Rural and Urban Household Carbon Footprint: A Comparative Study, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Rural and Urban Household Carbon Footprint: A Comparative Study, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Household emission is a significant contributor to total emission in the atmosphere. Household emission is measured in terms of Per Capita Carbon Footprint. Carbon Footprint can be defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly by any individual or organization from its activities and it is expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂e). From the latest report of JRC, 2020 per capita global average of CO₂ emission in 2019 was 4.93 tCO₂ tonne/Per Year and in India it was 1.9 tCO₂ tonne/Per Year. In this backdrop the objectives of the article are: i) to measure the activity wise household carbon footprint of the sample households, and ii) to compare the activity wise carbon footprint of rural and urban households during the study period.  Household Per Capita Carbon Footprint has been calculated using the emission factors of different components. From the study it is observed that maximum amount of emission generates from cooking activities for rural households and from food activities for urban households. Per Capita Carbon Footprint of rural household is 0.6071 tCO₂e tonne/Per Year and 0.5119 tCO₂e tonne/Per Year for urban household.

Key words: Carbon footprint, household emission, global warming, fossil fuels, emission factor etc.