Carbon Footprint
Climate change has become one of the major challenges for mankind and the natural environment. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released into the atmosphere in ever rapidly growing volumes are recognised to be responsible for this change.
A carbon footprint is the total set of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions caused directly or indirectly by a person, event or product. For simplicity of reporting, it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide in tonnes (or kg), or its equivalent of other GHGs, emitted.The footprint considers all six of the Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gases: Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Hydrofluorocarbons, Perfluorocarbons and Sulphur hexafluoride.
A carbon footprint is made up of the sum of two parts; the primary footprint is a measure of our direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels including domestic energy consumption & transportation, and secondary footprint is a measure of the indirect CO2 emissions from the whole lifecycle of products we use - those associated with their manufacture and eventual breakdown. The carbon footprint is a very powerful tool to understand the impact of personal behaviour on global warming.
Carbon offsetting
A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In other words, carbon offsetting is the mitigation of carbon footprints through the development of alternative projects, such as solar or wind energy or reforestation, and also represents one of the ways of reducing a carbon footprint. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent and may represent six primary categories of greenhouse gases. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases.