Introduction

Due to the growth in world trade, environmental issues are not solely a local matter anymore, and are becoming increasingly transboundary. Trade links production and consumption in different countries through global supply chains. It becomes important to recognize the differences in production structure, resource efficiency, and fuel mix across nations and regions when assessing total environmental impacts of consumption activities in a country. The multi-region input-output analysis (MRIO) approach considers the entire (global) economy as system boundary and allows capturing environmental impacts throughout global supply chains and linking them to a wide range of final products. In this book we will link local consumption to global environmental consequences, such as water and land use and stress, greenhouse gases emissions, and other air pollution as well as economic and social indicators. One strength of the MRIO framework is that it enables us to see the big picture and the interactions between different economic sectors, environmental issues and choices we make, and how they are linked together and affect each other.