Carbon Dioxide
17-11-2024
11:37 AM
1 min read
Overview:
India’s carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels are expected to increase by 4.6% in 2024, the highest among major economies, according to a new report by Global Carbon Project.
About Carbon Dioxide:
- It is a colourless gas having a faint sharp odour and a sour taste.
- It is an important heat-trapping gas, also known as a greenhouse gas.
- It comes from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels (such as coal, oil, and natural gas), from wildfires, and natural processes like volcanic eruptions.
- It is one of the most important greenhouse gas (GHG) in the atmosphere and is the primary driver of anthropogenic climate change.
- The presence of the gas in the atmosphere keeps some of the radiant energy received by Earth from being returned to space, thus producing the so-called greenhouse effect.
- Carbon dioxide is used as a refrigerant, in fire extinguishers, for inflating life rafts and life jackets, blasting coal, foaming rubber and plastics, promoting the growth of plants in greenhouses, immobilizing animals before slaughter, and in carbonated beverages.
- Studies have shown that CO2 has contributed more than any driver to climate change.
- It is much more abundant in the atmosphere compared to CH4 and HFCs.
- CO2 remains in the atmosphere longer than the other major GHGs emitted due to human activities.
- After a pulse of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere, 40% will remain in the atmosphere for 100 years and 20% will reside for 1000 years, while the final 10% will take 10,000 years to turn over,” a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a US-based non-profit organisation
Q1: What is the greenhouse effect?
It is the process through which heat is trapped near Earth's surface by substances known as 'greenhouse gases.'