Footprint of Dutch imports

Authors: Nieke Aerts, Stef Weijers

While emissions from Dutch industry and the land use of the agrarian sector within the Netherlands have been under discussion for years, the impact of imports into the Netherlands continues to grow. However, we cannot do without imports. For instance, certain raw materials are scarcely available in the Netherlands or not available at all. Moreover, it is sometimes more efficient for Dutch enterprises to concentrate certain activities abroad rather than doing everything themselves. In the previous chapter, we demonstrated how crucial imports are to the Dutch economy. However, it is important that we also study the impact of those imports. For example, how much land is used to produce the goods that the Netherlands imports? And how many raw materials are required? What are the greenhouse gas emissions associated with goods exported into the Netherlands as a result of their production in other countries?

8.1Key findings

Land use footprint of Dutch imports

• The total land use footprint of Dutch imports is approximately 43 million hectares, almost 13 times the land area of the Netherlands. Only 12 million hectares of this footprint relate to imports that remain in the Netherlandsnoot1, but that is still almost four times the land area of the Netherlands.
• More than 53% of the total land use footprint of imports consists of cropland, but for imports that ultimately leave the Netherlands this is almost 57%. This is followed by forests at 26% and pastures at almost 20%. Land use for mining has a share of less than 1%.
• The food and beverage industry, which imports many agricultural products, accounts for the largest share of the land use footprint for intermediate imports with land use of approximately 11 million hectares, followed by that of the wood, paper and printing industries at almost 2 million hectares.
• The land use footprint of (intermediate) imports for direct and indirect domestic consumption is fairly concentrated in Germany in terms of agricultural fields, and in Russia in terms of forests. When it comes to intermediate imports for export and imports for re-export, there is a higher concentration of agricultural use in Argentina and Brazil and forest areas in Brazil. The use of pasture in all import flows is relatively highly concentrated in China.

Material footprint of Dutch imports

• The material footprint of Dutch imports amounted to 1,687 megatons (1 megaton = 1 billion kilograms) in 2020. Of this, 32% were fossil energy sources, 31% non-metallic minerals (such as sand, gravel and clay), 27% biomass and 11% metals.
• The majority of these raw materials, 867 megatons were used for intermediate imports. These mainly consisted of non-metallic minerals (324 megatons) and fossil fuels (318 megatons). The majority of the material footprint of the imports for re-export (673 megatons) and for domestic consumption (147 megatons) consisted of biomass. Of the total metals footprint of Dutch imports, the majority was intended for re-export.
• The oil refinery industry accounts for the largest share of the material footprint of Dutch intermediate imports for export at more than 150 megatons, mainly crude oil and natural gas. The construction sector accounts for the largest share of the material footprint of Dutch intermediate imports for domestic production at more than 150 megatons, mainly consisting of non-metallic minerals.
• The biomass footprint of Dutch imports is relatively widely dispersed, with a relative concentration in Germany and to a lesser extent Brazil. The use of fossil fuels for Dutch imports was strongly concentrated in Russia for all import flows in 2020. The footprint for metals and non-metallic minerals was relatively highly concentrated in China for Dutch imports for direct domestic consumption and imports for re-exports, but for intermediate imports these uses were more concentrated in South America and Germany, respectively.

Greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports

• The total greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint of Dutch imports amounted to 505 megatons of CO₂ equivalent (about 1% of the world total in 2020, Ritchie et al., 2024). This includes emissions of carbon dioxide (264 megatons of CO₂ eq.), carbon dioxide from biomass as an energy source (74 megatons of CO₂ eq.), nitrous oxide (60 megatons of CO₂ eq.) and methane (107 megatons of CO₂ eq.).
• The largest share of this GHG footprint is caused by imports destined for other countries: 232 megatons of CO₂ eq. for imports for re-export and 145 megatons of CO2 eq. for intermediate imports intended for export. Imports for direct domestic consumption had the smallest GHG footprint (55 megatons of CO₂ eq.). For intermediate imports intended for domestic consumption, the footprint was 71 megatons of CO₂ eq.
• The food and beverages industry accounts for the largest share of the GHG footprint of all Dutch intermediate imports: one-fifth of the total. The share of the construction sector in the GHG footprint of Dutch intermediate imports for domestic consumption is relatively large (almost 21%); for the chemicals sector this applies to its share in the GHG footprint of intermediate imports for exports (15%).
• The GHG footprint of Dutch imports is highly concentrated in China: more than 18% of GHG emissions related to imports for direct domestic consumption, almost 9% of those are related to intermediate imports, and almost 16% of those are related to imports for re-export, take place in China.

Outline

In section 8.2, we explain what the import footprint is and which footprints we report on in this chapter. Each of the following sections discusses one type of environmental footprint. In section 8.3, it is the land use footprint. This is followed by the material footprint in section 8.4 and the greenhouse gas footprint in section 8.5. The description of the data and method used may be found in section 8.6.

8.2Explanation and procedure followed

What is the import footprint?

Climate change and climate goals have been high on the political agenda for years (Government of the Netherlands, 2022). In order to make sure that Earth remains inhabitable, we need to use the planet’s resources more prudently. In terms of climate goals, the immediate concern is what happens within our national borders: for example, how much CO₂ is emitted in the Netherlands and how can we reduce that amount? But as citizens of the Netherlands, we are not only responsible for what happens in the Netherlands. Virtually every Dutch person owns many things that were not made in the Netherlands, or only in part. Impacts from production abroad do not count towards the Netherlands’ climate goals, but they are at least as important. The national Climate Agreement (Government of the Netherlands, 2019) notes that the Netherlands’ environmental footprint abroad has received too little attention and should be the subject of more research.

This chapter focuses on the footprint of imports. The import footprint of a product comprises everything that happens in the production chain of that product until it comes into the ownership of an enterprise or person in the Netherlands. So to determine the footprint of an imported package of roasted coffee beans, we look at the growing and harvesting of the beans, the roasting of the beans and the transport and storage of the beans until they come into Dutch ownership. What takes place after that in the Netherlands no longer counts towards the import footprint. Imports may be broken down by use, with a distinction being drawn between imports that remain in the Netherlands and imports that leave the Netherlands again. Although it may be argued that products that leave the Netherlands again after being imported are not our responsibility, it can equally be argued that the Netherlands indirectly contributes to those emissions. After all, the Netherlands earned 11 cents from every euro of re-exports in 2022 (also see Chapter 6 of this publication).

Imports that remain in the Netherlands are also included in the Dutch consumption footprint – the total footprint of everything consumed by residents of the Netherlands. That consumption footprint equals the total footprint within the Netherlands plus the import footprint minus the export footprint. The import footprint minus the export footprint is also known as the emissions trade balance. Countries whose import footprints are larger than their export footprints are called net importers. So for example, if CO₂ emissions embedded in trade are considered, the Netherlands is a net importer and the EU is the largest net importer in the world (Global Carbon Budget, 2023). Statistics Netherlands (CBS) also conducts research into the consumption footprint (Walker et al., 2017; Walker et al., 2023).

Different measurable effects: different footprints

There are many different secondary effects of a production process that impact on the world around us. Some of those secondary effects can be measured. Perhaps the best-known example are CO₂ emissions. For every measurable secondary effect of a production process, a footprint can be calculated. This chapter considers three measurable effects:

1. Land use: what area of land is needed and for what type of land use? Forest, cropland, pastures or land used for mining? We call this the land use footprint.
2. Raw materials use: how many raw materials are needed? Here, a distinction is drawn between the use of biomass, fossil fuels, metals and non-metallic minerals. We call this the material footprint.
3. Emissions of greenhouse gases: emissions of CO₂ (from biomass and fossil fuels) N₂O (nitrous oxide) and CH₄ (methane) are included in the greenhouse gas footprint.

Interpretation of this research

In this chapter, we investigate the land, material and greenhouse gas footprints associated with imports into the Netherlands. At the level of detail of this study, data are only available for the year 2020. It is therefore currently not possible to infer any trend regarding the impact that Dutch imports have on other countries. However, the data currently available do allow us to gain an insight into those footprints and the differences between them at a detailed level. In which countries do Dutch imports have an impact? And which industries are responsible for that impact? Here we are investigating the heterogeneity of Dutch imports; their total value is less important in this study. For more detail on the data and method used, see section 8.6.

This is the first time that CBS has calculated the material and land use footprints of imports in this manner and level of detail. CBS has previously investigated the greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports based on other data (Aerts et al., 2023).

The research in question considered the 2015–2021 period: it showed that the greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports is growing. One reason for this is the increasing volume of imports. That increase is largely caused by imports of goods and services that ultimately find their way abroad.

8.3Land use footprint of imports

The land use footprint of total Dutch consumption is estimated at 12.4 million hectares (ha), of which 80% lies abroad (CBS, PBL, RIVM, WUR, 2024).noot2 The land use footprint of imports – which by definition lies abroad – therefore accounts for the greater part of the consumption footprint.

Figure 8.3.1 clearly shows that cropland accounts for the largest share of the footprint of Dutch imports. This is primarily due to imports of processed and unprocessed agricultural products. This finding does not reflect the global ratio of cropland land to pasture. Approximately one-third of the world’s total land area is used for agriculture. But of that, nearly two-thirds is pasture and only one-third cropland (FAO, 2023). This may be explained by the fact that a lot of livestock farming takes place in the Netherlands but not enough land is available to provide food for all those animals.

Show datatable8.3.1 Land use footprint of Dutch imports, by usage, 2020 (million hectares)Hide datatable8.3.1 Land use footprint of Dutch imports, by usage, 2020 (million hectares)

8.3.1 Land use footprint of Dutch imports, by usage, 2020 (million hectares)

	Imports for direct domestic consumption	Intermediate imports for domestic use	Intermediate imports for exports	Imports for re-exports	Land area of the Netherlands (3.3893 million ha)
Cropland	2.3	3.2	8.1	9.3
Forest	1.1	2.9	2.6	4.8
Mining area	0	0	0.1	0.2
Pasture	1.7	1.0	1.8	3.9

In the rest of this section, the land use footprints of Dutch imports for direct domestic consumption, for intermediate use and for re-export are described.

Land use for imports for direct domestic consumption more than 1.5 times the land area of the Netherlands

Imports for direct domestic consumption consist primarily of final products directly for a consumer – for instance, clothing, cars, food products – and final products that are used by enterprises – for instance cars, computers and machines.

Dutch imports for direct domestic consumption require nearly 5.2 million hectares, or 52 thousand km². That is 1.5 times the land area of the Netherlands , which covers nearly 3.4 million hectares. The majority of that, just under 2.3 million hectares, consists of cropland, with over 1.7 million hectares of pastures and over 1.1 million hectares of forest; see also Figure 8.3.2. Only 12,400 hectares are used for mining. That is less than 1% of the total land use footprint.

Nearly half, over 2.5 million hectares, of the land use footprint of imports for direct domestic consumption is attributable to imports of food products. Food products include processed agricultural products such as veal and beef or chocolate (see Figure 8.3.3). A relatively large area of land is used for the production of these goods. A further 12.5% (more than 655 thousand hectares) of this footprint is related to imports of unprocessed agricultural products, such as vegetables, fruit and flowers. Imports for the direct domestic consumption of wood (over 254 thousand hectares), beverages (over 243 thousand hectares), furniture (240 thousand hectares) and clothing (over 174 thousand hectares) also contribute to this footprint.

Figure 8.3.3 reveals that, of the different product groups, imports of food products for direct domestic consumption are responsible for the largest land use footprint in virtually every country. The only exception to this is China, where imports of computers and other electronics for direct domestic consumption in the Netherlands are associated with land use of approximately 42 thousand hectares, an area more than 2.5 times the size of the municipality of Amsterdam or 4.5 times the size of the island of Terschelling.

Cropland accounts for more than half of all land use for intermediate imports for export

A land area of nearly 19.7 million hectares is utilised for intermediate imports, i.e. imports of goods and services which are processed in the Netherlands. That is nearly six times the land area of the Netherlands. Of this, over 12.5 million hectares, nearly four times the size of the Netherlands, are used for intermediate imports which are processed for export. The rest, over 7.1 million hectares, more than twice the size of the Netherlands, is used for intermediate imports which are processed for the domestic market. Of the total land use for intermediate imports, 57% consists of cropland, nearly 28% of forest, over 14% of pastures and half a percent of land used for mining. However, the ratios between the different types of land use for intermediate imports for processing into exports (Figure 8.3.4) clearly differ from those for domestic consumption (Figure 8.3.5). A relatively large proportion of the land use for domestic consumption consists of forest. This can be explained by the relatively large share of the timber, paper and printing, construction and furniture industries in the land use footprint of intermediate imports for the domestic market (table 8.3.6).

A total of 46% of land use for total intermediate imports is caused by imports of unprocessed agricultural products. One-fifth is the result of imports of food products for intermediate use. It is therefore no surprise that food, beverages and tobacco is the industry with the largest share of this land use footprint (table 8.3.6). The land use for intermediate imports for this sector covers an area of approximately 11.1 million hectares, more than three times the size of the Netherlands.

	Land use intermediate	of which		Land use intermediate	of which
		for exports	domestic		for exports	domestic
	million hectares			%
Food, beverages and tobacco industry	11.1	8.4	2.6	56	67	37
Timber, paper and printing industry	1.6	0.8	0.9	8	6	12
Construction industry	1.0	0.1	0.9	5	1	12
Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1.0	0.7	0.2	5	6	3
Accommodation and food services	0.6	0.1	0.5	3	1	7
Quaternary sector	0.5	0.0	0.5	3	0	7
Business services	0.5	0.2	0.2	2	2	3
Wholesale trade and commission trade	0.4	0.3	0.1	2	2	2
Chemical industry	0.3	0.3	0.0	2	3	0
Furniture industry	0.3	0.1	0.2	1	1	3

Source:PBL, FIGARO (2024)

Large proportion of land used for imports for re-export in Brazil

Imports used for re-export are associated with a combined land area of approximately 18.1 million hectares, more than five times the size of the Netherlands. Over half of this is cropland, 26% is forest and 22% is pastures, while less than 1% is land used for mining. Although that may seem very little, it represents nearly 60% of the total mining footprint of Dutch imports, whereas ‘only’ 42% of the total land use footprint is attributable to imports used in re-exports.

As Figure 8.3.8 shows, a large part of the land use for imports for re-export is associated with agricultural products and food products. Exceptions to this are China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. In China, a relatively large area of land is used for Dutch re-exports of imported computers and electronics and other industrial products. In Russia, in connection with this import flow, a relatively large area of land is used for wood, the production of paper and the production of other industrial products.

8.4Material footprint of imports

The worldwide use of natural resources continues to rise. Since 2022, raw materials extraction has exceeded 100 billion tons per year (United Nations Environment Programme & International Resource Panel, 2024). Approximately half of this consists of non-metallic minerals, such as sand, gravel and clay. The EU and the Netherlands are net importers of raw materials. The largest share of the Netherlands’ material footprint therefore lies abroad.

Europe’s material consumption footprint has been fairly stable since 2012, and Dutch people consume fewer raw materials per capita than the EU average (European Environment Agency, 2023). For the whole of Europe, the consumption footprint of non-metallic minerals is the largest, followed by biomass, fossil fuels and metals. Figure 8.4.1 reveals that the distribution of the material footprint of the Netherlands is comparable with that of Europe as a whole when only imports for direct domestic consumption and intermediate imports for domestic consumption are considered. Of the Netherlands’ material consumption footprint, 92% takes place abroad (CBS, 2023a).

The material footprint of imports thus accounts for the greater part of this consumption footprint, as it does for the land use footprint. The total material footprint of imports was 1,687 billion kilograms (megatons), distributed between raw material types. Imports of biomass were mainly destined for re-export. Imports of fossil fuels are primarily used for the production of export goods. Of non-metallic minerals, such as sand, gravel and clay, the majority are used for production destined for the domestic market.

Show datatable8.4.1 Material footprint of Dutch imports, by use, 2020 (megaton)Hide datatable8.4.1 Material footprint of Dutch imports, by use, 2020 (megaton)

8.4.1 Material footprint of Dutch imports, by use, 2020 (megaton)

Voetafdruk,Invoer voor directe binnenlandse bestedingen,Intermediaire invoer voor binnenland,Intermediaire invoer voor export,Invoer voor wederuitvoerBiomassa,63,51,107,236\nFossiele energiedragers,40,89,229,175\nMetalen,13,21,45,101\nOverige minerale grondstoffen,30,216,109,161\n"},"series":[{"name":"Imports for direct domestic consumption","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":63,"yString":"63","name":"Biomass"},{"y":40,"yString":"40","name":"Fossil fuels"},{"y":13,"yString":"13","name":"Metals"},{"y":30,"yString":"30","name":"Non-metallic minerals"}]},{"name":"Intermediate imports for domestic consumption","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":51,"yString":"51","name":"Biomass"},{"y":89,"yString":"89","name":"Fossil fuels"},{"y":21,"yString":"21","name":"Metals"},{"y":216,"yString":"216","name":"Non-metallic minerals"}]},{"name":"Intermediate imports for export","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":107,"yString":"107","name":"Biomass"},{"y":229,"yString":"229","name":"Fossil fuels"},{"y":45,"yString":"45","name":"Metals"},{"y":109,"yString":"109","name":"Non-metallic minerals"}]},{"name":"Imports for re-exports","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":236,"yString":"236","name":"Biomass"},{"y":175,"yString":"175","name":"Fossil fuels"},{"y":101,"yString":"101","name":"Metals"},{"y":161,"yString":"161","name":"Non-metallic minerals"}]}],"lang":{"downloadJPEG":"Download JPEG image","downloadPDF":"Download PDF document","downloadPNG":"Download PNG image","downloadSVG":"Download SVG vector image","drillUpText":"Back to {series.name}","loading":"Loading...","noData":"No data to display","printChart":"Print chart","resetZoom":"Reset zoom","resetZoomTitle":"Reset zoom level 1:1","legend":{"less":"Less than","more":"or more","to":"to","noData":"No data"},"tooltip":{"nullDataMessage":"Data is unavailable or confidential"},"decimalPoint":".","thousandsSep":","},"cultureSelection":"English","selectedCultureId":"en"}, function(chart) { Highcharts.setOptions({lang: {decimalPoint: chart.options.lang.decimalPoint,thousandsSep: chart.options.lang.thousandsSep},tooltip: {pointFormatter: cbs.chartTooltipFormatter}})	Imports for direct domestic consumption	Intermediate imports for domestic consumption	Intermediate imports for export	Imports for re-exports
Biomass	63	51	107	236
Fossil fuels	40	89	229	175
Metals	13	21	45	101
Non-metallic minerals	30	216	109	161

Many raw materials in imports for direct domestic consumption from China

In 2020, imports for direct domestic consumption amounted to nearly 147 megatons of raw materials, of which over 63 megatons of biomass, 40 megatons of fossil fuels, 13 megatons of metals and over 30 megatons of non-metallic minerals. A megaton is a unit of mass equal to 1 billion kilograms.

Figure 8.4.2 shows that the distribution in the biomass footprint of imports for direct domestic consumption is relatively large. The other material footprints are more concentrated. Almost half of the footprint of fossil fuels processed for imports for direct domestic consumption was limited to just four countries in 2020: Russia (nearly 18.5%), the UK (nearly 12%), China (nearly 9.5%) and Norway (over 9%). It is doubtful whether the share of this footprint in Russia has fallen since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, given the fact that China, for example, has started importing more Russian oil since then (De Mott, 2024) and the Netherlands still imports a lot of products from China (CBS, 2023b). The footprint of metals related to imports for direct domestic consumption is relatively highly concentrated in China (16%). A relatively large part of this footprint is also located in Australia: nearly 11%.

The material footprint of non-metallic minerals such as sand, gravel, clay, chalk and salt processed for imports for direct domestic consumption is also highly concentrated in China (nearly 27%). Germany also accounts for a significant part of this footprint: over 12%.

Use of raw materials for intermediate imports highly concentrated in a few countries

In 2020, it is estimated that 867 megatons were processed for intermediate imports, of which 159 megatons of biomass, 318 megatons of fossil fuels, 66 megatons of metals and 324 megatons of non-metallic minerals. Approximately two-thirds of these, directly or indirectly, imported biomass, fossil fuels and metals were used for production for foreign countries and a third for production for the domestic market. For intermediate imports of non-metallic minerals such as sand, gravel and clay, the ratio was precisely reversed. This is due to the use of non-metallic minerals in construction and the building materials industry, which primarily produce for the domestic market (see Figure 8.4.4).

Figure 8.4.3 shows that of all the individual countries, Germany accounts for the largest share of the biomass footprint of imports for intermediate use at over 16%. Over 37% of the biomass used for intermediate imports cannot be assigned to a particular country.noot3 Of this, two-fifths come from European countries and a quarter from African countries.

In 2020, Russia was the country with the highest proportion of fuels used for imports for intermediate use at nearly 17.5% (see Figure 8.4.3). However, of the consumption of fossil fuels for intermediate imports, 54% comes from countries not specified here, of which three-fifths from African countries such as Nigeria, Algeria and Angola and nearly a third from Asian countries such as Iraq and Kuwait.

Of all the metals processed in intermediate imports, nearly 16% come from Brazil, a little under 8% from Australia and over 6% from Sweden. Of the two-fifths of metals not assigned to a country, over half comes from Latin American countries such as Chile, Peru and Bolivia.

Germany is an important supplier of the non-metallic minerals processed in intermediate imports, with nearly 22%. Nearly 38% of these minerals are not assigned to a particular country; of that, 58% are from African countries such as Gabon, Libya and Cameroon and 31% from Asian countries including Taiwan and Iraq.

Figure 8.4.4 shows that the raw materials usage of intermediate imports varies both between industries and also between those for exports and those for the domestic market. Of all sectors, the oil-refining industry uses the largest quantities, in an absolute sense, of raw materials from abroad for exports: more than 150 megatons, primarily consisting of crude oil and natural gas (table 8.4.5). With regard to imports for domestic production, the largest quantities of raw materials are used by the Dutch construction sector, also more than 150 megatons, followed by the building materials industry, which imports or (in)directly consumes in excess of a further 40 megatons of raw materials for production for the domestic market. These sectors mainly use non-metallic minerals such as sand, gravel and clay, but also large quantities of fossil fuels and metals. The food, beverages and tobacco industry has the second-highest usage of raw materials for intermediate imports for export (Figure 8.4.4). The use of raw materials for intermediate imports for domestic production is much lower for this sector. The same is true for agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Table 8.4.5 shows that the material footprint for intermediate imports per raw material used is dominated by imports of one or two product categories, with some differences between use for intermediate imports for export and use for the domestic market. For example, the use of metal for intermediate imports for export is strongly associated with imports of metal ores. For the domestic market, for example use in the construction sector and building materials industry, it is strongly associated with imports of metals in primary form. The biomass usage for intermediate imports of chemical products processed for export is also relatively high, and that of wood is relatively low.

Raw material	Product group	Total use	Share	Exports use	Domestic use
		Mt	%	Mt	Mt
Biomass	Agricultural products	86	54	62	24
Biomass	Food products	48	30	32	15
Biomass	Wood, except furniture	5	3	2	4
Biomass	Chemical products	2	1	2	0
Fossil energy sources	Crude oil and natural gas	238	75	181	57
Fossil energy sources	Other minerals	13	4	4	10
Fossil energy sources	Cokes and refined petroleum products	14	4	11	3
Fossil energy sources	Chemical products	9	3	8	1
Metals	Metal ores	31	48	26	6
Metals	Basic metals	10	15	5	5
Metals	Computers and electronics	4	6	3	1
Metals	Electrical equipment	4	6	2	2
Non-metallic minerals	Other minerals	219	67	60	159
Non-metallic minerals	Other non-metallic mineral products	36	11	7	29
Non-metallic minerals	Basic metals	14	4	8	6
Non-metallic minerals	Computers and electronics	6	2	4	1

Source:PBL, FIGARO (2024)

Biomass accounts for a third of the material footprint of imports for re-export

In 2020, a total of 673 megatons of raw materials were required for imports for re-export. Of this, 236 megatons consisted of biomass, 175 megatons of fossil fuels, 101 megatons of metals and 161 megatons of other non-metallic minerals.

Of that biomass, more than half has not been assigned to a specific country.noot4 Of this, 42% comes from African countries, 37% from Latin American countries, 11% from Asia and 9% from European countries not specified here. Of those countries which are specified, Brazil and Germany, with 7% (16 megatons) each, have the largest shares. See Figure 8.4.6.

Of the fossil fuels used as raw materials in imports for re-export, nearly 19% came from Russia, over 8% from China and nearly 6% from the UK. More than 35% has not been assigned to a country. Of this, over two-fifths came from Asia, for example the Middle East, a third from Africa and over a fifth from Latin America.

More than 56% of the metals used in imports for re-export came from other countries. Of this, the lion’s share (72%) came from Latin America, in particular from Chile, Bolivia and Peru. Of the individual countries, China had the largest share with nearly 8%, followed by Australia (6%) and the US (less than 6%).

Of all countries, China accounts for the largest share of the use of non-metallic minerals of imports for re-export at 19% (Figure 8.4.6), followed by Germany with over 9%. Nearly 35% could not be attributed to an individual country. Of this, 43% came from Africa, in particular Gabon, Morocco and Libya , and 38% from Asia, primarily Taiwan and Malaysia.

8.5Greenhouse gas footprint of imports

This section discussed the greenhouse gas footprint of imports in more detail. This footprint includes the total emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and methane (CH₄) released throughout the entire chain of a product until it is imported into the Netherlands. In order to be able to calculate the greenhouse effect of these gases, the emissions of these gases are expressed in CO₂ equivalents. One kg of CO₂ equivalents corresponds to the impact of one kg of CO₂ emissions. The emission of 1 kg of nitrous oxide (N₂O) corresponds to 265 kg of CO₂ equivalents, and the emission of 1 kg of methane (CH₄) equals 28 kg of CO₂ equivalents.

Figure 8.5.1 breaks down the greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports in 2020 by use. Virtually no difference is discernible between the different greenhouse gases in their shares by use. This is interesting because the range of imported products does differ between the different import flows. As with the land use and material footprints, the largest share of the import footprint is associated with products that ultimately leave the Netherlands.

Show datatable8.5.1 Greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports, by use, 2020 (megatonnes of CO2 equivalent)Hide datatable8.5.1 Greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports, by use, 2020 (megatonnes of CO2 equivalent)

8.5.1 Greenhouse gas footprint of Dutch imports, by use, 2020 (megatonnes of CO2 equivalent)

Voetafdruk,Invoer voor directe binnenlandse bestedingen,Intermediaire invoer voor binnenland,Intermediaire invoer voor export,Invoer voor wederuitvoerCO2 uit biomassa als energiebron,7,9,22,35\nKoolstofdioxide (CO2),30,41,71,122\nLachgas (N2O),6,8,20,28\nMethaan (CH4),12,13,31,46\n"},"series":[{"name":"Imports for direct domestic consumption","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":7,"yString":"7","name":"CO2 from biomass<br>as energy source"},{"y":30,"yString":"30","name":"Carbon dioxide"},{"y":6,"yString":"6","name":"Nitrous oxide"},{"y":12,"yString":"12","name":"Methane"}]},{"name":"Intermediate imports for domestic consumption","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":9,"yString":"9","name":"CO2 from biomass<br>as energy source"},{"y":41,"yString":"41","name":"Carbon dioxide"},{"y":8,"yString":"8","name":"Nitrous oxide"},{"y":13,"yString":"13","name":"Methane"}]},{"name":"Intermediate imports for export","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":22,"yString":"22","name":"CO2 from biomass<br>as energy source"},{"y":71,"yString":"71","name":"Carbon dioxide"},{"y":20,"yString":"20","name":"Nitrous oxide"},{"y":31,"yString":"31","name":"Methane"}]},{"name":"Imports for re-exports","isSerie":true,"borderColor":"#FFFFFF","data":[{"y":35,"yString":"35","name":"CO2 from biomass<br>as energy source"},{"y":122,"yString":"122","name":"Carbon dioxide"},{"y":28,"yString":"28","name":"Nitrous oxide"},{"y":46,"yString":"46","name":"Methane"}]}],"lang":{"downloadJPEG":"Download JPEG image","downloadPDF":"Download PDF document","downloadPNG":"Download PNG image","downloadSVG":"Download SVG vector image","drillUpText":"Back to {series.name}","loading":"Loading...","noData":"No data to display","printChart":"Print chart","resetZoom":"Reset zoom","resetZoomTitle":"Reset zoom level 1:1","legend":{"less":"Less than","more":"or more","to":"to","noData":"No data"},"tooltip":{"nullDataMessage":"Data is unavailable or confidential"},"decimalPoint":".","thousandsSep":","},"cultureSelection":"English","selectedCultureId":"en"}, function(chart) { Highcharts.setOptions({lang: {decimalPoint: chart.options.lang.decimalPoint,thousandsSep: chart.options.lang.thousandsSep},tooltip: {pointFormatter: cbs.chartTooltipFormatter}})	Imports for direct domestic consumption	Intermediate imports for domestic consumption	Intermediate imports for export	Imports for re-exports
CO2 from biomass as energy source	7	9	22	35
Carbon dioxide	30	41	71	122
Nitrous oxide	6	8	20	28
Methane	12	13	31	46

Food products leading contributor to greenhouse gas footprint of imports for direct domestic consumption

In 2020, nearly 55 megatons of CO₂ equivalents were emitted in connection with imports for direct domestic consumption. Of this, slightly under 55% consisted of carbon dioxide (CO₂), nearly 19% of methane (CH₄), less than 14% of CO₂ emissions from biomass and over 13% of nitrous oxide (N₂O). Over 18% of this greenhouse gas footprint relates to emissions in China, nearly 8% to emissions in Germany and nearly 5% to emissions in India. Of all product groups, imports of food products account for the largest share of this greenhouse gas footprint a little under 20%, followed by imports of agricultural products at 15% (see Figure 8.5.2). Even though the land use associated with imports for direct domestic consumption of computers and electronics is relatively limited, the share of this trade flow in the greenhouse gas footprint is relatively large: 8%. Nearly 60% of these emissions take place in China. One-third of the emissions related to imports for direct domestic consumption of clothing, 30% of those of machinery and over 17% of those of motor vehicles also takes place in China.

Construction has largest greenhouse gas footprint of intermediate imports for domestic consumption

In terms of intermediate imports, a total of 216 megatons of CO₂ equivalents of greenhouse gases are emitted, of which two-thirds are associated with imports for export production (table 8.5.3). A relatively large amount of methane and nitrous oxide are released in intermediate imports processed for export.

	Intermediate imports	Share	of which
			for exports	for domestic use
	Mt CO2-eq.	%	Mt CO2-eq.
Methane (CH4)	44	20	31	13
Carbon dioxide (CO2)	112	52	71	41
Carbon dioxide from biomass	32	15	22	9
Nitrous oxide (N2O)	28	13	20	8
Total	216	100	144	71

Source:PBL, FIGARO (2024)

As with imports for direct domestic consumption, China is the country with the largest share in the greenhouse gas footprint of intermediate imports, at nearly 9% (table 8.5.4). In addition, a significant share of the emissions of greenhouse gases linked to this import flow take place in Russia and Germany with 15 megatons each, in Belgium and Brazil with 13 megatons each, and in the US with 11 megatons. The proportions of those emissions associated with intermediate imports for production for domestic consumption fluctuate per country (table 8.5.4). Less than a third of this greenhouse gas footprint takes place in countries not specified herenoot5, notably in Africa and Asia, which account for 42% and 34%, respectively, of those emissions not assigned to a country.

	Intermediate imports	of which
		for exports	for domestic use
	Mt CO2-eq.
China	19	11	8
Russia	15	10	5
Germany	15	8	6
Belgium	13	10	3
Brazil	13	10	3
United States	11	8	3
United Kingdom	7	5	2
India	6	4	2
France	5	3	2
Indonesia	5	3	1

Source:PBL, FIGARO (2024)

Figure 8.5.5 shows, for the ten industries with the largest greenhouse gas footprint for intermediate imports, the distribution of that footprint by the ten product groups with the largest greenhouse gas footprint. The intermediate imports of these industries account for nearly three-quarters of the total greenhouse gas footprint of intermediate imports, as well as three-quarters of that of export production and approximately two-thirds of that of production for the domestic market.

Intermediate imports for the food, beverages and tobacco industry have the largest greenhouse gas footprint, due primarily to imports of agricultural products and food products. This industry accounts for over a fifth of the total greenhouse gas footprint of intermediate imports, a quarter of that for export production and over 14% of that of production for the domestic market. It is followed in footprint size by the oil-refining industry, the chemical industry and construction. Imports for the construction industry for production for domestic consumption have a relatively large greenhouse gas footprint; the Dutch chemical industry has a relatively large greenhouse gas footprint of imports for export production.

Agricultural products cause 20% of greenhouse gas footprint of imports for re-export

More than 230 megatons of CO₂ equivalents of greenhouse gases are emitted for imports for re-export. Of this greenhouse gas footprint, 53% is carbon dioxide (CO₂), a little under 18% methane (CH₄), 15% CO₂ from biomass and nearly 14% nitrous oxide (N₂O).

A third of these emissions takes place in countries not specified herenoot6, of which 42% in Asia, 26% in Africa, 22% in Latin America and 9% in Europe. Nearly 16% take place in China, over 5% in Russia and 5% in Brazil.

At more than 21%, agricultural products account for the largest share of these emissions, followed by chemical products (14%). Figure 8.5.6 shows that emissions of greenhouse gases related to imports for re-export of agricultural products are geographically widely distributed. However, South Africa and Brazil do each account for a share of over 10% of this footprint. Nearly 16% of emissions linked to imports for re-export of food products also take place in Brazil. Some 60% of greenhouse gas emissions due to imports for re-export of computers and electronics take place in China. Relatively large shares of greenhouse gas emissions related to imports for re-export of both cokes and refined petroleum products, and of metals in primary form take place in Russia.

8.6Data and methods

Determining the footprints for a country is not easy. The secondary effects may be measurable in broad outlines, but not in detail. For example, it is virtually impossible to calculate the quantity of CO₂ emissions caused by a product if different products are being manufactured in the same factory. Furthermore, there are differences in the specifications of bilateral trade, which are balanced by making datasets representing the global economy. There is therefore no dataset that can be used to precisely calculate all footprints for all the countries. Indeed, numerous different datasets are available that give different results. In Giljum et al. (2019), those differences are investigated for different datasets. The discrepancies can be very substantial; the material footprint for the Netherlands per resident calculated using Eora is nearly double that calculated using OECD ICIO. For each calculation, choices are made: which dataset and which type of calculation best suits this study? The goal of the study thus partly determines what is the best method and the best underlying data. The results from different studies, carried out using different methods and underlying data, cannot therefore be compared directly.

In the case of the import footprint, we are interested in the heterogeneity within Dutch imports; the total value is less important in this study. It is therefore important that we consider the actual import flows. To this end, we use the data from CBS, as it contains a lot of information about imports. What is being imported? Where was it made? What is it used for? For this purpose, we combine the International Trade in Goods statistics with the National Accounts, which allows imports to be broken down by use and by country (Aerts et al., 2021; Lemmers & Wong, 2017).

On the other hand, we need to know the footprint of these imports, preferably at detailed level. To this end, we use the PBL-FIGARO dataset (In ’t Veld & Wilting, 2024). This is a modified Multi-Regional Input-Output table (MRIO) based on the FIGARO MRIO, with the GLORIA MRIO being used to add more detail and new environmental data. In PBL-FIGARO, greenhouse gas emissions, land use and raw materials consumption are given per industry per country. This MRIO contains many different industries but only 45 countries and ‘rest of the world’. At the time of writing, this MRIO is only available for 2020.

If we were only to take the import flows from PBL-FIGARO, we would arrive at different import footprints, with the greatest discrepancy being in the material footprint. All the differences result from differences in the level of imports. We have studied different import flows in detail and observed that the CBS data provide a better reflection of reality than the import data in PBL-FIGARO, which corresponds with the trade data in FIGARO. The fact that the Dutch trade data does not tally with the data in FIGARO is a familiar problem, one due primarily to the fact that international trade is balanced in FIGARO (Remond-Tiedrez & Rueda-Cantuche, 2019, chapter 13 A/B). The differences between FIGARO and the Dutch trade data have been investigated previously (Walker et al., 2024).

In this study, the footprints have been calculated with the help of input-output analysis. This is a commonly used macroeconomic method for calculating, among other things, environmental footprints (Wiedman 2009; Kitzes 2013).

By combining the import dataset with PBL-FIGARO, the footprint of Dutch imports can be calculated. For more details on this method, the reader is referred to section 5.7 of the internationalisation monitor on sustainable trade (Aerts et al., 2023).

For a few parts of this chapter, the level of detail in PBL-FIGARO was not sufficient. In particular, in some cases the ‘rest of the world’ fraction was very large. In those cases, we used the GLORIA MRIO to specify the ‘rest of the world’ fraction in more detail. GLORIA contains 164 countries/regions and, again, emissions and land use and raw materials consumption are given per industry per country. We used the MRIO from release 057 of the GLORIA global environment-extended multi-region input-output database (Lenzen et al., 2021a), developed in the Global MRIO lab (Lenzen et al., 2017).

8.7References

Open references