Carbon foot print and construction industry.

Byline: Nazir Ahmed Shaikh

The greenhouse effect

Climate change has become a considerable concern for humanity during this anthropocentric age. Scientists believe that the rate of global warming and climate change varies directly with the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide. The Greenhouse gases trap heat and make the planet warmer. Human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. The largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities is from burning fossil fuels for electricity, heat and transportation. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere through burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and oil), solid waste, trees and other biological materials, and also as a result of certain chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement). Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle.

Releases carbon dioxide

Emissions or confiscation of CO2, as well as emissions of CH4 and N2O can occur from management of lands in their current use or as lands are converted to other land uses. Carbon dioxide is exchanged between the atmosphere and the plants and soils on land. The cropland is converted into grassland likewise the lands are cultivated for crops or as forests grow. In addition, using biological feed stocks such as energy crops or wood as building materials can lead to emissions.

The Pakistan scenario

Pakistan's GHG profile is dominated by emissions from the energy and agriculture sectors, whose combined emissions total 87% of national GHG emissions. According to the World Resources Institute's Climate Analysis Indicator Tool (WRI CAIT), energy contributes 46% of Pakistan's total annual GHG emissions, of which 26% is attributed to electricity consumption, 25% to manufacturing, 23% to transportation and the remaining 25% to other energy subsectors. Agriculture accounts for 41% of total GHG emissions, of which enteric fermentation is the primary contributor (46%). The land use change and forestry (LUCF) sector contributes 6%, dominated almost entirely by changes in forest land.1 Industrial processes (IP) and waste contribute 5% and 2%, respectively

Impact of construction sector

Urbanization is happening at a higher rate in this era than in any other generation. It was reported that the building sector play sacritical role in the emission of carbondioxide...