The air emission footprint estimates the air emissions 'embodied' in products (goods and services) for final use in a given economy. It includes all emissions along the full production chain of a product (for final consumption or investment), irrespective of the industry or country where the emissions occurred.
The air emission footprint of a T-shirt would for example include the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and other air pollutants from cotton production, spinning and weaving, dyeing, sewing, packaging and transportation. Most of these emissions would occur outside the EU, as textile production to a large extent takes place in other parts of the world. However, since the T-shirt is bought in the EU, the emissions would be attributed to the EU’s air emission footprint.