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Dominating causes of carbon emissions have been discovered as mostly commercial. It has come to attention that dramatic changes predominantly In the farming industry throughout New Zealand via proactive government policies, are required in order to reach national and international climate change goals. Christchurch has been identified as an ideal candidate for an environmental reform which other cities should be urged to mimic. Introduction: The purpose of this report is to develop a better understanding and insight into issues surrounding carbon emissions. I will firstly calculate my own carbon footprint rom the recent months passed.
This will give me an indication of factors that contribute to an Individual’s carbon footprint, alongside what my carbon footprint Is In comparison to the average New Zealander. I will then look Into the Implications of such results. Average carbon footprints on a household scale and national scale must be analysed. Methods in which total emissions can be reduced should be considered and therefore it Is only logical that subjects such as national and International climate change targets (and the current pollcles Induced at present In an effort to meet these targets) will be looked at in depth.
This report is overview of climate change and its implications and the necessary procedures that could be undertaken In order to reduce carbon emissions on multiple geographical scales. Calculations: There are two options for carbon calculators which I could use for calculating my personal footprint: CarboNZero Calculator and the UK National Energy Foundation Calculator. I will be using the CarboNZero Calculator as I feel It takes more factors into account when recording data to process into carbon emissions and therefore a more accurate reading.
For example CarboNZero enquires about the amount of ubbish/waste the household emits whereas the UK NEF Calculator asks how many bedrooms there are In the house and forms an estimate from that which Is far less accurate. However UK NEF holds the strength In which Is accommodates for both household and individual calculations. It also records my data in units of 1 OF5 commonly used in New Zealand i. e. Kilograms, Litres, and New Zealand Dollars. The UK National Energy Foundation Carbon Calculator uses units commonly used in the United Kingdom such as tonnes, miles and British Pound.
Overall the CarboNZero calculator accommodates better for New Zealand energy users as it uses information hat is easier to generate. Finally, the CarboNZero can calculate exact carbon emissions on not only an annual basis but also a monthly basis, which in this assignment is required. Results: * For the month spanning February to March, the calculated household footprint Nas 347. 71 (Kg C02 -e). This gave me an individual carbon footprint of 1 15. 903 (Kg C02 -e). * For the month spanning April to May, the calculated household footprint Nas 330. 02 (Kg C02 -e).
This gave me an individual carbon footprint of 110. 006 (Kg C02 -e). It was unexpected that the month spanning February/March had high arbon emissions than that of April/May. This year’s average temperatures for February/March in Palmerston North (where the house from which calculations were made is located) were as assumed warmer than that of April/May (according to Nww. metservice. com) so the difference in energy use can’t be a result of household heating. Therefore the reason must be a result of the number of members staying in the household at the time.
During the period spanning February/March there were in fact more people using the houses facilities than in April/May while not necessarily living in the household. This could have in turn increased the overall energy usage. rhe Implications ro best understand the issues surrounding carbon emissions and climate change we need to put information into perspective. Figure 1 illustrates the changes in carbon dioxide emissions over time and also average emissions per capita. From 1980 – 2006, the average emission per capita of carbon dioxide was 9. 8 million metric tonnes. That can be converted to 9. 38 billion (Kg C02 -e). This means that the average New Zealander was emitting 31506410 (kg C02 -e) on average per month, Nhich when looking at my own individual carbon emissions calculations seems nlikely as consumers from the household sector are using small proportions of the full carbon emissions per capita. If you look at figure 2 you can see that the commercial sector such as agriculture and industrial processes make up the domination proportions of total greenhouse gases emitted in New Zealand.