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C9 C) Carbon Footprint
C9 C) Carbon Footprint
The carbon footprint of something measures the quantity of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are produced over the full life cycle of something. This something can be a product (e.g. a T-shirt or a car), a service (e.g. a train service), an event (e.g. a football tournament), or an individual for a period of time (usually a year).
I am going to look at the carbon footprint of a petrol powered car, which would be all of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced during the production, use and disposal of the car:
I am going to look at the carbon footprint of a petrol powered car, which would be all of the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced during the production, use and disposal of the car:
- The production of the car. This will involve the extraction and processing of all of the resources needed for the car, the transportation of these resources to where they will be assembled and the assembling of the car. The way that the energy is generated for all of these processes will impact the carbon footprint of the car.
- The car when it is driven over its entire life (which for most cars is around 10 to 15 years).
- The disposal of the car will produce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The carbon footprint of the disposal of a car can be reduced by recycling some of the components that the car is made from; most of the metal in the car will be recycled.
Working out an accurate carbon footprint of a product, service, event or individual can be extremely hard as there are many different factors to consider and lots of unknowns. For example, if the product uses electricity, it is hard to say which energy source the electricity for the product will come from; if we assumed that the electricity was generated from renewables, the product would have a smaller carbon footprint compared to if we assumed that the electricity was generated from non-renewables.
Despite the trickiness in estimating the carbon footprint of something or an individual, it is a good way to see the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are produced by something. After estimating the carbon footprint of something or an individual, we can then make changes to reduce the carbon footprints. Here are some of the ways that carbon footprints can be reduced:
Despite the trickiness in estimating the carbon footprint of something or an individual, it is a good way to see the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that are produced by something. After estimating the carbon footprint of something or an individual, we can then make changes to reduce the carbon footprints. Here are some of the ways that carbon footprints can be reduced:
- Generating the electricity for products from renewable energy sources that do not produce greenhouse gases. The renewable energy sources could be solar, wind, tidal etc.
- Use public transport as fewer greenhouse gases are produced per passenger for public transport compared to one individual driving a car.
- Make devices more efficiency, which means that less energy is wasted. Also, give efficiency information to the consumer when they are purchasing a product so that they know what the efficiency of the product is. Whenever we buy a big appliance (like a cooker or a fridge), the appliance will have an energy rating showing how efficient the appliance is. Also, when you purchase a car, you are told what the miles per gallon (MPG) of the car is so that you can see how efficient the car is.
- Eating food that has a smaller carbon footprint. Red meats (beef and pork) have a high carbon footprint compared to vegetables, so by switching from red meats to vegetables/ a plant-based diet, you can reduce the quantity of greenhouse gases produced.
- Traveling on fewer planes – planes produce vast quantities of carbon dioxide, so the fewer plane journeys that we make, the smaller our carbon footprints will be.
Governments
Governments can legislate (make laws) to encourage individuals to reduce their carbon footprints.
Governments can tax activities that have high carbon footprints and subsidise activities that have smaller carbon footprints. For example, the government in the UK taxes cars that are inefficient – old 4x4 pay very high road tax and electric cars pay little or no road tax. Also, governments can subsidise new electric cars (a subsidy is where the government pays a bit towards the cost of the electric car, which reduces the price of the electric car. As the price of the electric car has been reduced, more consumers will purchase them).
Governments can also put caps on the emissions that firms are able to produce. If the firm produces a greater quantity of emissions than they are allowed, they will have to pay the government to counteract the emissions that they have produced.
Governments can also ban certain products or activities. For example, the UK government has banned the sale of very energy inefficient light bulbs e.g. 100-watt incandescent light bulbs.
There are many more policies that governments can engage in to reduce the carbon footprints of individuals.
Governments can legislate (make laws) to encourage individuals to reduce their carbon footprints.
Governments can tax activities that have high carbon footprints and subsidise activities that have smaller carbon footprints. For example, the government in the UK taxes cars that are inefficient – old 4x4 pay very high road tax and electric cars pay little or no road tax. Also, governments can subsidise new electric cars (a subsidy is where the government pays a bit towards the cost of the electric car, which reduces the price of the electric car. As the price of the electric car has been reduced, more consumers will purchase them).
Governments can also put caps on the emissions that firms are able to produce. If the firm produces a greater quantity of emissions than they are allowed, they will have to pay the government to counteract the emissions that they have produced.
Governments can also ban certain products or activities. For example, the UK government has banned the sale of very energy inefficient light bulbs e.g. 100-watt incandescent light bulbs.
There are many more policies that governments can engage in to reduce the carbon footprints of individuals.
Resistance to Government Policy
Governments are generally quite resistant to strong policies that reduce carbon footprints as they are worried about the effect that the policies will have on the economy and economic development of a country. This is because policies like taxing emissions or introducing emission caps will make it more expensive for firms to produce goods. This cost increase will be passed onto consumers in the country where the good was produced and to foreign consumers (countries where the good will be exported to). The increase in the price of the good will make it less attractive, which will result in fewer sales for firms, and this may cause the firm to reduce its workforce creating unemployment. These concerns are especially the case in developing nations where the countries want to develop their industries to increase the quality of life of their citizens; they do not want to restrict development by imposing green policies/ policies that reduce carbon footprints.
In order to overcome these issues, international organisations try to get countries to sign up to agreements that bring emissions down. However, the international agreements do not tend to be legally binding (no consequences if a country breaks them) and not all countries sign up to them.
Governments are generally quite resistant to strong policies that reduce carbon footprints as they are worried about the effect that the policies will have on the economy and economic development of a country. This is because policies like taxing emissions or introducing emission caps will make it more expensive for firms to produce goods. This cost increase will be passed onto consumers in the country where the good was produced and to foreign consumers (countries where the good will be exported to). The increase in the price of the good will make it less attractive, which will result in fewer sales for firms, and this may cause the firm to reduce its workforce creating unemployment. These concerns are especially the case in developing nations where the countries want to develop their industries to increase the quality of life of their citizens; they do not want to restrict development by imposing green policies/ policies that reduce carbon footprints.
In order to overcome these issues, international organisations try to get countries to sign up to agreements that bring emissions down. However, the international agreements do not tend to be legally binding (no consequences if a country breaks them) and not all countries sign up to them.