A Review of Research on Embodied Carbon in International Trade

Abstract

Nowadays, how to reduce carbon emissions is a hot issue in environmental economics research, and countries around the world are having extensive discussions on their respective carbon emission obligations. The embodied carbon contained in international trade plays a crucial role in controlling pollutant emissions but it is often overlooked, resulting in problems such as carbon displacement and avoidance of responsibility for pollutant emissions. Based on the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCI-E) database, this paper adopts a bibliometric method to summarize 626 papers from 1994 to 2023 in six aspects, including the number of the literature, the literature citations, research region, journal, author, and research discipline. Meanwhile, the research method and model used in the collected papers are classified and reviewed. Then, this study briefly outlines the current status of embodied carbon emissions and the international pollutant identification laws and analyzes the shortcomings of existing research and the rationality of responsibility identification principles. Finally, we propose future research hotspots by combining carbon neutrality and carbon trading theory.