{"id":28017,"title":"Carbon Emissions \u2013 Where\u2019s the problem?","link":"https:\/\/bst-europe.eu\/de\/globalization\/carbon-emissions-wheres-the-problem\/","date":"22. April 2021","date_unix":1619102362,"date_modified_unix":1687521188,"date_iso":"2021-04-22T14:39:22+00:00","content":"

Part 2 in our \u2013 Putting a price on carbon series<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The reason for the trend toward pricing carbon<\/a> is the negative effect of the rise of carbon emissions on the environment and society. In this second entry of our blog post series \u201cPutting a price on carbon,\u201d we go a bit more into the details of this problem. <\/em><\/p>\n

Why focus on carbon dioxide emissions?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The impact of greenhouse gases on warming the atmosphere depends on two factors: The higher the 1) ability of a gas to absorb long-wave radiation and the higher its 2) concentration in the atmosphere, the bigger its contribution to the greenhouse effect.<\/p>\n

The level of concentration in the atmosphere is a function of the rate of release and its persistence in the atmosphere. While water vapor makes up for most of the volume of all greenhouse gases, it remains in the atmosphere only for several days, and humans can do little to reduce its concentration.<\/p>\n

To the contrary, carbon dioxide can remain there for years or even decades, humans can do much to lower these emissions, and it is much more prevalent than methane and nitrous oxides.<\/p>\n

1. What is the human-made greenhouse effect?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The greenhouse gas effect is a process that keeps heat within the atmosphere of the earth and warms its surface. As a result, it makes the earth a habitable planet where life can flourish.<\/p>\n

There are two types of greenhouse effects: a natural one and a human-made (anthropogenic) one. The natural one results mostly from the evaporation of water from the world\u2019s oceans which cover about 70 percent of the earth\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

The human-made greenhouse gas effect results from activities that emit additional greenhouse gases. Humans create an enhanced greenhouse effect which adds to the natural one and reinforces it, causing further global warming.<\/p>\n

2. Which gases contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The most prevalent human-caused greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2<\/sub>). It makes up about three-quarters of total emissions [Global Emissions | Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (c2es.org)<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases are also contributing greenhouse gases. To arrive at the total volume of greenhouse gas emissions \u2013 and measure the total human impact \u2013 the individual volumes are all translated into CO2 equivalents (CO2<\/sub>e).<\/p>\n

Since the start of the industrial revolution, the volume of these gases has increased tremendously \u2013 both in total and per capita. In 2016, these greenhouse gases added up to almost 50 billion metric tons of CO2<\/sub>e emitted annually.<\/p>\n

3. What are the ecological consequences of the enhanced greenhouse effect?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some of the most important ecological consequences are:<\/p>\n