Greenhouse Gases: Sources

by | Sep 21, 2020 | Article, Climate | 0 comments

Sector by sector: where do global greenhouse gas emissions come from?

The overall picture you see from this diagram is that almost three-quarters of emissions come from energy use; almost one-fifth from agriculture and land use  [this increases to one-quarter when we consider the food system as a whole – including processing, packaging, transport and retail]; and the remaining 8% from industry and waste.

To prevent severe climate change we need to rapidly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The world emits around 50 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases each year [measured in carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq)].

To figure out how we can most effectively reduce emissions and what emissions can eliminated with current technologies, and which can’t, we need to understand first  where our emissions come from.

This diagram shows that almost 3/4 of emissions come from energy use; almost 1/5 from agriculture and land use [this increases to 1/4 when the food system as a whole is considered – including processing, packaging, transport and retail]; and the remaining ~8% from industry and waste.

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