INTRO TO ERM II - TASK 1: CALCULATION OF PERSONAL CO2 SAVINGS

MINHAJ AIJAZ MEMON - 3906277

A study was conducted which looks at the amount of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) a country produces based on their diet. The study
encompasses 130 countries but this task will focus on two countries; Pakistan, since it is my homeland, and Argentina because it has
the highest food carbon footprint in the world and so that a proper comparison and basis can be made on how to reduce CO2
emissions based on diet. The assumption is made that my yearly personal CO2 emission is equal to the yearly CO2 emission of a
person in Pakistan, based on the food carbon footprint. The collected data is separated into animal based and non-animal based
diets and their respective CO2 emissions (in Kg CO2/person/year) based on how much produce is supplied for consumption and then
the difference between the emissions is calculated (in Kg CO2/person/year). A low difference value denotes that a larger population
feeds more on plant based products and thus has a lower food carbon footprint thus reducing CO2 emissions and a high difference
value means that a large number of the population feeds more on animal based products and thus has a higher food carbon footprint
which correlates to higher CO2 emissions. A good practice for reducing CO2 emissions would be to reduce the amount of animal
products we consume which will lead to lower CO2 emissions. The data and calculations are provided below:

Non-Animal Products (Wheat

Animal Products (Pork, Poultry,
and Wheat Products, Rice,
Beef,Lamb and Goat, Fish, Eggs, Difference between
Soybeans, Nuts inc. Peanut
Milk – inc. cheese) Animal Products per
Butter)
# Country person/year and Non-
Total Total Kg Total Total Kg
Animal Products per
Products CO2/person/year Products CO2/person/year
person/year in Kg
Supplied for based on Total Supplied for based on Total
Consumption Consumption Consumption Consumption
1 Argentina 317.04 2140.65 112.37 31.75 2108.90
2 Pakistan 204.24 630.24 126.71 38.81 591.43

Carbon Sequestration of Bombax cieba Linn. (Bombaceae) / Silk Cotton Trees (Predominant in Pakistan)
Dry Carbon Weight of CO2
Total Green Dry Weight of CO2
Weight Weight Sequestered(l
Weight (lbs) Weight + Sequestered(Kgs)
(lbs) (lbs) bs)
Growth
D Formula:
H (ft) Rate of 10t
(in) Formula: 0.725 * Formula: Formula: 3.67
dry matter
1.2*(0.15*D^2 Total 0.5 * Dry * Carbon Kgs Tons
/ ha / year
*H) *1000 Green Weight Weight
(lbs)
Weight
49.2 118.1 37329296. 37351342. 18675671. 31089065. 34269.7
51488684.40 68539713.28
1 1 19 39 19 63 9
Note: Taking an average of 1000 trees per hectare. Silk Cotton Trees usually have a diameter of 1.25m and reach a
height of 36m or more
If we compare the weight of CO2 sequestered of 1ha forest having 1000 trees with my personal CO2 emission based on my food
carbon footprint, a huge difference can be seen. I am emitting 591.43 Kgs of CO2 per year and the CO2 sequestered by a 1ha forest
is 31089065.63 Kgs or 34269.79 Tons. This large amount of CO2 sequestered can be attributed to the fact that Silk
Cotton Trees, which are predominantly found in Pakistan are large deciduous trees and sequester a lot of CO2.

References:

Food for human consumption in terms of (kg/person/year) is taken from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations Balance Sheets. Population data is also extracted from FAO, as the data is already divided by population.
Food categories are defined as by FAO, with the exception of Fish, which includes the FAO categories of Freshwater Fish, Demersal
Fish, Pelagic Fish, and Marine Fish, Other. In addition, Nuts and Nut Products also include groundnuts (inc. peanuts).
https://www.nu3.de/c/food-carbon-footprint-index-2018/
Carbon sequestration: how much can forestry sequester CO2?, Egbuche, Christian. Forestry Research and Engineering: International Journal. 2018
“Total-Tree Weight, Stem Weight, and Volume Tables for Hardwood Species in the Southeast,” Alexander Clark III, Joseph R. Saucier, and W.
Henry McNab, Research Division, Georgia Forestry Commission, January 1986
"Trees of Pakistan" Mahmood Iqbal Sheikh, 1993