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The Cuajimalpa campus of the Autonomous Metropolitan University (UAM) is located in the western region of Mexico City. In 2016, its global average population (students, faculty and staff) was around 2750 people. Campus policies include sustainability as one of its main aims. To evaluate and eventually reduce the environmental impact of the campus, its greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory was assessed and the carbon footprint was calculated, using the GHG protocol (GHGP): Scope 1: direct GHG emissions; Scope 2: indirect GHG emissions; and Scope 3: other indirect GHG emissions, on a calendar year basis. Scope 1 includes mobile and stationary sources and leakage of refrigerants; Scope 2 includes electrical energy usage; Scope 3 includes consumption of paper, food, water, gases, cleaning products, solvents, wastewater treatment, municipal and hazardous wastes and academic travel. In 2016, the campus produced around 3000 tons of CO2 equivalent, with Scope 1, 2 and 3 accounting for 4%, 24% and 72%, respectively. Emissions analysis by activity indicated 51% for commuting; 24% for electricity usage; 14% for academic travel; 11% for other activities. The inventory will aid the establishment of policies for reduction and mitigation of GHG, resulting in environmental and potential economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing studies on persistence of ecological footprint have largely concentrated on the aggregate ecological footprint without adequately considering its components. The aim of this paper is to contribute to the existing papers on ecological footprint by examining the persistence of carbon footprint emissions for a group of 92 countries. Unlike the extant papers, this paper uses fractional integration, which allows the consideration of stationary I(0) and nonstationary I(1) cases as particular models of interest, being therefore more general and flexible than these two classical representations. The results indicate that only 25 of the 92 countries display mean reversion, with orders of integration strictly below 1 and showing transitory shocks, most of them belonging to lower middle- and low-income countries. In these 25 countries it might not be easy to change the long-run path of the carbon footprint as any policy shocks will have temporary effects. The foregoing findings can help policymakers in each nation to design efficient emission-reducing policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change poses one of the greatest challenges of any kind facing human society today. It is a threat to the availability of land, air, food and water - all of which are key constituents of the Sustainable Development Goals. Much of the observed change in climate is anthropogenic in nature. Hence, it is imperative for all human societies to make a positive contribution in spreading greater public awareness and engagement for creating a more sustainable world. Due to the lack of a reliable carbon footprint measurement system specific to Indian conditions, a robust multimedia application has been developed and designed in the form of India's first certified Carbon Footprint Calculator. Titled the ‘Yo!Green’ Carbon Calculator, it allows individuals and households to measure their greenhouse gas emissions, and recommends simple mitigation measures based on their emission profile. This paper presents the methodologies, assumptions and processes which have been adopted to develop the Yo!Green Carbon Calculator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to engage in carbon management at the household level, individuals need to understand how their everyday activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, and how they can reduce their personal carbon footprint. This implies a need for ‘carbon literacy’, a term that has emerged in the literature in the last few years without being formally defined. This paper proposes a definition of carbon literacy and compares this with other, related concepts. Next the results of two qualitative studies are presented that reveal how three mechanisms help to increase carbon literacy: energy monitoring; carbon footprint statements; and peer/social learning through sharing information, skills and resources with others. The different aspects of carbon literacy that these mechanisms contribute to are highlighted. Especially notable is the significance of carbon footprint statements, which enable understanding of the relative emissions associated with different activities, and the value many interviewees placed on learning within a group. These two mechanisms enhance the impact of energy monitoring by individuals, which is part of the focus of schemes such as the introduction of ‘smart’ energy meters in several countries. The implications of these findings for policymakers and others who wish to promote carbon literacy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the carbon impact of online retailing and compares it with that of conventional retailing. It discusses the effect of varying the scope of the calculation, the system boundaries and the underlying assumptions. While most of the carbon emissions come from the last-mile delivery, this is also the activity whose carbon intensity is most sensitive to assumptions made about consumer behavior. On the basis of an extensive literature review, the paper also explores the carbon impacts of the upstream supply chain, energy use in information and communication technology and several aspects of travel behavior. This should help researchers to make wider and more realistic assessments of the environmental impact of online retailing. On the basis of these assessments, one can test the conditions under which online shopping is likely to have a lower carbon footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: This paper presents lessons learnt from a Jisc-funded research project that developed and implemented an information communication technology tool enabling staff to understand the environmental impact of their activities and support sustainable procurement across De Montfort University (Leicester, UK). Results: An environmentally extended input–output calculation approach was adopted to calculate the emissions and a 'dashboard style' approach was used to present the information. While the tool was developed successfully, its institutional impact was limited by numerous barriers. Conclusion: These challenges provided several key learning points: cost remains the main priority in procurement teams much higher than environmental aspects; committed 'champions' are key to organizational change; and information communication technology carbon/sustainability tools need to be an integral part of an organization's existing procurement systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As China's outwards foreign direct investment (OFDI) has grown dramatically, the environmental impact of the production activities of Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) has received substantial attention. Using a multiregional input-output model reflecting firm heterogeneity, this study measures the carbon footprint (CF) and value-added (VA) of Chinese MNEs' foreign affiliates to quantify the trade-off between economic benefits and environmental damage. The results show that Chinese MNEs' affiliates' CF is not large but grows quickly, mainly driven by investment and scale effects. The CF of foreign affiliates is primarily distributed in resource-intensive countries. The economic-environmental effect of Chinese MNEs' foreign affiliates is heterogeneous across countries and sectors. The best performance is found in the manufacturing sectors of most developing countries, with the worst performance in the service sectors of developed countries. Chinese MNEs' affiliates can transfer clean technology from developed host countries to China through reverse technology spillovers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progress toward decarbonizing shipping has been slow compared with other sectors. To explore the scope for an urgent step-change cut in CO2, this paper presents results from a participatory technology roadmapping exercise. Results: Combining existing incremental and novel technologies with slow-steaming can deliver reductions in CO2 of over 50% even in the short term for existing ships. However, roadmaps for three vessel types illustrate barriers to change including the sector's complexity, infrastructure lock-in and a need for tailored market and vessel-specific roadmaps to support decision-making. Conclusions: Through technology and engineering, the outlook for the shipping sector to significantly cut its CO2 emissions, even in the short term, is promising. Nevertheless, the scale of change requires support to demonstrate how the long-term low-carbon vision offers enough benefit to overcome necessary short-term investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Ethiopia, there is an urge to enhance milk production where urban and peri-urban farms play important role. Therefore, the role of such production system in Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions should be known. This study was conducted with the objective of estimating the carbon footprint (CF) of milk within Mekelle milkshed, Ethiopia. 50 urban and 42 peri-urban dairy farms were selected randomly and both primary and secondary data was collected. Lifecycle Assessment (LCA) approach was employed to quantify GHG emissions using cradle to- farm gate approach. The mean GHG emissions per cattle unit (000 kg CO2-e y-1) were 2.84 ± 1.23 and 3.19 ± 1.99 for peri-urban and urban farms, respectively. The share of enteric fermentation was 75.5% and 73.6% for peri-urban and urban farms, respectively. Milk contributed for 88.5% and 90.8% to the economic value of peri-urban and urban farms, respectively. Overall, the CF of milk production in urban and peri-urban farms was 2.2 kg CO2-e/kg and 3.2 kg CO2-e/kg without economic allocation, and 2.0 kg CO2-e/kg and 2.8 kg CO2-e/kg with economic allocation. In order to reduce GHG emission intensity from dairy farms it is important to adopt climate smart dairy practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mono-cropping, burning of crop residues, imbalanced fertilization and limited use of farm manure are resulting in loss of soil organic carbon (SOC). In this study, integrated soil-crop management (ILMsoil), improved management (IMsoil) and conventional management (CMsoil) was studied to enhance the soil carbon sequestration for mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to estimate carbon footprint from successive crops of rice, mustard and jute with or without intercrops or mixed crops. The adoption of ILMsoil helped in reducing the carbon footprint by 78%. The overall economic yield increased by 25% over IMsoil as well. Net CO2-eq emission was 68% less under ILMsoil as compared to other systems. The reduction in net LCA-GHG emission was mainly due to high SOC sequestration by jute crop and leguminous intercrops and mixed crops. Improved crop diversification and agronomic productivity as used in ILMsoil system may decrease the inputs of non-renewable energy and consequently reduce the emission of GHGs from agroecosystems. Improvement of soil health, minimization in nutrient and water losses, and application of the increased amount of organic fertilizers were found helpful in reducing the carbon footprint. ILMsoil method of cultivation in 0.70 million hectare of jute growing area may reduce about 0.40 million tonnes of CO2-eq from atmosphere every year and provide carbon credit of 1.22 million US$to the farmers of eastern India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing more effective mitigation strategy to achieve the carbon reduction targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement requires to more comprehension of the driving factors of the decline in carbon emissions. Production-based and consumption-based carbon emission in Germany declined by 2.8% and 8.5% from 2000 to 2015, respectively. In this work, the key drivers behind decline in carbon emission in Germany is explored by combing the multi-regional input-output and structural decomposition analysis. The results show German carbon emissions has been undergoing structural changes. Although its production-based and consumption-based emission declined, German carbon footprint embodied in exports increased, and its share in the production-based carbon footprint also increased. Germany's embodied emission exports to emerging countries increased, although Germany's embodied carbon exports remained mainly concentrate in developed countries, especially in EU (over 40%) and USA (∼10%). The decomposition results revealed that economic scale effect was the leading contributor to increase in carbon footprint in Germany's trade, followed by the industrial structure effect of final demand. The effects of production structure on German's exports was less than its imports. The carbon intensity coefficient was the most significant factor of decreased carbon emission. Generally, the decreasing effect of carbon intensity coefficient exceeded the increasing effect of economic scale, which lead to carbon reduction. The example of Germany shows that improving carbon emission efficiency and optimizing production structure can reduce carbon emission without lowering economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past 50 years, higher education institutions worldwide have progressively implemented sustainability policies focused on improving their environmental indicators and institutional image. This trend also occurs in Colombia, both in private and public institutions. One of the issues associated with sustainability that has experienced increasing interest by these entities is Climate Change, which is reflected in an increasing number of inventories of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) of an organizational nature. Following this trend, the Technological University of Pereira (UTP), as a state higher education institution, quantified its organizational carbon footprint of 2017. Through the application of the GHG Protocol methodology, direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions associated with electricity (Scope 2) and other indirect GHG emissions (Scope 3) were established. In total, in 2017 UTP emitted 8969 t CO2-eq, of which 97% were scope 3 emissions, mainly due to the daily mobility of students and officials, and the construction of infrastructure. Likewise, in 2017 each member of the university community emitted 0.4 t CO2-eq. Compared to other universities in the rest of the world, the carbon footprint per person at the UTP is low, among other reasons, because the campus does not generate electricity or use heating and furthermore, in terms of proximity, UTP students and employees residences in relation to the campus are close, which allows that the daily commuting is mostly short. Additionally, the impact on total emissions of the years 2017 and 2018 of three strategies in favor of reducing the carbon footprint of UTP based on better management of water, electricity and the mobility of students and teachers was evaluated. If these strategies had been implemented in both years, the carbon footprint would have been decreased 3.1% on average in a conservative scenario and 4.8% on average on an optimistic scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing emergence of carbon calculators and the absence of specific standards to regulate these tools, may lead to inconsistencies in the results. This article evaluates individual carbon calculators that are publicly available in Brazil. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of 15 calculators were performed. Input and output data, conversion factors, as well as the costs associated with the possibilities of mitigation were evaluated. The analyses showed that there is a great discrepancy between the Emission Factors (EF), which have been highlighted by the coefficient of variation of EF adopted for the emission of liquefied petroleum gas (146.5%). The values of carbon stock also showed a large amplitude (139.45 to 359.84 kgCO2 tree−1). Furthermore, it was observed that tips on the possibility of reducing emissions are poorly provided by the calculators (27%). However, most tools (67%) make it possible to offset quantified emissions, and carbon offset plantations are widely suggested. The discrepancies found may affect calculators reliability, their potential for raising environmental awareness and their influence on decision-making. Thus, the diffusion of the calculators should be accompanied by more specific guidelines in order to minimize the uncertainties associated with the estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current eating patterns are damaging the environment and there is a need for dietary guidelines to address this issue. Schools can act as springboards to promote sustainable food habits. However, unlike other European national dietary guidelines, the Spanish school dietary guidelines do not include environmental sustainability guidance. In this study, a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach was used to quantify the carbon footprint (CF) of school menus designed following the Spanish school dietary guidelines and adjusting to approximately 610 kcal/lunch-meal. To do so, the menus assessed were the baseline menu and six alternative menus served in schools (the menu without dairy and without legumes, the menu without meat, the menu without fish, the menu without eggs, the hypocaloric menu and the astringent menu designed to address intestinal illnesses). The CF of the baseline menu was 24.39 kg CO2 eq/person/monthly lunch-meal which resembled, to some extent, the CF of the Mediterranean diet obtained for adults and approximately 700 kcal/lunch-meal. Regarding the alternative menus, the astringent menu and the menu without meat presented the lowest CF, being 14.77 kg CO2 eq/person/month and 17.11 kg CO2 eq/person/month, respectively. It is recommended that Spanish dietary guidelines include the environmental performance of foods to optimize school menus and favor a gradual transition towards a more environmentally-friendly diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using country's ecological footprint, the present empirical study aims to analyze the influence of the economic growth, energy consumption, and globalization on ecological footprint in the Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries; namely Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE covering the period 1991-2017. By employing panel econometric approaches that considered issues of heterogeneity and cross sectional dependence, we find that all variables are first-difference stationary by using the cross-sectional augmented IPS (CIPS) and the cross-sectional augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) unit root tests. There exists a long-run relationship among examined variables tested by using the Westerlund cointegration tests statistics. By employing the dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), and the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), we also find that increase in the consumption of energy and globalization increases the ecological footprint, and the EKC hypothesis is not supported for the GCC countries. From the outcome of this empirical work a number of policy implications have been discussed in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

India has an intricate nexus of groundwater irrigation, energy and climate. Subsidized electricity supply has led to unregulated groundwater pumping, causing a decrease in groundwater level and increase in carbon emissions. This complex nexus necessitates estimation of carbon emissions from groundwater irrigation. The study uses actual pumping data on 20.5 million groundwater structures from the Fifth Minor Irrigation Census (reference year 2013–14) to estimate carbon emissions. The estimates show that groundwater irrigation emits 45.3–62.3 MMT of carbon annually, contributing 8–11% of India's total carbon emission. This analysis shows deep tubewells have a huge carbon footprint, and their growing number is a serious environmental concern. Spatial analysis reveals India's western and peninsular region, which houses 85% of the country's over-exploited groundwater blocks, contributes most to carbon emission. Moreover, this region hosts 27 districts which are groundwater–energy–climate nexus hotspots, together accounting for 34% of carbon emissions from groundwater irrigation. Comparison with the previous estimate reveals that carbon emission from groundwater irrigation nearly doubled between 2000 and 2013. Findings of this study are vital to the discourse on the increasing environmental costs of groundwater pumping in the country and will contribute to carbon emission mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the convergence hypothesis of per capita ecological footprint (PCEF) and per capita carbon footprint (PCCF) for a sample of 77 countries covering the period 1961–2014. In particular, we study whether countries are moving toward a common steady-state equilibrium condition or converging into different groups. To do so, this study used the Phillips and Sul technique. The results do not support the convergence of full sample or similar environmental quality; instead, we find two different steady-state (or club convergence) equilibriums for PCEF and PCCF. Further, our results show that countries which have the lowest PCEF and PCCF are converging (growing) faster than those countries which have the highest PCEF and PCCF. Finally, the speed of convergence of PCEF for club 1 is noted at around 0.126% while for club 2, it is 0.165%. Hence, the climate change policies need to be designed by following the club convergence of the sample countries. CO2 Carbon dioxide EKC Environmental Kuznets curve EU European Union EF Ecological footprint G20 Group of twenty GHGs Greenhouse gases IPCC Intergovernmental panel on climate change OECD Organization for economic co-operation and development PCEF Per capita ecological footprint PCCF Per capita carbon footprint PS Phillips and Sul UNDP United Nations development programme [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present assess the green house gas (GHG) emission from cultivation over the past 50 years in India. Emission has increased by 161% over 50 years from 14.81 TgCE/year (0.12 tCE ha−1yr−1) in 1960 to 38.71 TgCE/year (0.28 tCE ha−1yr−1) by 2010. This is due to increase in the use of inputs primarily; chemical nitrogen fertilizer, shifting from conventional animal and human energy sources to carbon-intensive diesel and electricity-dependent machineries. It is also due to 16% decrease in area of less carbon-intensive coarse cereals and 22% increase in rice cultivation. Among crops, rice recorded maximum emission (23.75 Tg CE/ha) while it was lowest in redgram (2.98 Tg CE/ha). Nitrogen among inputs, accounted for 92 and 83% emission between 1960 and 2010 respectively while, nitrogen use efficiency declined, suggesting loss of added nitrogen to atmosphere as N2O. Methane accounted for 90 and 58% of emission over 1960 and 2010, respectively, indicating a declining trend over the years. Thus, amending nitrogen fertilizer use and measures to reduce methane emission alone can substantially reduce the carbon footprint of the crop cultivation process. There is also ample scope for reducing emissions from energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, universities are taking responsibility for climate protection. While there has been a growth of activities and studies on greening campus operations and curricula, student lifestyles may also be interesting to look at. This study focuses on student carbon emissions from consumption at the University of Applied Science in Konstanz, Germany. The study includes almost 10% of the university's students. Data on student lifestyle and emission patterns was collected via questionnaires and calculated with a web-based carbon calculator. The study analyzes personal carbon emissions and influencing factors from four consumption categories; housing (including heating and electricity), mobility (including private car use, public transport and aviation), food and other consumption. The findings show average students’ carbon footprint to be 10.9 t CO2 equivalent per year and of the same order of magnitude as the German average. While students cause less emission through heating because of smaller living space per person, they cause considerably more emission by aviation. A relatively small group of frequent flyers dominates aviation emissions. The study shows that the correlation between low income/expenditure and low carbon emissions is not valid for students due to high long-distance mobility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calls are increasingly made for the inclusion of carbon sequestration in the product carbon footprint (PCF) of the outputs of managed woody perennial systems. However, due to methodological difficulties and a lack of common methods, the current application is inconsistent and often fails to address important issues, limiting the usefulness of available estimates of the climate mitigation potential of such systems. Suggestions are made for the future application of methods, and three situations are identified here in which it is meaningful to give credits for biogenic carbon: if management or land use changes increase total carbon stocks; if biogenic carbon replaces fossil fuels; and if biogenic carbon is stored for more than 100 years. Where these conditions are not met, other mechanisms should be used to incentivize increasing carbon stocks. All co-products arising from a plantation across its entire life cycle should be included in PCF calculations, based on a holistic view of the plantation. The aim is to reduce the inconsistency in current PCF calculations for products from woody plantations and to ensure that their climate mitigation potential is recognized in a meaningful way under the framework of product-related carbon accounting, thereby incentivizing climate-friendly management methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tree plantations are characterized by their ability to remove CO2from the atmosphere and store it in a stable manner in tree structures (trunks, roots and branches) as well as in the soil. The study was conducted in Southern Spain in olive groves and covering an area of 1121 ha, where 22 homogenous plantation units were selected. The Picual and Arbequina varieties were assessed in intensive, super-intensive and conventional plantations as well as in rainfed and irrigated plantations. The net carbon (C) balance in the olive tree plantations was clearly positive, especially in intensive and super-intensive plantations (2.05 and 4.10 Mg C ha–1yr–1on average for all plantations studied). These results are significant for life-cycle evaluations of olive oil and for obtaining the C footprint of olive oil as a final product. Improved practices for soil management, such as the use of conservation tillage and cover crops and reincorporating pruning residues into the soil, can notably increase the net C balance in tree plantations and may even double it in amount. Thus, including the C sequestration rate of olive tree plantations can increase the accuracy of C footprint estimations for olive oil and represents a key factor in marketing the final product according to its environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product carbon footprinting has gained much attention in recent years as many national and international standards have been formulated as well as several carbon labeling schemes. Thailand has also made efforts in this direction over the past several years and is in fact the first country in the southeast Asian region to have developed national guidelines for carbon footprint calculation and labeling. During the process of conducting product carbon footprinting for pilot studies, many issues of concern were raised, some of which may be common to all countries, while others were more specific for tropical countries exporting agricultural products. Experiences are drawn from the study of several national (Publicly Available Specification 2050, Japanese and Thai national guidelines) and international (ISO14067) standards, including the application of some of these to several product carbon footprinting studies. Issues of data collection, grouping of products, co-product allocation, land-use change, product category rules, type of carbon label and consumer understanding have been discussed, with some possible solutions given to address these issues. The cost of carbon footprinting and labeling are also discussed, along with their implications on companies implementing carbon footprinting. Finally, suggestions are made for issues to be discussed at the international level with a view to harmonizing the carbon footprinting methodology, as well as to address the specific concerns of developing countries that have a large volume of agriculture-based exports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]