Globalisierung: Globale Warenketten und Arbeitsteilung

In order to understand Austria's role in the climate crisis, it is necessary to analyze its embedding in global economic structures. As is also the case for other high-income countries, Austrian imports of goods and services cause greenhouse gas emissions and environmental damage elsewhere - mostly in poorer economies. The chapter describes the ways in which Austria is involved in global commodity chains in terms of production and final consumption and, as far as research and data allow, estimates the resulting environmental impacts. This is followed by a discussion of existing regulations and policy options aimed at making commodity chains more sustainable, in ecological and social terms. Regulations and policy options relate to several levels (UN, EU, Austria) and range from resource-light lifestyles to emissions trading and due dilligence laws to circular econonomy strategies and conversion. The review shows that much more research is needed to obtain information on the impact of existing measures and to design future, cross-sectoral strategies for the environmentally and socially just transformation of global commodity chains.