Readers panel - Impact on climate change

GI multisociety strategic plan on environmental sustainability.

Research finds UK set to miss emissions target

This study aimed to determine the climate change knowledge and measure the individual carbon footprint of 164 Grade 10 students who were randomly selected from two highly urbanized and two less urbanized schools in the Philippines. The study also investigated the demographic factors that were previously found to affect the amount of carbon footprint. A 20-item test was used to measure climate change knowledge while the Philippine version of World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) carbon footprint calculator was used to measure individual carbon footprint. Response pattern of the climate change knowledge test was analyzed and carbon footprint was computed for each participant. One-way Analysis of Variance was used to determine the influence of demographic factors on individual carbon footprint. Results show that the participants were "moderately knowledgeable" about climate change. Meanwhile, their mean carbon footprint (1.20 metric tons per capita per year) is slightly higher than the 2014 Philippine average (1.1 metric tons per capita per year) which suggests that being knowledgeable on climate change does not necessarily result to lower carbon footprint. Results of the study likewise show that among the demographic factors investigated, only parents' highest educational attainment (p= 0.000), level of urbanization (p= 0.002), and household income (p= 0.044) influence individual carbon footprint. It is recommended that in teaching the science of climate change, the social, political and ethical dimensions of the issue may be emphasized. The topic may also be discussed in the context of Education for Sustainable Development to engage students in concrete carbon reduction initiatives.

Purpose: Faced with climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most difficult and urgent global challenges. Seaports are large GHG emitters, and they have been assessing their carbon footprint and adopting decarbonization strategies. However, calculating the carbon footprint of ports is a serious challenge due to the specificity of the service-based activities they conduct. This article addresses the topic of GHG emissions in seaports, using the example of the port in Gdynia (one of the four largest Polish ports), where the port authority started estimating the carbon footprint as part of preparations for ESG reporting. The aim of this article is to identify challenges related to assessing and reporting carbon footprint in a seaport. Design/methodology/approach: The study used secondary and primary data sources. A review of the literature on the subject was conducted, as well as the analysis of the summaries of reports published by the Gdynia port management for the years 2003 and 2020-2023 (in which the identified sources of GHG emissions were described and the amount of emissions was estimated), and data from non-standardized interviews conducted in January 2025 with employees of Polish ports were used, which allowed us to establish that the Port of Gdynia Authority SA was the first of all Polish ports to attempt to estimate the amount of GHG emissions in the port and prepare a report on the size of its carbon footprint. Findings: It was established that the specificity of port activities results in various problems and challenges, which concern, among others, collecting the required and reliable data, using analytical tools dedicated to ports, methods of estimating the carbon footprint, taking into account the incomplete scope of emissions and making numerous "exclusions" (which may lead to doubts as to the reliability of the report), proposals for directions of actions to reduce GHG emissions in the port. Research limitations/implications: The credibility of reports and the effectiveness of seaport carbon footprint reduction strategies depend on the reliability and discipline of the GHG emission estimation process. Practical implications: The study of GHG emissions and the preparation of a reduction strategy in seaports is one of the primary challenges port authorities and port service companies face in light of the need for decarbonization. This article indicates problems and challenges that the authors of carbon footprint reports and reduction strategies in seaports must confront. Originality/value: In the Polish literature on this subject, there is a lack of studies on the specifics of GHG emissions in seaports, reporting of port carbon footprint and related problems. This article identifies challenges and provides some recommendations. Keywords: seaport, greenhouse gases, GHG emissions, carbon footprint of seaports, carbon footprint reporting. Category of the paper: Research paper.

Irrigation increases yields and allows several crops to be produced in regions where it would be naturally impossible due to limited rainfall. However, irrigation can cause several negative environmental impacts, and it is important to understand these in depth for the correct application of mitigation measures. The life cycle assessment methodology was applied herein to compare the main irrigated and non-irrigated crops in Northeast Spain (corn and wheat, respectively), identifying those processes with greater contribution to environmental impacts (carbon and water footprint categories) and providing scientifically-sound information to facilitate government decisions. Due to concerns about climate change and water availability, the methods selected for evaluation of environmental impacts were IPCC 2013 GWP (carbon footprint) and water scarcity indicator (water footprint). The area studied, a 7.38-km2 basin, was monitored for 12years, including the period before, during, and after the implementation of irrigation. The functional unit, to which all material and energy flows were associated with, was the cultivation of 1ha, throughout 1year. The overall carbon footprint for irrigated corn was higher, but when considering the higher productivity achieved with irrigation, the emissions per kilogram of corn decrease and finally favor this irrigated crop. When considering the water footprint, the volumes of irrigation water applied were so high that productivity could not compensate for the negative impacts associated with water use in the case of corn. Nevertheless, consideration of productivities and gross incomes brings the results closer. Fertilizer use (carbon footprint) and irrigation water (water footprint) were the main contributors to the negative impacts detected.

PurposeThe carbon emissions due to industrial production and market consumption activities are the major contributors to global warming. With the signing of UN Paris Accord 2016 on climate change, the world's major countries are devising measures to combat climate change and attain a sustainable, low-carbon future. Globalization demands companies not only to adopt greener manufacturing practices internally for reduced carbon footprint (CFP) but beyond its boundaries (i.e. its supply chain). This study aims to discuss the relationship between CFP and sustainable supply chain, as evident in the current literature and industry practices. It provides a total comprehension of past, present and future headings in the CFP area and its contribution to a sustainable supply chain.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review and analysis have been undertaken in supply chain sustainability and CFP. A bibliometric approach is adopted for this investigation, and one of the biggest computerized databases, “Scopus,” has been picked. In total, 37 articles have been zeroed in after a careful and watchful screening of firmly related topics.FindingsMost researchers gave predominance to environmental impact among the three pillars of sustainability (economy, society and the environment) for a sustainable supply chain environment. Only a few researchers were motivated to cover social development and social responsibility aspects. This review highlights how managing a CFP is one of the significant attributes of sustainable development. Existing literature in the field of CFP and sustainability have been written on actual industry cases. Food, electricity and energy are some significant industries where supply chain sustainability successfully reduces carbon emission.Originality/valueThe theory-building strategy with recommendations on the conceptualization of a sustainable supply chain is limited in the literature. This study gives broad ideas on how organizations modified and redeveloped different tools and technologies to make their supply chain more sustainable. The strategic role of different carbon policies, environmental rules and regulations in the domain of CFP is also recognized in this work. This study highlights the biases of most of the researches toward applications than policy interventions. This study discusses the theoretical perspective about how CFP affects supply chain management and helps organizations and researchers develop a new set of approaches in handling CFP and other sustainability aspects.

Consumption based approach of carbon footprint analysis in urban slum and non-slum areas of Rawalpindi

The most important factor in the emergence and growth of climate change and environmental problems is people’s transportation preferences. In this context, the aim of the research is to calculate the carbon footprint of individuals participating in camping activities in Turkey and Lithuania in the summer of 2022. In the study, the emission factors of preferred airplanes, urban buses and personal vehicles were used in the carbon footprint calculation process. In this research, the distance travelled by the individuals participating in the camping activities in Turkey and Lithuania in the summer period of 2022 with the travel vehicles they prefer for transportation was used. The total distance travelled in a summer period is 330,015 km in Turkey, the total distance travelled in a summer period is 132,331 km in Lithuania. In the analysis of the data set obtained through the official institutions from both countries and in the calculation of the carbon footprint, the emission factors of the preferred aircraft, urban buses and personal vehicles were used. According to the analysis, the total carbon footprint calculated for both countries is 73.54 tons. While the carbon footprint calculated for Turkey is 46.51 tons; for Lithuania, it is 23.83 tons. Depending on the travels made in Turkey, the average per capita carbon footprint is 10.70 kg, while in Lithuania it is 4.38 kg. The average per capita carbon footprint calculated for both countries is 15.08 kg. Regardless of their travel preference, the travels of people in both countries cause carbon footprints and contribute to the global climate change problem. It is seen that airway vehicles are used in Turkey due to the distances being much longer and this situation enlarges the carbon footprint. In Lithuania, the prominent carbon source is individual vehicle use.

At the regional level, hydrological factors, catchment properties, as well as the way water reserves are utilized, represent major determining factors of the reactions of lake ecosystems to climate change (CC). In this context, lakes also have a negative impact related to the large amounts of water they can consume through evaporation. This paper quantifies the effects of a small artificial lake-Dridu from Romania (with complex usage) on the environment in the context of CC, estimating the blue water footprint (WF) and carbon footprint (CF) under different use scenarios. Thus, an analysis of the evolution of CF and WF is conducted until 2100, considering forecasts of changes in average temperatures, as well as a partial coverage of the lake's surface with floating photovoltaic systems (FPV). During the study period from 2017 to 2021, the average WF was 0.054 million m3, and the carbon intensity was 120.23kg CO2e/MWh. By covering 2ha of the reservoir's surface with FPV, the production and release of CO₂ and CH₄ into the atmosphere decrease, on average, by 30% for WF and 28.13% for CF. For the CC scenarios, it is observed that WF will increase by an average of 10.4%, while the carbon footprint shows no significant variations. It is worth mentioning that this type of approach, e.g., impact of FPV on WF and CF, as well as the use of FPV as a measure of coping with CC, has not been studied yet in any region of Eastern Europe. This study, given that it deals with relatively new technologies (FPV), has some gaps, since the CF is computed based on estimates, not on measured data. However, the results and the methodology currently presented can be used by various stakeholders to identify the best coping mechanism for preserving the water quantity and for generating clean energy. Also, these types of studies can be a good stimulus for the authorities to develop and permit the placement of FPV on small reservoirs and to investigate the effects of such projects in terms of energy, FPV efficiency, water quantity, and quality, as it will allow the actual quantification of different effects and benefits brought by this technology (water quality indicators, GHG emission, reduction of evaporation, FPV energy output).

The carbon and land footprint of 26 certified food products – geographical indications and organic products and their conventional references are assessed. This assessment goes beyond existing literature by (1) designing a calculation method fit for the comparison between certified food and conventional production, (2) using the same calculation method and parameters for 52 products – 26 Food Quality Schemes and their reference products – to allow for a meaningful comparison, (3) transparently documenting this calculation method and opening access to the detailed results and the underlying data, and (4) providing the first assessment of the carbon and land footprint of geographical indications. The method used is Life Cycle Assessment, largely relying on the Cool Farm Tool for the impact assessment. The most common indicator of climate impact, the carbon footprint expressed per ton of product, is not significantly different between certified foods and their reference products. The only exception to this pattern are vegetal organic products, whose carbon footprint is 16% lower. This is because the decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from the absence of mineral fertilizers is never fully offset by the associated lower yield. The climate impact of certified food per hectare is however 26% than their reference and their land footprint is logically 24% higher. Technical specifications directly or indirectly inducing a lower use of mineral fertilizers are a key driver of this pattern. So is yield, which depends both on terroir and farming practices. Overall, this assessment reinforces the quality policy of the European Union: promoting certified food is not inconsistent with mitigating climate change.

Carbon emissions are a significant cause of climate change. As an effort to reduce emissions in the university environment, carbon footprints at Diponegoro University (Undip) need to be calculated to find out how much campus activity contributes to the emissions produced and analyze scenarios that can be applied in minimizing them. The carbon footprint study at Undip was carried out in 3 scopes according to The Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Scope one covers clean water treatment activities. Scope two covers electricity usage activities, while scope three covers transportation, wastewater, and solid waste treatment activities in the campus environment. Carbon footprint emissions from the three scopes are calculated based on methods from the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Emissions calculated are CO2, CH4, and N2O expressed in TonCO2-eq. The carbon footprint resulting from campus activities at Undip is 16, 345.83 TonCO2-eq. The first and second-largest carbon footprint contributors came from electricity and transportation activities with a total carbon footprint of 13, 953.22 TonCO2-eq and 1, 449.99465 TonCO2-eq, respectively. The emission reduction business strategies that can be carried out are through conservation and energy efficiency approaches as well as the use of Campus Buses and increasing the number of green space.

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 甘南高原不同生计方式农户的碳足迹分析 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201310082420 作者: 作者单位: 西北师范大学,西北师范大学,西北师范大学,西北师范大学 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金项目(41361106);教育部新世纪优秀人才支持计划(NCET-11-0910);甘肃省高校基本科研业务费项目资助 Carbon footprint of farmers of different livelihood strategies in Gannan plateau Author: Affiliation: Northwest Normal University,Northwest Normal University,Northwest Normal University,Northwest Normal University Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:二氧化碳增加导致的全球气候变暖已成为当前人类社会面临的最严峻挑战,减少碳排放迫在眉睫。以地处青藏高原东缘的甘南高原为研究区,基于农户调查数据,采用生命周期评价法估算了甘南高原不同生计方式农户的生活直接能源消费碳足迹和间接能源消费碳足迹,并运用最小二乘法分析了影响农户碳足迹的关键因素。结果发现:(1) 甘南高原农户年人均碳足迹达2.67 tCO2,其中,生活直接能源消费碳足迹比例达76.53%,间接能源消费碳足迹比例仅占23.47%;(2) 随着非农化水平的提高,甘南高原农户的碳足迹依次下降,其中,纯农户人均碳足迹达4.32 t,兼业户与非农户分别为2.37 t和1.07 t;(3) 随着农户家庭规模的增大、收入水平的提高、距县城距离的增加和消费水平的提高,农户碳足迹不断增加;随着劳动力受教育程度的提高、恩格尔系数的增加和非农化程度的提高,农户碳足迹不断减少。 Abstract:As the main feature of the climate change, Global warming which was caused by carbon dioxide increases has already become the most serious challenge for human society, and how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve low carbon transformation is extremely urgent. Gannan plateau was chosen as the research area in this paper, and based on the peasant household survey data, and adopt life cycle assessment method to study of different livelihood strategies of farmers' carbon footprint in Gannan plateau. The paper estimates the direct and indirect energy consumption carbon footprint, and uses Least Square method to analyze the main influence factor of farmers' carbon footprint.The results show: (1) The farmer's per capital carbon footprints is 2.67 tCO2 in Gannan plateau; (2) With the improvement of non-agricultural level, the farming household, and household with combined occupation and off farming household's direct and indirect energy consumption carbon footprint, in turn, drops, among them, the direct carbon footprint per capita were 3.70 t, 1.93 t and 0.78 t, indirect carbon footprint per capita were 0.62 t, 0.44 t and 0.29 t, And with the non-agricultural level improving, the proportion of the farmer's direct energy consumption will reduce, which is 85.65%, 81.43% and 72.90% respectively of its total carbon footprint. And indirect energy consumption will increase, which is 14.35%, 18.57% and 27.10% respectively of its total carbon footprint; (3) With peasant household family size increasing, income levels rising, the distance from the county town increasing and the level of consumption improvement, the farmers' carbon footprint is growing constantly; With the improvement of education degree of farmers, increase of Engel coefficient and non-agricultural labor deepening, the peasant households' carbon footprint is shrinking. Finally, in view of the present situation of Gannan plateau, this paper puts forward the corresponding policy recommendations: First, promoting the transformation of farmers livelihood, enhancing farmers livelihood diversification. Second, reducing the family population and improving the education level of labor force. Third, the farmer should adjust the life energy consumption pattern, such as advocating and encouraging farmers to use lower carbon efficient electricity or liquefied petroleum gas. Fourth, put the farmer, who lack of resources and live in remote, to a rich resources place, so as to the government can reasonably planning and constructing for energy infrastructure. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Better information on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation potential in the agricultural sector is necessary to manage these emissions and identify responses that are consistent with the food security and economic development priorities of countries. Critical activity data (what crops or livestock are managed in what way) are poor or lacking for many agricultural systems, especially in developing countries. In addition, the currently available methods for quantifying emissions and mitigation are often too expensive or complex or not sufficiently user friendly for widespread use.The purpose of this focus issue is to capture the state of the art in quantifying greenhouse gases from agricultural systems, with the goal of better understanding our current capabilities and near-term potential for improvement, with particular attention to quantification issues relevant to smallholders in developing countries. This work is timely in light of international discussions and negotiations around how agriculture should be included in efforts to reduce and adapt to climate change impacts, and considering that significant climate financing to developing countries in post-2012 agreements may be linked to their increased ability to identify and report GHG emissions (Murphy et al 2010, CCAFS 2011, FAO 2011).

Because of the public awareness of climate change in recent decades, carbon footprint (CF) has become a crucial concern. Many companies have introduced CF estimation for their operational activities. The long-run CF averaging method is common and widely used for CF estimation. This method generates only static CF information; however, it does not detect the dynamics of CFs. In this paper, two case studies, a power plant and a photovoltaic module plant, were conducted to show the dynamic changes in CFs, and the CF difference over various time spans was compared to investigate the influence of CF averaging over different time spans on CF estimation. The results showed that the fluctuation of the CF over time was significant, and the short time spans for the calculation of CF averaging might have positive influences in CF estimation. However, more evidences from industries are required to verify the universality of the results.

A new trend driven by climate change concerns is the interest to label consumer products with a carbon footprint (CF) number. Here, we present a study that examines the uncertainty in the estimated CFs of a liquid and a compact powder detergent and how the uncertainty varies with the type of comparison one wishes to make. A simplified CF model for detergents, encompassing all life cycle stages, has been used for the calculation of CFs. The CFs for the two detergents were compared under three different cases: (1) a situation where most of life cycle assessment (LCA) system is similar, (2) a situation where the LCA background systems may be different but certain choices with regard to system boundaries are standardized, and (3) a situation where the LCA background system, choices of system boundaries, and foreground system may also be different. Uncertainty in the CFs was calculated for each of the three comparison situations using a stepwise sensitivity/uncertainty analysis approach. The stepwise approach makes it possible to obtain reliable uncertainty estimates without the need to have very good uncertainty descriptions for every input parameter. Only a few input parameters were found to drive the uncertainty of the CF values. For case 1, the uncertainties in the difference between the CF of the ultraliquid and compact powder products are very small. The CF of compact powder is always larger than that of the ultraliquid product. In case 3, the uncertainties become much larger, such that in 23% of the cases, a CF comparison would wrongly indicate that the compact powder product has a lower CF than the ultraliquid product. Case 2 falls between the extremes of cases 1 and 3. One of the challenges of developing user-friendly CF methods based on the ISO 14040 framework is to ensure a high level of comparability of CF values, such that misleading or oversimplified conclusions can be avoided. Our analysis shows how the uncertainty margins around the calculation of a CF for a set of given products will broaden as the assessment moves from an “internal” comparison to a comparison with data from third parties where there is no specific information how these data have been obtained. CF calculations based on internal comparisons can lead to very clear distinctions between products and illustrate the utility of a CF tool to optimize the environmental performance of products using difference analysis. CF calculations for products can only provide a fair comparison if the LCA background system used for the two products is the same and exactly the same choices in the foreground system are made. In practice, this would require consultation and agreement on specific product category rules. Simplification is needed for a wider adoption of uncertainty analysis in CF and LCA. This article introduces some first steps towards such simplification, but more work is needed both on the theoretical and practical aspects of simplified uncertainty analyses.