Sustainable Development &

UN Sustainable Goals

PART - VI
Carbon Sinks

• A carbon sink is anything that absorbs and stores more carbon from the
atmosphere than it releases as carbon dioxide. Carbon sources include the
burning of fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil for energy and transport and
agriculture. Natural carbon sinks include oceans, forests, grasslands and
soil.

• In order for these sinks to absorb the greenhouse gas emissions, we need to
protect and manage our natural carbon sinks.

• Management is key to determining whether they can act as a source of CO2 to

the atmosphere or a sink under future climates.

• Investment into their health is called ‘Offsetting’.

Carbon Sequestration

• Carbon sequestration is defined as the process of removing and storing

carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests,
grasslands or soils) through physical or biological processes, such as
photosynthesis in plants.

• When the plants die and decompose, some of the carbon is transferred to soil.
• In the ocean, marine animals also take up the gas for photosynthesis, while
some carbon dioxide dissolves in the seawater.
Carbon Footprint

• A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted

into the atmosphere, such as Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous
Oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), expressed in equivalent tons of
CO2.

• It is associated with the activities of individual, a community, an organisation, a

process, a product or service, or an event, among other things.
Carbon Footprint (Individual)

• Individual carbon footprint can thus be termed as the total amount of

greenhouse gases produced by our personal actions such as transportation,
household activities, clothing and food.
Carbon Footprint (Product)

• A product’s carbon footprint measures the total amount of greenhouse gas

emissions from its life cycle – from raw material extraction and production to
the final use by consumers including recycling or disposal.
Carbon Footprint (Company)

• A company’s carbon footprint determines the greenhouse gas emissions from

across its operations, including power generation used in building structures,
industrial activities, and machinery and equipment.

• The carbon footprint of a country considers the greenhouse gas emissions

from total energy and material utilisation, plants and other sequestrations, as
well as indirect and direct emissions from import and export processes.
https://footprint.conservation.org/en-gb/
Average Carbon Footprint

• The average carbon footprint for an individual in the United States is 16

Tonnes (which is one of the largest in the world).

• The average carbon footprint on a global scale is close to 4 Tonnes.

• The average carbon footprint of a person in India is 0.56 tonnes per year,
compared to the global average of 4 tonnes.
Top 10 highest carbon emitting countries
India Emissions: 2,709,683,700.00 tons of CO2

• For our third country on the list, the cause of emissions is slightly different. In
India, the largest source of carbon emissions comes from Power Plants and
Agriculture.

• Power plants in India are coal-fired, emitting vast volumes of carbon dioxide
as they generate energy. The carbon intensity of coal is one of the highest
among fuel sources, resulting in twice the amount of CO2 produced when
burning coal compared to gas for the same amount of energy. Because of this,
coal has been identified as one of the least sustainable energy sources for the
environment.
India Emissions: 2,709,683,700.00 tons of CO2

• Agriculture is India’s second-largest source of emissions, as rice,

paddies, and cattle create large amounts of methane.

• Methane is classified as a greenhouse gas (GHG), a collection of gases

directly responsible for global warming. Increases in the use of artificial
fertilisers and burning crops, however, have also increased the amount of
emissions from the country.
Strategies for Reduction

To address these high carbon emissions, countries are adopting various

strategies:

• Renewable Energy Investments: Many of these top emitters are increasing

their investments in renewable energy sources like solar panels to lower
cost and wind energy.

• Emission Reduction Policies: Nations are implementing stricter emission

regulations and setting ambitious goals to cut carbon outputs in the coming
decades.

• International Cooperation: Global agreements and cooperation ensure that

countries commit to and reach their emission reduction targets.
Carbon Credit

• Carbon Credit focuses on reducing greenhouse gases in the

environment.

• A carbon credit is a broad term that refers to any tradable certificate or permit
that represents the right to emit a specific amount of carbon dioxide or the
equivalent amount of another greenhouse gas.

• Carbon credits and carbon markets are components of national and

international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) concentrations.

• Global carbon credit trading is estimated to be worth $5 billion, with India

contributing approximately $1 billion.
Ecological Footprint

• The Ecological Footprint is an indicator that measures human impact on

the environment.

• The concept was first introduced by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees in
1996. It is key data for measuring the sustainability of human activity, and
assessing its impact on the natural environment.

• The ecological footprint measures the quantity of natural resources used to

produce the goods and services consumed, as well as the amount of
waste and gas emissions generated.

• The measurement unit is the Hectare, which represents the land area required
to sustain economic activities over a year.
Ecological Footprint

• Thus, the ecological footprint allows for comparing the impact, risk, and
benefit of human activity and social organizations.

• The ecological footprint can be measured at a country, city, factory, or

individual scale.

• At present, it is estimated that each person on Earth needs 2.7 hectares of

land to meet their needs over an entire year.
Carbon Handprint

• A carbon handprint is a new approach developed to quantify the positive

climate impact of products and services.

• In contrast to carbon footprint, which refers to negative global warming

potential as a consequence of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the life
cycle of a product, a carbon handprint indicates the reduced amount of
greenhouse gas emissions due to the use of a specific product or a service.

• A carbon handprint can be thus defined as the beneficial climate impact that
organizations can achieve and communicate by providing products or services
that reduce the carbon footprints of customers.
Carbon Offsetting

• Carbon offset schemes allow individuals and companies to invest in

environmental projects around the world in order to balance out their
own carbon footprints.

• The projects are usually based in developing countries and most commonly
are designed to reduce future emissions.

• This might involve rolling out clean energy technologies or purchasing and
ripping up carbon credits from an emissions trading scheme. Other schemes
work by soaking up CO2 directly from the air through the planting of trees.
Carbon Offsetting

• Some people and organisations offset their entire carbon footprint while others
aim to neutralise the impact of a specific activity, such as taking a flight.

• To do this, the holidaymaker or business person visits an offset website, uses

the online tools to calculate the emissions of their trip, and then pays the offset
company to reduce emissions elsewhere in the world by the same amount –
thus making the flight “Carbon Neutral".
Carbon Offsetting

• Offsetting the carbon footprint helps provide funding for initiatives aimed at
reducing CO2 emissions or removing CO2 from the atmosphere.

• The type and execution of the initiatives funded through offsetting heavily
influence how successful they are in reducing atmospheric CO2 levels.

• Successful projects often include reforestation and afforestation, the

development of renewable energy infrastructure, and carbon farming.
Carbon Neutral

• Carbon neutral describes the state achieved when an entity that

produces carbon emissions removes the same volume of carbon
emissions from the Earth’s atmosphere.

• Reaching carbon neutrality can involve a variety of measures, including

energy efficiency initiatives, renewable energy transitions, carbon
removal and carbon offset projects.
Net Zero

• Net zero is similar in principle to carbon neutrality, but is expanded in scale.

• To achieve net zero means to go beyond the removal of just carbon
emissions.

• Net zero refers to all greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere,
such as methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and other hydrofluorocarbons - –
that are removed from the atmosphere being equal to those emitted by human
activity.
Carbon Tax

• A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods
and services.

• A carbon tax reflecting the social cost of carbon is viewed as an essential

policy tool to limit carbon emissions: high prices for carbon-emitting goods
reduce demand for them.

• The carbon tax is generally levied on fossil fuels.

Earth Hour

• Earth Hour is a global environmental movement, organised by the World

Wildlife Fund which encourages individuals, communities, and businesses to
turn off non-essential electric lights, for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the
last Saturday of March.

• Earth Hour first began in Sydney in 2007 as a climate change initiative and
has continued to attract concerned citizens to take part in the initiative.

• In India, Earth Hour’s imprint keeps getting bigger every year. Iconic
landmarks, public and private institutions, businesses, and communities mark
the Switch Off event in perfect unison to show their support for the
conservation of the planet.
Earth Day

• Earth Day is a global event which aims to highlight the importance of

protecting the environment.

• It takes place every year on 22 April.

• It was set up in 1970 by Gaylord Nelson, a US senator and environmentalist,
and Denis Hayes, a graduate student at Harvard University. Both had growing
concerns about environmental damage in the US, such as that caused by a
large oil spill in 1969 in Santa Barbara, California.

• They came up with Earth Day as a way to engage the public and push green
issues to the national agenda.
First Earth Day attracted large crowds, such as these in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1970
Earth Day

• The first Earth Day saw 20 million people across the US take to the streets.
• It became a global event in 1990, and now involves over one billion people of
all ages in nearly 200 countries, according to organisers.

• "Celebrating Earth Day is often the first environmental action for a lot of
people," says Earthday.org president, Kathleen Rogers.
Earth Day 2024 Theme

• The 2024 theme, "Planet vs. Plastics", aims to raise awareness of the harms
of plastic pollution for human and planetary health.

• Previous events have covered a range of environmental issues, from climate

change and clean energy to protecting species and the benefits of tree
planting.

• This year's focus comes ahead of an historic UN treaty on plastics, which is

expected to be agreed by the end of 2024.

• More than 50 countries, including the UK, have called for an end to plastic
pollution by 2040.
Earth Day Achievements

• Within a few years of the first Earth Day in 1970, the US Environmental
Protection Agency had been set up, and several environmental laws - such
as the Clean Air Act - had been established or significantly strengthened.

• More recent events have included planting hundreds of millions of trees,

supporting farmers with sustainable agriculture practices, and starting climate
literacy projects around the world.

• Some observers also cite the importance of Earth Day in pushing

environmental issues back up national and international agendas.

• "With a host of issues driving our environmental challenges down society's

priority list, events like Earth Day remind us of the long-term cost of short-
termism," says Yvo de Boer, former UN climate chief.
Q1. Which of the following statements best describes the term
‘Social Cost of Carbon’? It is a measure, in monetary value, of the

(a) long-term damage done by a tonne of CO2 emissions in a given year.

(b) requirement of fossil fuels for a country to provide goods and services to its
citizens, based on the burning of those fuels.

(c) efforts put in by a climate refugee to adapt to live in a new place.

(d) contribution of an individual person to the carbon footprint on the planet

Earth.
Q2. Which of the following statements best describes "carbon
fertilization"?

(a) Increased plant growth due to increased concentration of carbon dioxide in

the atmosphere

(b) Increased temperature of Earth due to increased concentration of carbon

dioxide in the atmosphere

(c) Increased acidity of oceans as a result of increased concentration of carbon

dioxide in the atmosphere

(d) Adaptation of all living beings on Earth to the climate change brought about
by the increased concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere