering unequal global relationships and their impacts on sustainability.

KEYWORDS:

• Carbon intensity of well-being
• CIWB
• ecologically unequal exchange
• trade
• sustainability
• global environmental inequality

Notes

1. Trade-adjusted measures take various forms. Ecological footprints are a comprehensive and comparable measure of environmental impacts that estimate the quantity of land required to support a nation’s material consumption (York, Rosa, and Dietz 2003a; Wackernagel and Rees 1997). Various forms of analysis use a similar concept of allocating use of natural resources or emissions produced to the location where consumption drives the activity. This can be applied to many factors related to trade. For example, in terms of human well-being, scholars analyze labor embodied in trade using multi-regional input–output (MRIO) analysis (Alsamawi, Murray, and Lenzen 2014; Simas, Wood, and Hertwich 2015). Scholars have also debated whether or not MIRO methods can be used to look for evidence of ecologically unequal exchange (Moran et al. 2013; Dorninger and Hornborg 2015; Moran et al. 2015; Prell and Feng 2016).

2. The International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 2009, v50, issue 3–4, Jorgenson and Clark, eds.; The Journal of Political Ecology, 2016, v23, Hornborg ed.; The Journal of World-Systems Research, 2017, v23, issue 2, Gellert, Frey, and Dahms eds.

3. For a useful resource on environmental conflicts, see the EJOLT project (www.ejolt.org) and the EJOLT atlas (https://ejatlas.org/).

4. This parsimonious design is in line with other studies of CIWB where the research is concerned with the effect of change over time of key variables using perfectly balanced data sets (Jorgenson 2014: Jorgenson 2015; Jorgenson and Givens 2015; Givens 2017). Future research could look at other factors affecting CIWB as data that is more complete becomes available or for shorter time periods or for fewer countries, as a way to address issues of missing data.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jennifer E. Givens

Jennifer Givens is an assistant professor of sociology at Utah State University. She is interested in global environmental change and society. Her cross-national comparative research focuses on relationships between the environment and human well-being, environmental concern, and global inequality and development.