Carbon emissions and carbon footprint

Everything you ever wanted to know about Carbon emissions and carbon footprint

Introduction to climate change:

If you want to know about carbon emission and carbon footprint than you should learn about the climate change first.Climate change is one of the most dominant catastrophic issue worldwide since previous few decades. It grab attention of scientists, policy makers and related experts due to its severe consequences (Liu et al., 2019). 

Climate change has caused severe issues including the global increase of surface temperature i.e. projected to increase 1.4-5.8°C between 1990 and 2100 (IPCC, 2007), defrosting of glaciers and ice sheets, upsurge in sea level and extremely intensive events (Sivaramanan, 2015; Trenberth, 2018). Due to such extreme conditions, billions of people become the victim of it and face water stress, crop yield issues, and suffers a lot. In addition to humans, wildlife and other biological diversity are also affected by climatic changes (Kerr, A. R., 2007).

Researchers reported that all these changes in climate are due to human activities such as use of fossil fuels, transportation, conversion of forested lands into agricultural lands etc. Such anthropogenic activities leads toward the emission of heat-trapping greenhouse gases such as methane (CH₄), carbon dioxide (CO₂), Oxides of nitrogen like Nitrous oxide (N₂O),  chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), ozone (O₃) water vapors, sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆).

Carbon dioxide the real killer!

Carbon dioxide is considered most important contributor to climate change due to its huge quantity of emission (Abeydeera et al., 2019). According to 2019 measurements, the global mean concentration of CO₂ was 410.5±0.2 parts per million (ppm) which was 148% higher than pre-industrial levels (WMO, 2020). Most of these emissions are due to human activities such as transportation, electric power generation, construction and other industrial processes. Therefore, scientists and other professionals have been substantially engaged on exploring approaches to cutoff carbon emissions. As carbon release monitoring is a recognized reference in policy making for carbon discharge reduction that’s why it is necessary to quantify the level of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere (Abeydeera et al., 2019).

Know your carbon footprint:

As climate change is a protruding worldwide issue, so that public, politicians and media promote this concept of measurement of carbon emission which in scientific terms called as “carbon footprint” (Pandey et al., 2010). This perception of carbon footprint boost up after the massive campaign by BP media in 2005 (Ercin and Hoekstra, 2012).

Now a question arise here, Are both terms carbon emission and carbon footprint same?  Actually, carbon footprint is a border term which measure the emission of carbon from the whole life cycle of the product, or due to the actions of individuals, groups or organizations over a period of time. While carbon emission is the part of carbon footprint which means the release of carbon into the environment particularly CO₂. Carbon emission is the discharge of CO₂ during manufacturing and transport of product while the carbon footprint also includes emissions during use and disposal of product.

Ecological footprint

The term carbon footprint was coined in 1990’s which is derived from another previously known concept i.e. ecological footprint introduced by Wackernagel and Rees (Ercin and Hoekstra, 2012). Carbon footprint is defined as the monitoring and measurement of the level of greenhouse gases emissions that are equivalent to CO₂ are either produced directly or indirectly by an activity accomplished by any individual, groups, society, organizations, industries, and governments (Durojaye et al., 2020).

According to world health organization WHO

According to world health organization WHO, (2008) carbon footprint is the quantification of the influences of human activities on the concentration of carbon dioxide (in tonnes) emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels. For example the release of carbon from the driving vehicles due to the burning of fossil fuel in it is the carbon footprint of that vehicle. The use of electricity in home, grocery store or other entity is responsible for the emission of carbon which is the carbon footprint of that entity. The carbon footprint of bottled water is the release of carbon dioxide equivalent during the manufacturing of bottle and during the transportation.

Carbon footprint of San Francisco and Copenhagen is approximately about 2 tons of Carbon dioxide equivalents. It is only 20% of total carbon footprint of an average European per annum. In United States per person carbon footprint is highest. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center and the United Nations Development Programme reported that average per capita carbon footprint in 2004 was 20.6 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent which was five to seven times higher than the global mean. In developed nations, carbon footprint of residential areas is much higher than across the world. In France, carbon footprint is 6.0 metric tons per person while it is about 1.8 metric tons and 0.1 metric ton of CO₂ equivalent in Brazil and Tanzania, respectively (Selin, n.d.).

carbon footprint can be used as an environmental indicator

The carbon footprint can be used as an environmental indicator to monitor the global, national or regional, carbon emission on monthly or yearly basis. It can also be used to approximate the level of release per project, the project manager can pinpoint the carbon footprint at the early stage of the project and throughout the life cycle of project (Loyarte-López et al., 2020). Therefore¸ it can be used to get right information about carbon emissions. It can be used as an essential tool for decision making process and to evaluate the performance and allow policy makers to design and implement effective policies for climate change (Abeydeera et al., 2019).

Approaches to estimate your carbon footprint:

There are three key methods to calculate carbon footprints such as bottom-up, top-down and hybrid approaches (Matthews et al., 2008; Peters, 2010; Wiedmann and Minx, 2007).

The Bottom up method

Bottom up method is based on the life cycle analysis LCA, an approach which is used to approximate the environmental impact of the product from getting raw materials to the wrapping, delivery, use and disposal of product waste by cradle to grave exploration.  This approach can be used to evaluate the carbon footprint of products and small units and provide precise results, but it is data demanding and system boundary issues (Ercin and Hoekstra, 2012; Pandey et al., 2010).

The Top down method

Top down method is effective for the measurement of CO₂ emissions from the enormously big entities including sectors, countries, and regions. In this monitoring method Environmentally Extended Input-Output Analysis (Minx et al., 2009; Wiedmann, 2009). In this method economic input and output models are used which indicates interdependencies among diverse sectors and the final consumption in the countrywide economy or among the sectors in different national economies. It represents that how the output of one industry is an input for another industry. This economy based input and output model can be stretched with the environmental data for each Environmentally Extended Input-Output Analysis sector (EEIOA) such as its emission and resource use for environmentally extended input-output analysis. On the nationwide scale it depends on country’s input and output tables, which may be responsible for considerable errors in the measurement of carbon footprint (Minx et al., 2009; Ercin and Hoekstra, 2012). 

Calculation of carbon footprint

To solve these errors multiregional input-output models were introduced for calculation of carbon footprint at national level. Edgar and Peters (2009), use multiregional model to estimate carbon footprint at 73 nations in 2001. The lowest carbon footprint was detected in Bangladesh, Uganda, and Mozambique i.e. 1.1 ton CO2-e while it was highest in Luxembourg i.e. 33.8 ton CO2-e. But later on few errors and challanges were identified in the multiregional input-output model. The remaining challenges were the comparatively rough schematization of the budget in input-output models and the calculation of physical flows among various segments by the inter-sector financial movements.

The Hybrid method

The Hybrid method increase the strength, accuracy and precision of carbon footprint estimation and overcome the issues of both LCA and EEIOA. In hybrid method, first and second order process data are gathered for the good or service and higher order necessities are covered by input-output analysis (Wiedmann and Minx, 2007; Lin et al., 2013; Lenzen and Crawford, 2009). All the above mentioned approaches are for calculating carbon footprint of goods and services, at organizational level. It is also possible to calculate personal and household carbon footprint by using carbon footprint calculators (EPA, n.d.).

Environmental impacts of carbon footprint:

Actually carbon footprint is the level of greenhouse gases (equivalent to carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activities, so that increase in the carbon footprint ultimately increase the effects of global warming and climate change (Abeydeera et al., 2019). And it is better known that global warming and climate change are most sensitive and considerably important issue due to its extreme impacts. It is responsible for increase in surface temperature, melting of glaciers and ice sheets, wildfires, spreading of diseases etc. It also aggravates the extreme weather events, including floods, flash floods, droughts etc.

In addition to climate changeand related impacts, upsurge in the carbon footprint also correlates with the increase in natural resource depletion. Carbon footprint increase as a result of increase in the deforestation, energy use, use of fossil fuels, and other related activities. Increased carbon footprint means that we are depleting more resources rapidly.

Ways to cutoff carbon footprint:

To combat climate change, it is really needed to cut off carbon footprint either at individual, household or organizational level.

At individual and household level

At individual and household level it can be done by travelling efficiently, it means that the driver should consider their speed uniformity, acceleration rate and breaking. It lead towards considerable enhancement in fuel economy and eventually decrease emissions and save some money too. According to EPA, (2014) efficient drivers can attain 22% improved fuel economy than inefficient drivers. While maintenance of cars also increase 4% of fuel economy which in turn diminish driver’s carbon footprint by quarter of ton (EPA, 2014). Public transport should be preferred over personal vehicles to reduce individual carbon footprint.  

Energy use is one of the major source of increase in household carbon footprint. It can be reduced by efficiently using energy from all appliances. Use curtains to block coming heat through windows, it will cut off bill from cooling devices and carbon footprint. Use window wraps in winter to avoid cold to enter in and to restrict the heat in home. It will reduce energy use and eventually reduce carbon footprint.

Grow evergreen trees

Grow evergreen trees in your homes to keep it warm in winter and deciduous trees for shade during hot weathers (Wasmuth, 2014). It will take time to grow and at last it reduce your energy related carbon footprint. Use energy efficient LED bulbs instead of common incandescent lights. It is reported that substituting of lumen luminescent bulb with LED bulb will save approximately 80% of energy (Horowitz, 2019). Turn off lights when it is not needed, use energy efficient appliances etc (Wasmuth, 2014).

Reduce meat in your diet as its carbon footprint is higher than the vegetables and grains because of its inefficiency in transformation of plants energy into animal energy and due to release of methane during manure management (CSS, 2020).

At Government level

At Government level either local, state or nationalshould also play its role to reduce carbon footprint. As government has authority to influence pricing of goods and services via regulations and tax policy. They can permit laws to compel individual alternatives by taking certain products off the market, or making specific actions illicit. Government may also increase tax on the products that emit carbon dioxide or levy carbon tax to reduce carbon footprint. Many countries have already imposed carbon tax in their countries and few are planning to introduce it (OECD and IEA¸ 2003).

At an industrial level

At ian ndustrial level carbon footprint can be increased by emission from energy use and from the industrial processes to make goods.Industries consume almost two third of electricity produced and spend millions on energy across the world and ultimately increase carbon footprint. It can bereduced by using renewable energy to provide electric power to the all industrial sectors. In some countries industrial sectors are reported to use renewable energy. In Europe (52%), Asia (46%), North America (45%), Africa (45%), Latin America and Carribean (36%), Oceania (29%) companies are reported to use renewable electricity. It is also necessary to introduce new and efficient technologies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions (Jerzy et al., 2016; KPMG, 2019).

To read about how ocean plastic is increasing at an alarming rate check out here.

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