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carbon footprint
Refers to measuring the amount of carbon emissions one is responsible for directly or indirectly. Measuring one’s carbon footprint is an essential step to developing a strategy to reduce emissions as it allows an understanding of which emissions to target and which actions might suit best for the purpose. Individuals, households, businesses, even nations can measure their carbon footprint. There are a number of carbon calculators available to calculate a carbon footprint.
There are generally two types of carbon footprints that are assessed. Using a household as an example:
- A total carbon footprint assesses the total carbon emissions produced from activities and lifestyle inside the home (electricity and gas use, waste, transport fuel use) as well as outside the home (emissions produced from food consumed, goods and services purchased and flights taken).
- More often, a partial carbon footprint of activities at home and air travel is assessed. This is estimated to be around one-third of a person's total carbon footprint.