Embodied energy trade: Impact on the biosphere
Why coal-powered smelting is the biggest hidden harm
What this tab covers Effects on human, animal, plant, fungal and microbial life and on whole ecosystems: in the short term (construction and early years), medium term (operating life) and long term (decommissioning and legacy).Embodied energy trade moves environmental impact to where the energy is used. Coal-powered smelting is the largest harm; relocating heavy industry to hydro and renewables cuts it. Shipping and food waste add smaller, well-documented effects.
Aluminium sector emissions, 2022 about 1.11 Gt CO2e (15.1 t CO2e per tonne of primary aluminium)1 Steel share of global CO2 about 11%9 Steel made via coal-based blast furnaces about 70% of world production10 Food lost or wasted about one third of food produced12Effects over time
| Life affected | Short term | Medium term | Long term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humans1 | Little evidence of effect from trade itself. | The aluminium sector emitted about 1.11 Gt CO2e in 2022, much of it from coal power for electrolysis, mostly in China. | Climate effects persist; relocation to clean power reduces them. |
| Animals15 | Little evidence of effect. | Little evidence of effect from the trade itself; ship emissions fall where wind assistance is used. | Little evidence of effect. |
| Plants12 | Little evidence of effect. | Little evidence of effect. | Little evidence of effect. |
| Fungi and soil life12 | Little evidence of effect. | Little evidence of effect. | Little evidence of effect. |
| Ecosystems12910 | Little evidence of effect. | About one third of food produced is lost or wasted, with its embodied energy. | Steel causes about 11% of global CO2; blast furnaces, which run on coal, underpin about 70% of world steel. |
How the effects are reduced
Moving energy-intensive steps to places with clean power, and pricing embodied carbon at borders, are the main levers. Wind-assisted ships and efficient bulk carriers trim transport emissions. Cutting food waste saves the energy embodied along the whole chain.
Sources
- Green aluminium bundle: understanding aluminium's emissions (using IAI data) ING Think, 2024
- Green iron corridors: a new way to transform the steel business RMI, 2024
- SteelWatch explainer: why green iron trade will catalyse steel industry decarbonisation SteelWatch, 2025
- Energy: facts and figures FAO, 2025
- Wind-assisted propulsion fleet crosses 100-vessel mark (International Windship Association data) Engine Online, 2026