Carbon dioxide emissions

Climate change is becoming a serious issue in the world and carbon dioxide is one of the main contributors.  According to “Carbon dioxide emissions: Who is responsible and who is actually doing research”, the CO2 concentration in the air had risen by about 33% in the past century (2019), which had caused climate change.  People all over the world have become conscious about the issue caused by the Greenhouse effect.  There is a survey that compared the CO2 emission levels of 26 countries and found that they had produced eighty percent of fuel emissions in 2017 (Seyed, 2019). The figures are shown below.

Country	Mt CO2/year Fossil Emission Per year 2017
China	10,877.22
United States	5,107.39
India	2,454.77
Russia	1,764.87
Japan	1,320.78
Germany	796.529
South Korea	673.324
Iran	671.45
Saudi Arabia	638.762
Canada	617.301
Indonesia	511.327
Mexico	507.183
Brazil	492.791
South Africa	467.654
Turkey	429.563
Australia	402.253
United Kingdom	379.15
Italy	361.176
France	338.193
Poland	319.028
Spain	282.264
Taiwan	279.74
Thailand	279.296
Kazakhstan	266.207
Malaysia	258.783
Egypt	258.668

Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, much of it from China, have been the biggest contributor to climate change. Since 2004, China’s carbon footprint has remained the highest in the world. In 2017, China accounted for 28.3% of the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions (ChinaPower, 2019). 

As the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China has not only been denounced by the international community, but also faced pressure from all walks of life at home to maintain economic growth while protecting the environment. As a result, China pledged to reduce its carbon intensity by 60% to 65% in the 2016 Paris Agreement. 

Where does carbon dioxide in the atmosphere come from? 

Fossil fuel is the main energy source for human society.  According to “Reducing carbon emissions”, most emissions come from byproducts of consuming energy such as the emissions from cars and production of goods (2018).

Modern industrial societies use too much coal, oil and natural gas, which produce large amounts of carbon dioxide when burned. In addition, people’s daily consumption also produces a lot of carbon dioxide. For example, each person releases about 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide a day by breathing, while computers emit an average of 10.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide a year. Frozen food can cause carbon dioxide emissions through the process of cleaning, heating, packaging and freezing. (ChinaPower,2019)

There are large amounts of exchange of carbon dioxide between the atmosphere, land, and oceans. Human-induced carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuel, production manufacturing, and deforestation have been rupturing the balance by enhancing the level of CO2 within the atmosphere of the planet faster than it could be absorbed and processed by both land biosphere and oceans (Fone,2013). As a result, the concentration of carbon dioxide in atmosphere has reached its higher level in the past 800 thousand years (Lindsay, 2019).

The primary cause of the growing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is the consumption of fossil fuels. Over the past centuries, the increase in the burning of fossil fuels has been associated with economic growth and energy use. Considering the economic benefits, fossil fuel output grew by an average of 3 percent every year from 2000 to 2010 (Fone, 2013). The growth of carbon dioxide emissions is tightly connected to the increase in the emission levels of the US and Asia as it has already surpassed all the long-range forecasts for emissions levels. The current rate of the increase in the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere can disrupt climate patterns, which will cause severe environmental and economic outcomes. So, what steps need to be taken to decrease CO2 emissions?

How to reduce carbon dioxide emissions? 

The carbon dioxide produced on the Earth is either absorbed by forests on land or by plankton in the oceans. In order to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere, individuals need to come up with new ways to contribute to solving this problem. At the same time, actions need to be implemented by governments as well in order to reduce CO₂ emissions and protect the environment.

First, energy efficiency will be a way to reduce the percentage of emissions. In other words, we need to use energy more efficiently. There are many inexpensive ways we can lower energy consumption by using more energy-efficient items in daily life.  For instance, we can use energy-saving bulbs to reduce electricity usage for lighting. 

Secondly, people can switch to low-carbon energy sources. Many countries have built nuclear, wind and solar energy plants to generate electricity. Scientists had developed new technologies to use renewable sources, though it is not at a commercial scale yet.  In the long-run, it is likely for human beings to use more renewable energy sources in daily life. 

Moreover, through the exercise of checking our Ecological Footprint, we can see how much impact we leave on our planet daily. The results of this exercise can be concerning because we did not notice the outcomes from our normal lifestyles.  From a personal aspect, people should drive motor vehicles as little as possible and choose to travel by using more environmentally-friendly transportation methods such as buses and subway.

In addition, efforts toward protecting forests and oceans from destructive human activities, such as deforestation and indiscriminate deforestation, are some important ways to implement too.  People also can plant more trees, which will be helpful to absorb the CO₂ emission.

More Ways to Reduce CO₂ Emissions

People need to reconsider energy consumption habits to reduce energy demand. It is good to start with incandescent light bulbs and more efficient use of home heating. Buying less stuff is another way to lower emissions. The process of making wool clothing is estimated to require a carbon tantamount to a home’s electricity use for a month compares to the production of a T-shirt which creates the same amount of CO₂ emissions as three days of ordinary household power consumption. Therefore, purchasing fewer but the higher quality items is an important way to reduce CO₂ emissions.

CO₂ emissions harm the environment of our planet and significantly affect climate change. Everyone should understand that unless some moves are made on individual and governmental levels, humanity would face the horrific consequences of climate change. Therefore, we need to strive for lower car use, more efficient energy use, and less purchasing of items with high CO₂ emission manufacturing processes in order to reduce CO₂ emissions.

References

ChinaPower. (2019). How is China Managing its greenhouse gas emissions? Retrieved from https://chinapower.csis.org/china-greenhouse-gas-emissions

Fone, J. (2013). Climate change: Natural or manmade? London, UK:

Stacey International.

Global Stewards. (2019). Top 20 ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint. Retrieved from http://www.globalstewards.org/reduce-carbon-footprint.htm

Lindsey, R. (2019). Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide. Retrieved 10   November 2019, from https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide

Seyed Jafar Sadjadi. (2019). Carbon dioxide emissions: Who is responsible and who is doing research? Current Chemistry Letters, (2), 117. https://doi-org.ezproxy.mohawkcollege.ca/10.5267/j.ccl.2019.3.002

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