Explained: What Is Carbon Footprint? How Countries Calculate And Regulate It?

India¡¯s total installed solar power capacity will increase to 5,630 gigawatt (GW) by 2070 in order to achieve net zero emissions, according to a new report released early this week by independent think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

Consequently, the total corresponding land requirement for India¡¯s power generation assets, especially solar, would be approximately 4.6 percent, says the report ¨C titled ¡®Implications of a Net-zero Target for India¡¯s Sectoral Energy Transitions and Climate Policy¡¯. The report has further resurfaced the debates around carbon footprint and India's position on net zero emissions.

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What is the carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that come from the production, use and end-of-life of a product or service. It includes carbon dioxide - the gas most commonly emitted by humans - and others, including methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming. Usually, the bulk of an individual¡¯s carbon footprint comes from transportation, housing, energy and food.

What is India's rank in carbon emission?

A first nationwide study conducted by Japan- based Research Institute for Humanity and Nature showed that the top 20% of high-expenditure households in India are responsible for seven times the emissions traceable to the poor who spend less than $1.9 (Rs 140) a day. That means the carbon footprint of every Indian was estimated at 0.56 tonne per year ¨C 0.19 tonne per capita among the poor and 1.32 tonne among the rich.

Emissions from India rank third in the global list, accounting for 2.46 billion metric tonnes of carbon or 6.8% of the total global emissions. India¡¯s per capita carbon emissions are, however, still low at 1.84 tonnes compared to the United States¡¯ 16.21 tonnes.

The study highlights the region and class-specific assessment of carbon footprint along the lines of global findings on the vast gap between the global rich and the poor when it comes to carbon emissions. According to the UN emissions gap report, the world¡¯s wealthiest 1% account for more than twice the combined carbon emissions of the poorest 50%. It also concluded that to avoid a serious rise in global temperatures this century, the richest would have to rapidly cut their CO2 footprints.

How does a country cut its carbon footprint?

In recent times, this process has been popularised as net zero emission. It is the state in which a country¡¯s greenhouse emissions are removed from the atmosphere by carbon absorption or sequestration.

Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero. That would be gross-zero, which means reaching a state where there are no emissions at all, a scenario hard to comprehend. Therefore, net-zero is a state in which a country¡¯s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

One way by which carbon can be absorbed is by creating carbon sinks. Until recently, the Amazon rainforests in South America, which are the largest tropical forests in the world, were carbon sinks. But eastern parts of these forests have started emitting CO2 instead of absorbing carbon emissions as a result of significant deforestation.

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This way, it is even possible for a country to have negative emissions, if the absorption and removal exceed the actual emissions. Bhutan has negative emissions, because it absorbs more than it emits.

Net zero emission is the most hotly debated proposal for Climate Change Conference or CoP 26 as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had said achieving net zero by 2050 was a must to keep global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, to pre-industrial level by the end of 2100.

Further India, being the third largest emitter, has been repeatedly asked to declare its net zero target year at the 2021 United Nations CoP 26 starting from October 31 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. India¡¯s traditional argument that it has to emit for its own development has also been disapproved by developed countries as the argument no longer holds diplomatic ground for there are viable non-emitting energy alternatives available. Simultaneously, there is renewed pressure on India to enhance its renewable commitment under the Paris deal to 450 GW by 2030 and phase out coal which experts are critical of amidst the energy crisis India is facing currently.

Domestic level initiative: Carbon Watch

The Department of Environment and Forest, Union Territory (UT) has earlier this year launched Carbon Watch, a mobile application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.

While the app has been rolled out in Chandigarh, and the focus of the Department is currently on the feedback received from the residents of Chandigarh, it can be used by anyone in the country as long as they have an Android smartphone. Users can add their address pin code in the app and analyse their average carbon footprint.

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As a person downloads the application, they will need to fill in details in four parts - Water, Energy, Waste Generation and Transport (Vehicular movement). After filling in the information, the app will suggest ways for users to reduce their carbon footprint.

Chandigarh is one of the green cities, which has achieved a surplus of 45 per cent green cover instead of the set target of 33 per cent. It still stands among 112 Indian cities identified as Non-Attainment Cities, for not meeting the prescribed standards of air quality.

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