Have you ever heard of the Carbon Footprint? This expression, based on the English footprint, is gaining more prominence every day, and actually means the calculation of the total emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). This account is related to emissions arising from the manufacture, use and disposal of products or services. In summary: Carbon Footprint refers to the amount of carbon emitted by people, companies or type of activity. They are like carbon trails that we leave every day on our planet and impact the environment.
Just to understand in numbers, in the United States, currently, the carbon footprint of each person, on average, is 16 tons per year. The ideal is that by the year 2050 this number drops to a maximum of 2 tons per year for each inhabitant, on average. Only in this way will we be able to prevent the increase in the global average temperature from reaching 2°C by the end of this century.
In Brazil, the average is 7.5 tons of carbon (CO2) per year.
It's quite a challenge, especially if we think that by 2050, the planet should surpass the mark of 9.5 billion inhabitants.
But how do we affect the Carbon Footprint?
In an interview with the UOL website, Francyne Elias-Piera, PhD in environmental science from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, explains: “Almost everything we do releases carbon dioxide (CO2) or some other greenhouse gas that contains carbon, like riding in a car, charge the cell phone and turn on the television. The manufacturing or life cycle of a service or product, from manufacturing to its use and disposal, also leaves a carbon footprint, as it releases greenhouse gases at each stage.”
And how to reduce this emission?
Reducing the Carbon Footprint has a lot to do with changing the daily habits of the population. Reducing red meat consumption is one of those habits. This is because cattle are responsible for a high percentage of gas emissions into the atmosphere. The option for means of transport that are not derived from fossil fuels also collaborates in this sense, as well as avoiding the use of plastic bags.
Practices such as conscientious consumption - not buying more than necessary, also help to reduce the Carbon Footprint.
As the world's population grows, so does the need to rethink our habits. Today, the planet produces fewer natural resources than we use. If we make a relationship with a bank account, it is as if we are constantly in the negative, owing to the planet.
And this is not the world we want to leave for future generations.
Therefore, we need to improve our pace, so that we are not suffocated by our carbon footprint.