Macro-economic multi-objective input-output model for minimizing CO2 emissions: Application to the US economy

Designing effective environmental policies for mitigating global warming is a very challenging task that requires detailed knowledge of the international channels through which goods are traded. Standard environmental regulations focus on reducing the impact in the place of origin regardless of the final destination of the goods produced, which might lead to an unfair allocation of responsibilities. This work presents a decision-support tool that minimizes the impact at a global macroeconomic scale by performing changes in the economic sectors of an economy. Our tool combines multiobjective optimization, environmentally extended input-output tables and life cycle assessment within a unified framework. Our results identify sectors that should be regulated first to reach a given environmental target while maximizing the demand satisfaction. Our findings show that the application of process systems engineering tools at a macroeconomic level can provide valuable insight for public policy makers during the development of more effective environmental regulations. Topical Heading: Process Systems Engineering * Corresponding author 2