I would concede your logic is fine, however, and for a sake of discussion as well, one cannot view such "data" outside of the broader context of how nation-stat

I would concede your logic is fine, however, and for a sake of discussion as well, one cannot view such "data" outside of the broader context of how nation-states interact and compete for power (ie. geopolitics). Sure, audit does serve the said function and it is valuable effort, however, understanding the data does have several levels of context -(some of them including costs other than environmental). Is it necessary or valuable to consider things in this broader context? Let me know what you think, but I would submit that ignoring it is to remove oneself from reality of the issue and the position in which those making/drafting policies and decisions (strategic - on energy, security, etc) are. In analogy, people of Germany support "green ideas" but in another news they people drive to Poland to tank their car to save 30 eur when the prices are too high. I hope the point is not lost in this analogy.