Productive Structure of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) and Their Impacts on Emissions of Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Abstract

Recent studies indicate that the group of emerging countries, BRIC (formed by Brazil, Russia, India and China), might become, in a few decades, the main force in the global economy. However, with the growing economic power, the negative impact of these countries on the environment has also increased, particularly relating to emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. In this sense, the objective of this work is to identify the main sectors causing pollution in the BRIC countries in 2009, linking the productive structure of these countries with their corresponding CO2 emissions. For this, we used as methodology the input-output matrix, and the database was extracted from the World Input-Output Database - WIOD. The results have shown that, in Brazil’s case, activities involving the transport sectors were those that had the highest participation in emissions and are the most polluting sectors. Concerning the other three analyzed countries, China, India and Russia, the sector of Electricity, Gas and Water was rated as the most polluting industry, as they had the highest participation in emissions over the analyzed period. Therefore, although the BRIC countries have a great potential for growth, they also have an ample capacity to generate pollution.