Global value chains and the redistribution of GHG emissions: The case of Czechia

This paper examines how deep integration into global value chains (GVCs) reshapes the distribution of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Czechia. It shows that the main environmental consequence of GVC integration is not simply the scale of emissions, but their redistribution across domestic production, foreign upstream supply chains, and final demand. Drawing on OECD GHG Footprints and TiVA data for 1995–2020, the paper analyses the geography of embodied emissions and links it to Czechia’s dependence on foreign inputs and external demand. The results indicate that Czechia remains a relatively emissions-intensive production base, while a growing share of the carbon footprint associated with its final demand is displaced into foreign upstream production and Czech-origin emissions continue to be transmitted into external markets through export-oriented manufacturing and related services. This pattern reflects high backward linkages, reliance on imported intermediates, and the central role of trade in intermediates. The automotive industry makes these dynamics particularly visible: while external integration underpins export competitiveness, the transition to electromobility reconfigures environmental pressures towards electricity, raw materials, battery production, and supplier networks within foreign-led production systems. The paper argues that, in manufacturing-oriented CEE (Central and Eastern European) economies, decarbonisation must be understood not only as emissions reduction, but also as structural adaptation within externally coordinated value chains in which control over greener restructuring remains unevenly distributed.