Since the industrial revolution, the environment has suffered due to the excessive use of fossil fuels in industries, leading to the emission of Co2 to the environment. As demand increased, more and more industries were set up. To produce more, fossil fuels were used in a significant amount which has amplified the emission of carbon dioxide, causing the greenhouse effect on earth, further leading to climate change.
Carbon emissions due to human activities have multiplied in the last few decades, sending alarming warnings across the atmosphere. In this article, we will be discussing the different sources of carbon emission, measures to be taken, and carbon neutrality.
Factors Responsible for Carbon Emission
Carbon emission can be majorly categorized into two sources – natural sources and human sources.
In natural sources, carbon is emitted through natural processes, which include forest fire, volcanic eruption, decomposition of matter, plants respiration, etc, whereas man-made sources include excessive use of fossil fuels by exploiting coal, natural gases, and oil.
Industrial carbon Footprint:
The secondary section is a broad sector that produces raw good and materials which is used daily. The emission of greenhouse gas in the industrial process is further categorized into two parts – Direct emissions are caused during the process of production, whereas indirect emission is the other branch of the industry far from the production region.
The Tendency of Carbon Emission
In 2000, direct industrial carbon emission accounted for approx. 23% in the whole world. Many first-world countries, including the USA, Canada, and European Union countries, are the major contributor to carbon emissions and greenhouse gases in the field of transportation, energy (electricity sector), fashion industry, construction, aviation, etc. This has negatively impacted our ecosystem.
Contribution of Industries to Carbon Emission:
These are some of the sectors which are the major contributor to carbon dioxide emissions which including energy production. It contributes 36% alone by combustion of fossil fuels to produce electricity for houses, offices, and small-scale industries
Transportation: This sector alone contributed 72% of Co2 emissions through marine shipping, aviation, and roadways for transportation of goods.
Industries: According to certain reports, the industrial sector contributes 21% of carbon dioxide in the year 2014, which includes mining, construction, small-scale industry, manufacturing, etc.
Institutional and Residential sectors: Data shown in the housing and commercial ministry states that this sector contributes around 8% of carbon dioxide emissions in the form of use of air conditions, refrigerators, heaters, cooking gases, etc.
Following are some steps that can limit carbon emissions:
- Usage of an alternative to fossil fuel
- Promotion of organic farming.
- Transformation of transportation and automobile sector using renewable energy.
- Construction of industries and buildings technology should be carbon neutral.
- Establishing more solar energy and windmills to check the use of fossil fuels.
Role of Industries to Achieve Carbon Neutrality
Industries are the main contributors to the emission of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, so many reforms are needed to be taken to check the greenhouse gases and achieve carbon-neutral which are as follows:
- Complete shift to renewable energy: The energy sector plays a major role in carbon emission in the environment but shifting towards green energy can give a big relief to the ecosystem.
- Capturing the carbon dioxide emission: To promote carbon neutrality, new technologies are needed to be implanted to capture and store the carbon dioxide.
- Plantation of trees: Trees act as a natural cleansing by absorbing co2 directly from the air. Therefore, the plantation of trees is encouraged around the industrial region
- Clean transportation system: The transportation of the final goods needs to be an eco-friendly mode of transport by using green energy to promote carbon neutrality.
- Infrastructure development: High-tech machines are to be used to check the overheating of materials otherwise they may emit harmful fumes to the environment.
