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Towards meaningful consumption-based planetary boundary indicators: the phosphorus exceedance footprint
journal contribution
posted on 2019-01-01, 00:00 authored by M Li, T Wiedmann, Michalis HadjikakouMichalis Hadjikakou© 2019 Elsevier Ltd The idea of measuring humanity's footprint against planetary boundaries has attracted wide academic attention but methods to implement the theory in sustainability accounting remain underexplored. To help nations take collective actions to stay within a safe operating space, footprinting approaches need to be revised to accommodate biophysical limits. Here we develop a novel sustainability indicator, the phosphorus exceedance footprint (PEF) that measures countries’ contributions to the transgression of the planetary boundaries for phosphorus. Adopting a consumption-based perspective reveals how nations contribute to environmentally unsustainable phosphorus pollution in their trading partners. This captures country-specific transgression through supply chains in a way that complements conventional footprinting. In 2011, 27% of the world's PEF was associated with international trade flows. Wealthier countries tend to reduce their domestic phosphorus fertiliser exceedance, thus preserving their own natural environment, while increasing their share of imported P-embodied products through trade. A pattern of highly uneven distribution of phosphorus-compromised economies is revealed, with 76% of the worldwide exceeded phosphorus embodied in exports supplied by only four countries: China (42%), Brazil (19%), India (10%) and New Zealand (54%). All countries transgress phosphorus planetary boundaries, even those that do not exceed their own territorial boundaries. Our findings highlight that mitigation strategies need to include international cooperation on increasing the efficiency of fertiliser use and reducing the demand of products that cause phosphorus exceedance.
History
Journal
Global environmental changeVolume
54Pagination
227 - 238Publisher
ElsevierLocation
Amsterdam, The NetherlandsPublisher DOI
ISSN
0959-3780Language
engPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2019, ElsevierUsage metrics
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No categories selectedKeywords
Science & TechnologySocial SciencesLife Sciences & BiomedicineEnvironmental SciencesEnvironmental StudiesGeographyEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyPlanetary boundary transgressionExceedance footprintGlobal multi-region input-output analysisPhosphorusGlobalisationTradeSAFE OPERATING SPACEENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITYFOOD-CONSUMPTIONWATERNITROGENIMPACTFLOWSFRAMEWORKSECURITYTARGETS
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