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Every product we use in our daily life emits greenhouse gases during the manufacturing and transportation process, which is called "carbon emission". The global carbon emissions are increasing every year, and the accompanying greenhouse effect is affecting our environment and life step by step. How are carbon emissions calculated? What is Taiwan's carbon emissions ranking in the world? In this article, we will introduce you to the definition of carbon emissions, understand the changes of carbon emissions in the past two years due to the epidemic, and finally provide you with ways to reduce carbon emissions in our daily life, so that we can protect the earth together!

What is carbon emission? The greenhouse gas emissions generated by activities

According to the definition of the Environmental Protection Administration of the Executive Yuan, carbon emissions are "greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly generated by an activity or product". It is called "carbon" emissions because carbon dioxide accounts for about 95% of greenhouse gases, so carbon emissions can also be considered as carbon dioxide emissions. To produce one kilogram of beef, for example, we need to cut down the forest and open up the farmland where they can be raised, and the cattle will produce a lot of methane during the growth process because of regurgitation. And in the food we eat, what are the high carbon emissions food? The following are the top 5 high carbon emitting foods.

Beef: 60 kg of carbon emissions per kilogram

Cheese: 21 kg of carbon emissions per kg

Chocolate: 19 kg of carbon emissions per kg

Coffee: 17 kg of carbon emissions per kg

Shrimp: 12 kg of carbon emissions per kg

The "low carbon food" that has been the talk of the town in recent years is food with a low carbon footprint, including most plant-based foods, such as nuts, vegetables and fruits. If you don't know whether a product is low-carbon or not, you can also look at the carbon label on the package to find out the carbon footprint of the product and purchase products that meet the carbon reduction label.

What is the impact of carbon emissions on the earth? Climate change caused by rising temperatures

An increase in carbon emissions means that the proportion of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will increase, a phenomenon we often hear about as the "greenhouse effect". The greenhouse effect will have the following five effects on the Earth.

The average temperature of the Earth will rise, causing ice sheets and glaciers to melt and sea levels to rise.

Coral reefs will bleach or die as a result of rising seawater temperatures

Climate change, the emergence of abnormal rainstorms, drought phenomenon

High-latitude organisms will face a survival test

Climate change will cause animal migrations and disease spread

What is Taiwan's carbon footprint? World carbon emissions ranking

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) World Energy Report, global carbon emissions in 2020 will be 30.6 billion tons, 8% less than in 2019, the lowest figure in the past 10 years. However, in Taiwan, due to the success of epidemic prevention, carbon emissions have not decreased much, but the rise of outbound delivery platforms has increased the use of motorcycles, thus generating a large amount of carbon emissions. The following table shows the world's carbon emissions ranking in 2019.

2019 World Carbon Emissions Ranking

1

China

2 China

United States

3

EU27+UK

4

India

5 India

Russia

6 Japan

Japan

7 Germany

Germany

8

Iran

9 South Korea

South Korea

10 South Korea

Indonesia

(Source: EU 2020 Carbon Emissions Report)

Taiwan's carbon emissions in 2019 were 276.78 million tons, ranking 24th in the world. The reason for Taiwan's carbon emissions to be in the top class is mainly from the industrial sector, which accounts for about 49% of Taiwan's carbon emissions. On behalf of our daily movement to and from work, the use of electricity in our homes is in fact a small part of the impact on carbon emissions, so let's develop a good habit of "saving the earth"!

(Learn more about the current state of energy in Taiwan: Taiwan Energy Situation Lazer Kit｜Learn about energy policy, energy ratio and the current state of renewable energy)

How to reduce carbon emissions from life? Learn 5 small ways to reduce carbon emissions

Reduce carbon emissions by walking instead of driving

With the birth of the vaccine, it is expected that the epidemic will gradually slow down in 2021 and economic activities will resume as before, so many experts predict that carbon emissions will increase significantly from this year onwards. The following provides you with 5 good ways to reduce carbon emissions on a daily basis.

Eat more local and organic food

Eat less beef and dairy products

Short-distance movement by walking or biking

Turn off lights at all times and use LED bulbs

Install solar panels on the roof of your home

(Did you know that you can earn extra income by installing solar panels? See: Is solar roofing profitable? An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of self-erected solar power)

Pacific Green Energy｜Participate in carbon reduction with you

If you want to participate in carbon reduction, you can also join PGE Pacific Green Energy's solar farming partner, as long as you have unused land or roof, we will set up solar power system for you for free without destroying wildlife habitat. PGE Pacific Green Energy not only does not use herbicides on the farmland, but also regularly measures the condition of the land for you and helps you take care of it for 20 years, and installs solar energy systems that can even generate passive income! Feel free to ask us for more information about green power.

Source: Pacific Green Energy https://blog.pgesolar.com.tw/2021/04/12/%E7%A2%B3%E6%8E%92%E6%94%BE