In the face of climate change, calculating your carbon footprint is essential. Online applications and tools help to understand and reduce emissions, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals and promoting a greener future.
The carbon footprint has emerged as a key concept in the context of climate change, reflecting the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted directly or indirectly by individuals, companies, cities or countries.
These gases, which include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are the main contributors to global warming and climate change. The carbon footprint is therefore a representative measure of the environmental impact of human activities, expressed in tonnes of CO2 or its equivalent per year.
In the United States, the average carbon footprint per person is 16 tonnes per year, one of the highest in the world. By comparison, the global average is about 4 tonnes.
To avoid a global temperature rise of 2℃, one of the key targets of international climate agreements, the global average carbon footprint must be reduced to less than 2 tonnes by 2050.
The composition of the carbon footprint includes direct emissions, such as those from burning fossil fuels in vehicles and heating buildings, and indirect emissions associated with the consumption of electricity generated from non-renewable sources. In addition, other activities, such as intensive agriculture, contribute significantly to the emission of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
What about Europe?
The 2023 edition of the report “Consumption Footprint and Domestic footprint: Assessing the environmental impacts of EU consumption and production” reveals important data on the environmental situation in Europe
According to the report, consumption in the European Union (EU) has a greater environmental impact than domestic activities, and imports have a greater impact than exports. This means that the EU contributes significantly to environmental impacts outside its borders.
These impacts are calculated using the Ecological Footprint methodology for 16 categories: climate change, ozone depletion, human toxicity (carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic), particulate matter, ionising radiation – human health, photochemical ozone creation – human health, acidification, eutrophication (terrestrial, freshwater, marine), ecotoxicity – freshwater, land use, water use, resource use – minerals and metals, and resource use – fossil.
Between 2010 and 2018, there was an absolute decoupling between environmental impacts and economic growth in the EU, meaning that environmental impacts decreased despite growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, when considering the impact of trade (consumption footprint), the decoupling is limited, as the decrease in national impacts was offset by the increase in net trade impacts. The consumption footprint increased by 4% over this period, partly due to population growth and rising consumption levels.
The main areas of consumption that generate environmental impacts are food, followed by housing (mainly heating) and mobility (use of private vehicles). Animal products such as meat, dairy and eggs, together with light vehicles and housing in temperate climates, are the main drivers of environmental impacts in these categories.
The consumption footprint is essential for monitoring Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 on responsible production and consumption and is linked to other SDGs such as health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, climate action, life on water and life on land.
Responsible consumption in the EU in the context of planetary boundaries shows that the impact of an average EU citizen exceeds the safe operating space for humanity in several categories. For example, the impact of climate change is nine times higher than the planetary boundary.
How can I calculate my carbon footprint?
Calculating your carbon footprint is an effective way to understand how your daily activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Thanks to online resources and applications such as MyEarth, CO2 tracker, Adva, Klima and Earth Hero, it is possible to roughly calculate your personal or household carbon footprint.
The first step is to keep a close eye on your consumption and daily activities. Information about the size of the home, its energy efficiency and the way it is heated and lit is crucial. Gas bills, for example, show the number of cubic metres used in a year, and a simple formula can be used to convert this into the amount of CO2 emitted.
Electricity bills are more complex. To convert kilowatt-hours used into CO2 emissions, you would need to know exactly how much electricity comes from fossil fuels and how much from renewable sources.
Unless the electricity is generated by your own solar panels, an average is used based on the country’s energy matrix, a common method used by apps and online calculators.
Other important data includes travel habits: number of train and plane journeys, kilometres travelled by car per year, frequency of bus or metro use. The type of food consumed also affects the carbon footprint; eating a lot of meat or large quantities of exotic fruits that travel long distances to reach the consumer significantly increases the footprint. Similarly, choosing individual plastic packaging over large biodegradable packaging has a greater impact. Waste management is another important factor, as separating waste can significantly reduce the carbon footprint compared to disposing of it as a single item.
Finally, online calculators and applications often ask for an estimate of monthly expenditure on non-food purchases, such as clothing, electronic equipment and miscellaneous services. The price of these goods and services is directly related to the energy required to produce them, so it is possible to estimate the average amount of CO2 produced per euro spent in the market.
The end result gives an idea of how ‘virtuous’ our practices are compared to the average of our fellow citizens. According to the European Commission, Italy’s per capita carbon footprint is currently 5.41 tonnes of CO2 per year, below the European average of 6.25 tonnes and significantly lower than that of the United States, where each citizen emits an average of 14.24 tonnes per year. This calculation helps to identify areas where we can improve our daily choices to contribute to a greener planet.
Conclusion
Carbon footprint awareness has emerged as a vital element in the fight against climate change, highlighting the profound impact our daily actions have on the planet. As modern society faces unprecedented challenges related to global warming and environmental degradation, it is imperative to reassess and adapt our lifestyles and consumption patterns.
The data presented, both at global and European level, underline the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Although the European Union has made progress in decoupling environmental impacts from economic growth, there is still a long way to go, especially when the impact of trade and consumption on the environmental footprint is taken into account.
Tools such as online calculators and apps are emerging as allies in this process, enabling individuals to understand and manage their own contribution to the problem. By identifying the main sources of emissions in our daily lives, from food to mobility to energy consumption, we can initiate meaningful changes that collectively have the potential to alter the current course of climate change.
This journey towards significantly reducing our individual and collective carbon footprints not only aligns us with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, but also reinforces our shared responsibility for the health of the planet.
