Carbon footprint
Topic: Climate Change: Causes, Evidence and the Global Response · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 3 "Atmosphere and Climate"
Meaning
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas released by a person, product, organisation or country. It is counted in CO2-equivalent, a single unit that turns all gases into the amount of CO2 that would cause the same warming. It comes from things such as transport, electricity, food, water use and plastics. Measuring it shows where emissions can be cut.
Example
An average person in India emits about 2 tonnes of CO2 a year. The world average is about 4.7 tonnes and the USA's is about 14 tonnes. India is the third-largest emitter in total, but it is responsible for only about 3–4% of all CO2 emitted in history (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Total national emissions: a country can be a large emitter in total and still have a small footprint per person, as India does.
- Carbon sink: a sink takes CO2 out of the air. A footprint measures what is put into the air.