Foundation Studio

Environment and Climate Change

Module-3
Technology and Behavior Solutions

Day-11
Carbon Credits and Carbon Footprint
“Climate change is one of the most critical challenge faced ever by human kind.”

Supratim Das Gupta, Deepak Verma

Kunal Mankodi, Sutapa Mukherji
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 Morning Session
Topics to be discussed

❑ GHG emissions and CO2 emissions

❑ What is a Carbon credit? What is Carbon Trading?
❑ What are the different means of earning Carbon
Credit?
❑ What is carbon footprint? How to calculate
carbon footprint of an individual, household or an
organization.

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 Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Effect
 Human activities - Industrial Revolution (1750) - 45%
increase - atmospheric concentration of CO 2-from
280 ppm in 1750 to 406 ppm in early 2017.
 GHG cause climate change - trapping heat - contribute to
pollution (water, land, and air pollution).
 Harmful GHGs - Carbon dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4),
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), Nitrous oxide (N 2O)

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 GHG Emissions
Carbon Dioxide Makes Up Most, but Not All, Greenhouse Gas Emissions
(WRI, 2017) --
“Carbon dioxide (CO2) comprises 74% of greenhouse gas emissions. Most CO2
emissions (89%) are from the use of fossil fuels, especially for generation of
electricity and heat, transportation, and manufacturing and consumption. Land
use, land-use change and forestry is another major contributor (7%) to human-
made CO2 emissions, mostly due to deforestation.
Methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) make up 17% and 6.2% of total
greenhouse gas emissions, respectively, mostly from agriculture, waste
treatment and gas flaring. Fluorinated gases (comprised of HFCs, PFCs, SF6
and NF3) from industrial processes make up 2% of global emissions. These
gases are much more potent than CO2 in terms their global warming potential,
and often provide overlooked opportunities for mitigation.”

❑ We would study building/manufacturing, electricity and power production and

transport trends in CO2 emissions for countries
❑ GHG emissions need to be reduced rapidly to keep increase in global
temperatures at less than 2 degrees Celsius

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 Carbon Emissions
❑ Global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel and combustion increased by 0.9% in 2019
as compared to 1.9% in 2018 reaching a total of 38.0 Gt CO2 in 2019
❑ The world’s largest CO2 emitters—China, India, USA, Russia, Japan and the EU27
and UK (accounting for more than half of the world’s population, more than 60%
of global GDP) accounted for 67% of global fossil CO2 in 2019

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 7

 Carbon Emissions (MtCO2/yr)
MtCo 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2/yr
IND-b 167.91 150.64 163.60 160.16 171.15 173.41 180.35 189.61 199.8541 204.0527

IND-p 789.75 833.52 921.84 932.43 1045.30 1066.71 1067.41 1120.58 1191.66 1197.643

IND-t 191.28 207.21 219.24 223.73 232.82 254.52 269.93 284.11 298.2112 306.8255

CHN-
b 572.97 605.36 630.86 662.88 675.21 702.87 711.11 739.31 771.7819 804.3804

CHN-
p 3619.98 4065.73 4154.02 4394.36 4403.31 4395.70 4343.87 4409.13 4457.754 4569.016

CHN-t 581.55 634.76 698.39 753.24 781.54 836.80 862.69 895.82 937.8515 986.4537

USA-
b 596.28 579.79 535.58 594.64 618.93 578.62 582.20 571.57 620.562 635.0674

USA-
p 2345.84 2245.82 2116.62 2128.33 2125.48 1984.54 1886.82 1844.07 1852.879 1699.819

USA-t 1675.55 1654.48 1691.98 1688.48 1721.51 1752.18 1760.06 1749.58 1792.496 1788.255

RUS-
b 150.63 155.85 136.56 136.56 155.78 163.98 162.12 166.59 174.168 172.0318

RUS-
p 891.81 956.12 Day-11 (Module-3)
946.94 907.99 Environment
840.98 and Climate805.14
811.73 Change 815.13 851.8248 840.3989 8
 Carbon Emissions (MtCO2/yr)
Manufacturing & Construction Electricity
900.00 5000
800.00 4500
700.00 4000
600.00 3500
3000
500.00
2500
400.00
2000
300.00 1500
200.00 1000
100.00 500
0.00 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

IND CHN USA RUS JAP IND CHN USA RUS JAP

Transport Total Emissions

2000 7000
1800
6000
1600
1400 5000
1200 4000
1000
800 3000
600 2000
400
1000
200
0 0
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

IND CHN USA RUS JAP India China USA Russia Japan

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 9

 Carbon Emissions
❑ There have been positive signs though in recent years
and especially after the pandemic
❑Better energy choices and decrease in global energy demand--
change in global fossil CO2 emissions in 2019 compared to 2018:
USA (-2.6%), Japan (-2.1%); India (1.6%), China (3.4%) [Crippa et
al. Fossil CO2 emissions of all world countries - 2020 Report]
❑IEA (2020), Global Energy Review 2020, IEA, Paris:
❑Global energy demand in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1 2020) declined by
3.8%, or 150 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe), relative to the first
quarter of 2019, reversing all the energy demand growth of 2019.
❑Significant decline in electricity demand (natural gas/coal), industrial
production, demand for oil (transportation and air travel) and fuel oil
(shipping)

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 10

 Carbon Emissions
❑Renewable energy demand increased by about 1.5% in Q1 2020,
lifted by the additional output of new wind and solar projects
that were completed over the past year. In most cases,
renewables receive priority in the grid and are not asked to
adjust their output to match demand, insulating them from the
impacts of lower electricity demand. As a result, the share of
renewables in the electricity generation mix rose considerably,
with record-high hourly shares of variable renewables in
Belgium, Italy, Germany, Hungary and eastern parts of the US.

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Has the world done NOTHING
about it?

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 International Agreements for Climate Change
❑ UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC 1992)
❑ is an international environmental treaty adopted in
1992 (earth summit in Rio) (197 countries)
❑ Reduce GHG emissions to prevent climate change
❑ Limits on GHG for individual countries (through
negotiations) ; contains no enforcement mechanisms

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 India’s INDC (2030 targets)
❑ To reduce the GHG emissions by 33 to 35% by 2030
from 2005 level.
❑ 40% electric power from non-fossil fuels by 2030
❑ Create additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion
tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additional forest
and tree cover by 2030.
❑ Cleaner and Sustainable Economic Development
❑ adapt to climate change by enhancing investments in
sectors vulnerable to climate change - agriculture,
water resources, coastal regions, health and disaster
management
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 What is a Carbon Credit ?
❑ UNFCCC mechanism to monitor and control GHG
emissions (Kyoto Protocol) of countries and industries
❑ tradable certificate or permit representing the right to
pollute / emit 1 ton of CO2 in atmosphere.
❑ It can be traded/sold, if the full allowance is not used.
❑ Each industry in the country is given a quota (Upper
Cap) (Govt. or regulatory body)

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 What is Carbon Trading?

2 tons
extra

2 tons
less

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 18

 Carbon Trading Example-1
❑ Company A has a cap of 10 tons but produces 12 tons of
emissions.
❑ Company B also has an emission cap of 10 tons but
emits only 8 tons, resulting in a surplus of 2 credits. 
❑ Company A will purchase the additional 2 credits from
Company B to remain in compliance. 
❑ Without buying those carbon credits, Company A would
face penalties. By raising the fines, Regulators make
credits more valuable in the cap-and-trade market.
❑ Or create incentive for companies to invest in clean
technology
Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 19
 Carbon Trading Exercise/Activity
• Problem - Try to find a better scenario with cost savings, by
carbon trading between Company-A and Company-B
• Cap and trade – Total emissions of CO2 should remain same
4 tons
  Company-A Company-B
Emission of CO2 in tons 3 3
Limit in tons 2 2
Cost of reducing 1 ton Rs. 5 Rs. 16

TOTAL COST
WITHOUT TRADING Rs. 21
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How countries maintain their Carbon Credits ?
❑ International public registry–maintained by UNFCCC
❑ Each country is assigned as ‘caps’ or ‘quota’ for GHGs
emissions - maintained in country’s national registry
(monitored by UNFCCC)
❑ In turn, Countries set QUOTAS on the emissions of by
local business and other organizations (operator)
❑ International 🡪 National quota 🡪 Local Industry quota

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 Carbon Trading Markets
• National or regional carbon trading schemes are now operational in
Europe, USA, New Zealand and elsewhere.
• In India
– Renewable Energy Certificate Trading Programme (REC)
• One REC is treated equivalent to 1 MWh of electricity (solar and non-solar RECs)
• Usually valid for about 3 years
• RE generators can i) either to sell the renewable energy at preferential tariff or ii)
to sell electricity generation and environmental attributes associated with RE
generations separately.
• Issued to RE generators and distribution licensees. Can be bought and sold only
at CERC approved power exchanges
• Companies who sign up to take part in the REC program must source up to 14% of
their energy from renewable sources or buy RECs to make up for the difference.
• Government has set minimum price and offers greater investment returns
– Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 24

 CDMs
❑ The industries of already developed nations invest in developing
and underdeveloped nations industries to reduce their carbon
emission by means of using Renewables or by means of
afforestation or reforestation. Giving technology transfers which
are optimized to reduce GHG’s.
❑ ‘Clean Development Mechanisms’ (CDMs) allows emission-
reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified
emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of
CO2.
❑ One of the earliest CDM projects approved for Refrigerant-gas
manufacturer Gujarat Fluoro-Chemicals based in Vadodara,
Gujarat
❑ By the end of 2012, India had 2784 CDM projects registered with
the UNFCCC, taken together; the projects claim to reduce a
whopping 722,827,037 tons of CO2 eq.
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 Carbon Trading Markets

https://www.risk.net/market-access/energy/7739636/2021-brings-big
-changes-to-the-carbon-market-landscape

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Green – ETS, Blue- Carbon Tax,
Yellow – ETS or Carbon tax,
Patterns-Both

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 27

 Limitations of Carbon Credits and trading
❑ GHG emissions have increased
❑ Success depends on monitoring and enforcement at
national and state levels (Ministries of Environment,
Forest and Climate Change)
❑ Carbon credit market not developed in India and
several other countries
❑ Carbon tax by many countries (per ton of CO2) E.g.
India recent budget – Rs 400 from earlier Rs. 200
❑ Developed country companies - off the hook- when
they can simply move their carbon-intensive
industries offshore to nations not covered by the
protocol
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Other than Carbon Credit Markets,
how else can credits be earned?

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 What is a Carbon Offset?

https://newsstand.clemson.edu/mediarelations/south-carolina-forest-landowners-learn-about-carbon-market/

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 What is a Carbon Offset?
❑ Bamboo afforestation projects help in carbon offset to
generate carbon credit
❑ bamboo- high renewability, fast growth and sustainable harvest

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 31

 The Amazon and Carbon Sink
❑ The Amazon rainforest is frequently referred to as the “lungs of
the planet - a carbon sink, draining heat-trapping carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere.
❑ Fires in the Amazon not only mean the carbon-absorbing forest
is disappearing, but the flames themselves are emitting millions
of tons of carbon every day.
❑ The rainforest recycles its own water to produce a portion of
the region’s rain, so deforestation makes rains less frequent,
extending the dry season.
❑ ”WHAT IS CAUSING THE FIRES? The current fires in the Amazon
are not wildfires.
❑ They are manmade and are mostly set illegally by landgrabbers
who are clearing the forest for cattle ranching and crops.

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 32

 What is Carbon Footprint ?
❑ is defined as the total GHG emissions caused by an
individual, organization, event/product (Usually
expressed in tons of CO2)
❑ Direct source - E.g. When you drive a bike/car, the
engine burns fuel which emits a certain amount of
CO2
❑ Indirect source - When you use light/fan/AC, the
electricity consumed, is generated using coal based
thermal power station, which emits CO2.
❑ When you produce or consume food, CO2 is emitted
❑ Standards and guidelines to measure – GHG protocol,
ISO 14064
Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 33
 Individual Carbon Footprint
❑ All the resources and energy consumed by your
activities every day
1. Usage at home – cooking (LPG/PNG), appliances
and electricity
2. Food that you eat – different food have different
emissions
3. Transportation – petrol car, diesel car, taxi, bus
4. Usage at university/office – AC, lights, laptop

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 34

 Domain implications
 Constitution and Civilization:
 Ethics/Morality of an organization / Politician
 Behaviour:
 Behavioural constraints and why planned deliverables (e.g. Kyoto Protocol) in certain
areas have failed
 Materials:
 Selection of the material (bamboo) for a particular use (afforestation) based on
properties (quick growth) and cost  
 Data Science:
 Afternoon activities
 Communication:
 Afternoon activities

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 35

 Afternoon Session Activity

❑ Data assessment - Calculation of carbon

footprint of Individual, Household, or an
Organization
❑ Study of impacts resulting from COVID on global
and Indian climate
❑ Dispersion of daily data and find basic statistics
such as Mean, SD -- comparing the COVID-19
months

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 36

 Afternoon Session Activity
❑ Air Quality Index (AQI), Ambient Temperature,
Humidity and Wind Speed profiles

❑ Plotting the temperature, wind speed, humidity

and AQI as a function of months.
❑ Also plot the AQI as a function of different
parameters (e.g temp, wind speed, and humidity
and comment on the AQI dependence on these
parameters).

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 37

❑ Now take three months, January, April and
November. Plot AQI, temperature, wind speed
and humidity as a function of days for each of
three months. Calculate the mean and standard
deviation and see what is the effect of lockdown
time.

Day-11 (Module-3) Environment and Climate Change 38

 References
1. https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/
2. Carbon Credits - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_credit
https://www.fern.org/fileadmin/uploads/fern/Documents/FERN_designedtofail_interne
t_0.pdf
3. Kyoto Protocol https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol
4. Carbon credit trading -
https://unfccc.int/process/the-kyoto-protocol/mechanisms/emissions-trading
5. Carbon credit registry - https://unfccc.int/process/the-kyoto-protocol/registry-systems
6. What are carbon credits?
7. https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/carbon-credits.php
8. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/carbon_credit.asp
9. How to calculate carbon foot print
10. https://greencleanguide.com/calculate-your-carbon-footprint/
11. GHG tools, http://www.ghgprotocol.org/calculation-tools/alltools
12. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46459714
13. https://www.carbonfootprint.com/measure.html
14. https://www.icicibank.com/go-green/carbon-world-day/indexef62.html
15. https://www.carbonindependent.org/
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