Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-243
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-243
08 May 2026
 | 08 May 2026
Status: this preprint is currently under review for the journal ESSD.

Global consumption-based deforestation carbon emissions and regional hotspots: 2001–2020

Dongmei Tang, Yuanzhi Yao, Rui Li, and Xia Li

Abstract. The consumption-based carbon emissions dataset for deforestation provides an important perspective for developing effective emission mitigation policies. However, existing datasets are largely limited to national-scale and lack spatially explicit, high-resolution data at the global level. Here, we present a global, gridded dataset of consumption-based deforestation carbon emissions at 1 km resolution for 2001–2020. The dataset integrates spatial information on road networks, deforestation, and forest carbon fluxes with country-level global trade statistics. Our dataset shows that trade-related deforestation emissions amount to 39.6 Gt CO2e, constituting 31.8 % of global deforestation emissions. This new dataset fills a critical gap in spatially explicit consumption-based deforestation emissions data, and supports the development of targeted mitigation strategies from the consumer perspective. It also provides a valuable input for climate and carbon cycle models to assess the contribution of consumption-driven deforestation to global warming. Datasets are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28091879 (Tang et al., 2024).

Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of Earth System Science Data.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.
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Dongmei Tang, Yuanzhi Yao, Rui Li, and Xia Li

Status: open (until 14 Jun 2026)

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Dongmei Tang, Yuanzhi Yao, Rui Li, and Xia Li

Data sets

Consumption-based Carbon Emissions for Deforestation (2001–2020) Dongmei Tang, Yuanzhi Yao, Rui LI, and Xia Li https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.28091879

Dongmei Tang, Yuanzhi Yao, Rui Li, and Xia Li
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Short summary
We present a global, gridded dataset (1 km resolution) of consumption-based deforestation carbon emissions for the period 2001 to 2020. Our dataset shows that deforestation emissions embodied in international trade account for 31.8 % of global deforestation emissions. It provides spatially explicit information to support analyses of consumption-driven deforestation emissions and inform climate mitigation and policy assessments.
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