EXIOBASE

current status and future plans
exiobase.iedl.no

Konstantin Stadler, Richard Wood, Kajwan Rasul, Candy Deck
EXIOBASE/BAMBOO/RAINFOREST consortium

NTNU Industrial Ecology Programme

2024-09-17

EXIOBASE

EXIOBASE: a global Multi-Regional Environmentally Extended Supply-Use Table (MR-SUT) and Input-Output Table (MR-IOT) with a focus on environmental sustainability analysis.

  • Global: EU and main trading partners (90 % of global GDP) + 5 RoW regions
  • Industry (163 industries) and product classification (200 products)
  • Over 1000 satellite accounts (“inflated” due to detail in water use and domestic extraction)
  • Consistent time series 1995-2016/2022 (now-casted)

The three main EXIOBASE versions

The main exiobase versions (Stadler et al 2018)

Development of EXIOBASE 2 mostly stopped, EXIOBASE 3 is the main version now.

Sector detail and time series

  • In principle, EXIOBASE 3 follows NACE1.1 and CPA2002
  • Some changes in energy, agriculture, waste
  • Tried to have the sector numbers in EXIOBASE consistent with these classifications
    • letters indicating deviations (e.g. ‘w’ for waste products)
  • Aim to capture environmental relevant economic activities …
    • … but increasingly used as a LCA substitute

Sector detail and time series

  • EXIOBASE is not based on the greatest common classification …

Sector detail and time series

  • EXIOBASE is not based on the greatest common classification …
  • but extends national classification with auxiliary data

Sector detail and time series

  • EXIOBASE is not based on the greatest common classification …

  • but extends national classification with auxiliary data

  • Implications for the time series:

Sector detail and time series

  • EXIOBASE is not based on the greatest common classification …

  • but extends national classification with auxiliary data

  • Implications for the time series:

    • Auxiliary data is mostly static
    • Coefficient interpolations based on national statistics (native classification)

Sector detail and time series

  • EXIOBASE is not based on the greatest common classification …

  • but extends national classification with auxiliary data

  • Implications for the time series:

    • Auxiliary data is mostly static
    • Coefficient interpolations based on national statistics (native classification)
    • same disaggregation shares across years (before balancing)

Data sources and flow (economic core) - by version 3.8.2

EXIOBASE 3 data flow - Stadler et al 2018

Data sources and flow - update verison 3.9

Major update in 3.9: Initial tables are made consistent with the FIGARO tables.

FIGARO informed initial tables

Development within EXIOBASE 3

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gitGraph
    commit id: "3.1"
    commit id: "3.2"
    commit id: "3.3"
    branch EXIOBASE3sm
    commit id: "3.3sm" type: HIGHLIGHT tag: "2019"
    checkout EXIOBASE3
    commit id: "3.4" type: REVERSE tag: "2018"
    commit id: "3.5"
    commit id: "3.6"
    commit id: "3.7" type: HIGHLIGHT tag: "2019"
    branch EXIOBASE3rx
    commit id: "3rx" type: HIGHLIGHT tag: "2019"
    checkout EXIOBASE3
    commit id: "3.8" type: HIGHLIGHT tag: "2020"
    commit id: "3.8.1" type: HIGHLIGHT tag: "2021"
    commit id: "3.8.2" type: HIGHLIGHT tag: "2021"
    commit id: "3.9.3" tag: "upcoming (2024)"

  • ⨯: available on exiobase.eu
  • ◼: available on Zenodo
    • EXIOBASE 3: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3583070
    • EXIOBASE 3sm: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3533195
    • EXIOBASE 3rx: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2654460
  • Current license: CC-BY-SA 4.0 (change to NC/dual in 3.9)

Changelog (previous version)

  • EXIOBASE 3.4 (2018): public outcome of fp7 DESIRE (Stadler et al 2018)
  • EXIOBASE 3.7 (2019): Bug fixes, satellite data updates
  • EXIOBASE 3.8 (2020):
    • Macroeconomic data update to 2018
    • Now casting until 2022
    • satellite data updates
      • CO2: EDGAR (2019)
      • other GHG: PRIMAST (2017),scaling to PRIMAST for all years
    • bug fixes
  • EXIOBASE 3.8.1 (2021-03):
    • Macroeconomic data update to 2019
    • bug fixes (negative values)
    • switch Cross Entropy objective function
    • inclusing of “impacts” in the public version
  • EXIOBASE 3.8.2
    • bug fixes
      • ixi time series was off by one year
      • some PRIMAP scaling errors

EXIOBASE 3.9

  • Tables estimated up to 2020 with reliable data (Nowcasted to 2024)
  • Inclusion of EUROSTAT FIGARO tables
  • New set of energy and emission accounts
  • Updated set of material flow accounts
  • New set of land use accounts
  • Updated labour accounts
  • Ongoing work for other extensions
  • Link to further developments
    • Capital endogenisation (now routinely updated)
    • Capital stock model (just developed)
    • Deforestation emissions

Current projects

Ongoing EXIOBASE work - BAMBOO

  • BAMBOO Horizon project (https://bamboo-horizon.eu)
    • Mitigating the impacts of non-food trade on biodiversity
    • Linking EXIOBASE to FABIO
    • Linking stressors to GLAMS flows
    • Linking stressors to GLOBIO

BAMBOO - Footprint of Stimulants

  • EXIOBASE coupled with FABIO
  • Land Use footprint of Stimulants
  • Currently working on linking to biodiversity footprints

Ongoing EXIOBASE work - RAINFOREST

  • RAINFOREST Horizon project (https://rainforest-horizon.eu)
    • Mitigating the impacts of food trade on biodiversity
    • Linking EXIOBASE to LC-IMPACT
    • Implementing “transformative change”

Ongoing EXIOBASE work - HiTEA

  • HiTEA NRC project (https://hitea.iedl.no)
    • Uncertainty analysis for MRIO
    • Focus on the data/computational pipeline

GLAM - EXIOBASE coupling

  • GLAM (UN Global Guidance for Life Cycle Impact Assessment) established a stressor (environmental flows) list in 2023
  • GLAM stressor list is an extension of the Elementary Flow list of EPLCA
  • LC-IMPACT 2.0 will follow the elementary flow names
  • EXIOBASE stressors will be translate to these (original name will still be available)

LC-IMPACT/GLOBIO - EXIOBASE coupling

Regionalized (continent, eco-region, grid) LCA Impact Assessment Methods

  • Potential disappeared fraction of species (PDF) by taxonomic group
  • Biodiversity/Ecosystem Quality
  • Human Health (DALYs)
  • Resources
  • Experimental work on plastic entanglement, invasive species, seabed damage, microplastic

  • Mean species abundance (MSA) by pressure (nitrogen deposit, land use, etc)
  • Habitat fragmentation
  • etc.

Development - crosscutting

  • Data updates
  • Push the time coverage
  • Improved data pipeline (regular updates)
  • Potentially increasing country coverage
  • No change in the sectoral detail planned

Usage in academia and beyond

Uptake of EXIOBASE

  • Several 100 publications, over 100k downloads

  • => Consultancy/industry use

  • EXIBOASE is (currently) released under a CC-BY-SA license (CC-BY-SA-NC for 3.9)

    • Free to use, but results must be openly available
    • You can always ask for them from any user of EXIOBASE – do it

Coupling with National IO

  • Keeping official national IO data within a MRIO
  • Simplified Single-country National Accounts Consistent (SNAC) approach
  • Footprint/Import Accounts fully consistent with national IO data, but considering global supply chains
  • Implemented for
    • Norway (CafEAN project)
    • Sweden (Prince project)
  • Substantial differences for small trade exposed countries
  • https://www.miljodirektoratet.no/publikasjoner/2024/januar-2024/cafean-carbon-footprint-of-the-economic-activity-of-norway/

Spend-based Scope 1/2/3 GHG emission factors

  • GHG Protocol emissions factors in tCO2eq/Mill.Euro
  • Upstream emissions
  • Outliers removed and data harmonized
  • Based on the latest available EXIOBASE data (3.9 beta)
  • Contact us for further info

Auxiliary

Modular extension system

  • Several groups have/currently developing novel satellite accounts for EXIOBASE
  • Hard to find, hard to use
  • New modular extension system
    • Automatically generated extension template (based on Python cookiecutter)
    • Open Source toolbox for handing the most common modification tasks
    • Common repository (Zenodo community) for the extensions
    • Pymrio will include functions to pull these from the public repo and add them to EXIOBASE
    • Added benefit: licence becomes more flexible (FAO is NC!)

Pymrio

Python package for handling MRIO data

  • https://github.com/IndEcol/pymrio
  • Harmonizes the handling of (EE-MR)IO databases
  • EXIOBASE, OECD, WIOD, EORA26; GLORIA/FIGARO coming soon
  • Ideal for data pipelines processing (multiple) MRIO databases
  • Integration with other Python packages
  • Common format for saving MRIOs (txt or binary/parquet)
  • Close to 90% test coverage
  • “Fully” documented: https://pymrio.readthedocs.io/ and citable
  • Collaborative development / LGPL license
  • More info at: https://pymrio.iedl.no

New Energy Accounts in EXIOBASE 3.9

  • Previously (before version 3.9) energy accounts were estimated after finalisation of MSUTs – led to inconsistencies in data.
  • EXIOBASE uses IEA energy balances – but this data is reported by Activity, not Industry.
    • Need a method to provide consistency between industries & activities simultaneously for both MSUT and Energy Extensions (ESUT).
  • MSUT estimation – reconcile MSUT to energy balances by adding a 4th dimension
    • Products, Industries, Layer (domestic/import), Activity
    • Then balance 4-Dimensional MSUT to IEA energy balances (with prices applied).
  • ESUT
    • Use MSUT as the allocation tool to allocate use of energy by activities to industries
    • Keep activity resolution so that data can be reconciled to IEA and IPCC categories.

Environmental footprints webpage

https://environmentalfootprints.org/

  • Compare different MRIO based on a common classification
  • All MRIOs are welcome
  • More regular updates planned (automated data pipeline)

IO Software and Data tools

  • Code/Model Collection: Dashboard for Open-Source Industrial Ecology Tools
  • https://github.com/IndEcol
  • Scientific Data Repository: Zenodo IndEcol scientific community
  • https://zenodo.org/communities/indecol

Summary

  • EXIOBASE continues

  • Several running projects contribute to the development

  • Discussion points:

    • Funding
    • Common file format for IO data
    • Flow/Stressor naming harmonization

Contact

  • Main EXIOBASE Contact: exiobase-support@googlegroups.com

  • EXIOBASE repo: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.3583070

  • PYMRIO: https://github.com/IndEcol/pymrio

  • Footprint Explorer: https://www.environmentalfootprints.org

  • Community Code/Model Dashboard: https://github.com/IndEcol/Dashboard

  • Community Data Repository: https://zenodo.org/communities/indecol