Low‐Carbon Hospitality Development: Tracking the Global Carbon Emission Embodied in Trade Networks

ABSTRACT Greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, are the primary drivers of modern climate change. The hospitality industry, with its significant carbon footprint, is expected to continue contributing substantially to global emissions. While direct carbon emissions from hospitality have been extensively studied, the sector's indirect emissions through international trade networks remain underexplored. This research addresses this gap by assessing the embodied carbon emissions of global hospitality for 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020. Our findings systematically characterize the temporal and spatial distribution of the global tourism embodied carbon. Our findings reveal that Asia and the Americas contribute the most to global hospitality's embodied carbon, while Africa and Oceania contribute the least. Major contributors include the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea, with strong correlations between national tourism economies and embodied carbon. Key sectors involved in carbon transmission include electricity and heat production, gas supply, and transportation. Identifying these hotspot countries and sectors is essential for developing effective policies to reduce hospitality's carbon footprint.