Carbon Credits for Common Man

Abstract

Environmental imbalances are the biggest challenges that the world is currently subjected to. There is an immense need for the creation of Eco-friendly zones for the better cause of the mankind and wellbeing of one and all on our “One Earth”. The need of the hour is to throw light on the social awareness concept with regard to the prevention of the environment degradation. The “Carbon Credit” is the new currency and each carbon credit represents one ton of Carbon dioxide either removed from the atmosphere or saved from being emitted. Carbon credits have been a topic in the high society and industrial community these days, but it is equally applicable to a common man who can get credits due to his altered life styles and his practices. According to “Patrick Gonzalez”, a Nature Conservancy climate scientist each, person can make a difference because one small positive act multiplied millions of times produces immense benefits. In this paper it is discussed and highlighted how a common man can earn Carbon credits with minimum effort. The study examines the life styles of citizens in selected communities along with the domestic energy audit in Indian context. Keywords— Climate change, Carbon footprint, Carbon offsets, Carbon credits, Emissions, Greenbelt, Greenhouse gases (GHGs), Sequestration, Sustainability INTRODUCTION The growth of population is a major factor behind climate change today. Human-caused climate change is fundamentally an imbalance of scale, as people release heattrapping gases called green house gases (GHGs) into earth’s atmosphere faster than the oceans and living beings can sequester them. This imbalance is due to the combustion of fossil fuels since the late 1700s and the more than sevenfold increase in human numbers since that time. According to the latest on-site measurements by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, global atmospheric Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations reached 409.65 parts per million (ppm) in May 2017 from 280 ppm from pre-industrial times. The upper safety limit for atmospheric CO2 is 350 ppm. Atmospheric CO2 levels have stayed higher than 350 ppm since early 1988[4]. A “carbon credit” is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one ton of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a Carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) to one ton of carbon dioxide [5]. The idea for carbon credits came from the Kyoto Protocol of 1997 an international agreement between 169 countries. This is placing a monetary value on the cost of polluting the air. A credit is a measure representing one metric ton (a mass equal to 1,000 kilograms) of carbon dioxide. This is either saved from being emitted or removed from the earth's atmosphere. Carbon credits create a market for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by giving a monetary value to the cost of polluting the air. Carbon credits and Carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of GHGs. Credits are awarded to countries or groups that have reduced their GHGs below their emission quota. Carbon credits can be traded at international market at their current market price. These credits need to be authentic, scientifically based and verification is essential. For example, if an environmentalist group plants enough trees to reduce emissions by one ton, the group will be awarded a credit. If a steel producer has an emissions quota of 10 tons, but is expecting to produce 11 tons, it could purchase this carbon credit from the environmental group. The Carbon credit system looks to reduce emissions by having countries honor their emission quotas and offer incentives for being below them. Another important factor is that most of the individuals who are unconcerned about their contribution to the GHG emissions are leading to the harmful climatic changes. Yet, there are many things each of population, as individuals, can do to reduce one’s carbon emissions. The choices that are made in the houses, in the itinerary, the food and the left outs after the parties all influence one’s Carbon footprint and if stringent measures are taken up and implemented strictly can ensure a stable climate for future generations. Non-govt. organizations (NGOs) can make this dream true. There is now widespread political and scientific acknowledgment that reduction of GHG emissions has to be a major public policy focus at both national and international levels [6].