My Carbon footprint, what is it?

As awareness of global warming becomes greater, there are more and more sources of information on the common terminology. Unfortunately it is not all accurate. Here we try to set out for you an explanation of what your carbon foot print is and why it is important.

Global warming is caused by the build up of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), nitrous oxide, ozone and water vapour in the earth’s atmosphere which trap energy on the earth’s surface. Carbon dioxide, methane and CFC’s all contain the element Carbon which in most cases was previously ’stored’ in other forms on the earth.

As individuals, almost everything we do leads to the release of carbon into the atmosphere whether that’s watching TV, heating our homes, taking a bath or traveling by car.

The amount of carbon you personally produce in a year can be determined and measured with what is termed a “carbon calculator.” This measure of the carbon you are personally responsible for releasing into the atmosphere is known as your Carbon Footprint.

Your carbon footprint gives an indication of your impact on the environment and is measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per year. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and as such increases global warming.

How can I improve my carbon footprint?

If you burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas to heat your home, carbon emissions will be given out as a by-product of the combustion process required to produce this energy. Thus when these fuels are burned to provide the energy we use in our homes, carbon dioxide (C02), a “greenhouse gas”, is released to the Earth’s  atmosphere.

If small life style/housekeeping changes were made by everyone, like not leaving electrical appliances on standby or reducing the heating temperature in our homes by 1-2°C, then this would make a big contribution to reducing our global Carbon Footprint. Bigger, more disruptive changes like deciding not to use a car or travel by air ever again woyuld make an even larger contribution however a significant contribution can be made through small changes.

Consider using sources of energy that do not release carbon, such as wind energy or solar heating in addition to technologies that use renewable sources of energy such as wood pellets. Renewable sources do emit carbon when used, but are derived from products in a cycle that also removes carbon from the atmosphere.

What are carbon Credits?

Carbon Credits are a key component of national and international emissions trading schemes that have been implemented to mitigate global warming. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse effect emissions on an industrial scale by capping total annual ernissions and letting the market assign a monetary value to any shortfall through trading. Credits can be exchanged between businesses or bought and sold in international markets at the prevailing market price. Credits can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world.

Carbon credits create a market for reducing greenhouse emissions by giving a monetary value to the cost of polluting the air. Emissions become an internal cost of doing business and are visible on the balance sheet alongside raw materials and other Iiabilities or assets.

By way of example, consider a business that owns a factory putting out 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in a year. Its government is an Annex I country, meaning that this country has signed up to an agreement which enacts a law to limit the emissions that the business within that country can produce. This agreement has been signed by more than 170 countries. So the factory is given a quota of say 80,000 tonnes per year. The factory either reduces its emissions to 80,000 tonnes or is required to purchase carbon credits to offset the excess.

Energy use and hence emission levels are predicted to keep rising over time. Thus the number of companies needing to buy credits will increase, and the rules of supply and demand will push up the market price. The increased cost of credits will encourage more groups to undertake environmentally friendly activities that create carbon credits to sell while Governments will levy carbon taxes to offset the cost of carbon credits and to reduce wasted carbon credits.