Beyond Production-Based Accounting: A Comparative SWOT Analysis of GHG Inventory Frameworks and Their Policy Implications
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The methodology used to attribute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to nations profoundly influences perceived climate action burdens, raising critical questions about equity in global climate governance. This study systematically evaluates current production-based accounting (PBA) by comparing it with three alternative frameworks: consumption-based accounting (CBA), historical cumulative-based accounting (HBA), and per capita-based accounting (PCBA). We conducted a comprehensive SWOT analysis using multi-stream evidence synthesis, analyzing 23 major emitting countries representing over 80% of global emissions. Data sources included UNFCCC documents, historical emission datasets, consumption-based emission data, and World Bank population estimates. Results reveal dramatic redistributions of national positioning across frameworks, with countries experiencing extreme ranking volatility—India dropped 19 places from 4th under PBA to 23rd under PCBA, while Saudi Arabia rose from 11th to 1st. Our analysis demonstrates that while accounting frameworks provide factual measurements of different emissions dimensions, their selection for policy purposes constitutes a normative choice with distributional consequences. We explicitly map each framework to the responsibility principles it operationalizes, revealing that current over-reliance on PBA creates systematic blind spots in the policy context and climate governance.
Source: Climate
DOI: 10.3390/cli13120240
Institution: Universidad Politécnica de Madrid
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
Funder: European Commission
OpenAlex ID: W4416667033