Carbon Intensive Industries – Sectors That Emit the Most Carbon
There is no denying that human beings are the number one contributor and driver of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which acknowledges and records humans’ contribution to global warming. From the way we live, consume goods, and do mundane activities, we emit and release greenhouses gases in a steady increase.
Many gases contribute to global warming but carbon dioxide is the most popular and widely recognized and up until now, it is the most damaging. Although humans have created ways to limit and dispose of wastes properly such as services that safely dispose of waste and organizations that advocate recycling and reusing plastic and wastes, we still add 110.5 tons of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere on a daily basis, and this number is increasing annually with the increasing industrial activities, according to NASA.
The talks about global warming are prevalent, even in international forums, and almost all countries acknowledge, or claim to acknowledge the issue. However, even after the 2016 Paris Agreement, which serves to be an affirmative action against climate change, many industries still find it difficult to limit their carbon emissions perhaps because doing so also cut back their profits. Coal, for instance, is a major contributor to carbon emissions, is, unfortunately, a resource that most countries rely on for energy.
It is important to take note that global warming is a natural phenomenon. The greenhouse gases trapping heat within the atmosphere are what also make the earth habitable. It is the massive amounts of emissions, which create a dramatic speed in the earth’s warming, that is concerning.
Although almost every individual contributes carbon footprint, there are big sectors that contribute major portions of these emissions, and here, we list the following:
1. Energy
The biggest source of the emission comes from burning fossil fuels, which accounts for about three-quarters of the overall carbon emissions. This energy is used for electricity generation, heat production, and power generation for both commercial and residential spaces.
2. Commercial and Residential sectors
Because these spaces need the energy to function, they also contribute majorly to greenhouse gases emissions. Besides the energy, residential and commercial spaces also produce human-induced emissions such as handling and incineration, solid waste disposal, and other fossil fuels usages. Although there are services that limit these such as the residential and commercial garbage bin rental in Niagara Falls ON, which functions to dispose of waste properly.
3. Agriculture
Agriculture, deforestation, and livestock-raising also contribute majorly to carbon emissions. Deforestation cuts back the number of trees that may help in absorbing carbon dioxide and livestock also produce not just carbon but also other greenhouse gases.
4. Industry
This sector which involves manufacturing, mining, and construction, has given off over 20% of carbon dioxide in 2014. specifically, petroleum, chemicals, food, and paper are the industries that contribute most of the industrial sector’s overall emissions.
It is important to note that we have a responsibility to our planet and this is taking actions to combat climate change and at least lessen our carbon footprint.
