Climate change 101

 

What is climate change?

Climate change, also known as global warming, is one of the most important environmental issues facing the planet.  Climate change is caused by increasing levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our atmosphere—the most abundant of which is carbon dioxide (CO2).  Some of the primary causes of climate change are fossil fuel combustion, aerosols, cement production, and deforestation.  Since much of the energy we consume comes from the combustion of fossil fuels, every time we travel by car or airplane, grow or consume food, use a gas stove, or throw organic waste into the trash, we contribute to climate change.

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What are the main greenhouse gases?

There are many different types of greenhouse gasses but there are a few principle greenhouse gases that enter the atmosphere due to human activities: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and fluorinated gases (e.g. HFCs, PFCs).  As such, these are the gasses that are most commonly accounted for in GHG inventories.

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How are greenhouse gases measured?

Although there are several types of greenhouse gases, they are typically measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) for simplicity’s sake.  All gases are converted to equivalent amounts of CO2 based on their global warming potential.

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What is global warming potential?

Global warming potential (GWP) is the ability of a gas to trap heat in the atmosphere.  Each gas contributes to the “greenhouse effect” by a different magnitude so assigning a GWP value for each gas provides a common unit for all greenhouse gases.  This is important for comparing the impacts of GHG emissions and reductions of different gases.

Since carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas, it has a GWP of 1 and other gases are measured in terms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).  Methane’s GWP is 21, which means that the effect of one tonne of methane (CH4) released into the atmosphere is 21 times more powerful than that of one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2).

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What is the ‘greenhouse effect’?

The ‘greenhouse effect’ is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences due to certain gases (i.e. water vapour, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane) trapping solar radiation in the Earth’s atmosphere.  Sunlight enters the Earth’s atmosphere, passes through a blanket of greenhouse gasses, and is absorbed by the Earth’s surface.  Some of this energy is reflected back into the atmosphere—however, this energy is increasingly becoming trapped in the atmosphere due to human caused greenhouse gasses, which causes an increase in global temperatures.

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What are the effects of climate change?

While the effects of climate change on any particular region can vary over time, some effects include:

  • Rising global temperature
  • Changing weather patterns: increased frequency and intensity of heat waves and drought, flash floods, flooding, loss of crop productivity
  • Melting glaciers: reduced snow cover
  • Increasing desertification
  • Rising sea levels: coastal flooding, increased erosion
  • Biodiversity loss: species extinction
  • Increasing incidence of insect-borne disease, and transmission to new areas

Many of these effects threaten freshwater supplies and contribute to food scarcity.  Though no region is spared the effects of climate change, some of the hardest hit areas are in the developing world, which also have the fewest resources for coping with the effects of climate change.

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How does climate change affect my business?

For businesses, climate change can be a reputation risk: high emitters face pressure to reduce emissions.  For example, companies that rely heavily upon transportation to get goods to market may face both rising costs and consumer pressure to make business practices more sustainable.

Forward-looking firms and organizers can seize new opportunities by addressing the climate impact of the business or event. 

See Offsetters’ Advisory Services   page to find out more about how Offsetters can help your business face these new challenges and benefit from emerging opportunities.

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What is a carbon footprint?

A “carbon footprint” (a.k.a. a carbon inventory, carbon audit, or GHG inventory) is an assessment of all greenhouse gases (GHGs) being emitted by a person or business in a specific time period (usually a year).  The most commonly used standards for conducting carbon footprints are the World Resource Institute’s Greenhouse Gas (WRI GHG) Protocol and the International Standards Organization (ISO) 14064 standard. 

All of Offsetters’ GHG inventories are completed according to the most rigorous industry standards including the WRI GHG Protocol and ISO 14064.  We calculate emissions using the most up-to-date data from power suppliers, government, and academic research.

When working with businesses, we work with all levels of the organization to identify opportunities for internal reductions, such as making changes in supply chain, selecting alternative fuels, or even simple changes such as printing double-sided on recycled paper!  Once changes are implemented, we continue to work with businesses to track their year-over-year progress towards reduction targets. 

If businesses or individuals want to purchase carbon offsets of offset their carbon footprint, we provide them with the opportunity to purchase offsets that are of the highest quality.

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Carbon: The numbers

  • In Canada, carbon emissions grew 26.2% from 1990 to 2005
  • A return flight from Vancouver to Toronto emits 1.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per person
  • A return flight from Vancouver to London, England emits 3.5 tonnes of CO2e per person
  • Driving 20,000 km in small passenger vehicle emits 3.2 tonnes of CO2e
  • A family of 4 travelling from Chicago to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Games, going to three events, and staying five nights in a hotel produced 4.75 tonnes of CO2e
  • Including the food we eat, the average Canadian produces 18 tonnes of carbon a year
  • The average emissions of a spectator to the 2010 Winter Games was 0.3 tonnes
  • Just standing still produces 350 kg of carbon a year
  • Carbon produces 44% of the radiative forcing that causes global warming
  • 85% of carbon comes from the combustion of fossil fuels

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