What is carbon footprint

Carbon footprint is a measure of the impact of human activities on the environment and particularly on climate change. Carbon footprint is (similarly to ecological footprint) an indirect indicator of energy, products, and services for consumption. It measures the number of greenhouse gases which correspond to a specific activity or product. The carbon footprint can be designated at different levels - national, municipal, individual, or at a company and product level.

Climate Change

Climate change is nowadays the most important ecological and in a way a political and economic issue. Rising global temperatures lead to changes in weather, sea levels increase and more frequent occurrence of extreme phenomena such as floods or tornadoes. The consequences of climate change have been already experienced in the Czech Republic. We can expect even more serious consequences, including geopolitical instability in the next century unless the trends do not change.

The reason for climate change is a very rapid increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere.

What are greenhouse gases?

The most important greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (CO2), generated mainly by burning fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas, but also a range of other fuels), as well as an impact on deforestation and other changes in land use. The second most important greenhouse gas is methane (CH4), which is released in many processes (e.g. coal mining or landfill of waste) and in agriculture. Other greenhouse gases included in international inventories are nitrogen monoxide, freons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.