Carbon footprint concern over exports

A recent CSIR carbon balance study provides some concerning comments for South Africa’s export industry. According to the study at least 129% more carbon is associated with a dollar earned with exports than a dollar spent on imports, and the carbon footprint of the outflows equates to 37%, on average, of the total carbon emissions of the economy. "Such figures have serious policy-related implications in a future where international climate-change trade limitations will become stricter and binding," argue CSIR researchers Drs Alan Brent, Russell Wise and Sibbele Hietkamp in a paper to be published shortly. "A consequence of these stricter international requirements is that they will make South African exports with large associated carbon footprints uncompetitive.”