In this paper, the authors evaluate the greenhouse gas emission implications of trade between the EU and its partners, particularly with the UK in a post Brexit scenario.
This study shows that the embodied emission intensity of trade from the rest of the world to the EU has been decreasing. However, a return to trade volumes between the EU27 and the UK prior to the Doha round of WTO negotiations would yield additional embodied emissions for both blocs over the equivalent territorial emissions of the Netherlands.

These results bring new evidence in the importance of accounting for embodied emissions in trade, especially in the face of climate change which is highly relevant for the IPCC/WMO.