Carbon Watch "EMPOWER IAS"

In news:

• Chandigarh became the first state or UT in India to launch Carbon Watch, a mobile application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.

 

Carbon Footprint

• A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, or product, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
• It corresponds to the whole amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) produced to, directly and indirectly; support a person’s lifestyle and activities.
• Carbon footprints are usually measured in equivalent tons of CO2, during the period of a year, and they can be associated with an individual, an organization, a product or an event, among others.
• The GHGs whose sum results in a carbon footprint can come from the production and consumption of fossil fuels, food, manufactured goods, materials, roads or transportation.

 

What is Carbon Watch App?

• It is a mobile application to assess the carbon footprint of an individual.
• Carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases-especially carbon dioxide-released into the atmosphere by a particular human activity.
• The app can be accessed by everyone but it has specific options for the residents of Chandigarh to compile a detail study.
• The user will need to fill details in four parts- Water, Energy, Waste Generation and Transport (Vehicular movement).
• In the category of Water, the person will be required to inform about the consumption of water.
• In the Energy category, the details regarding the electricity units consumed every month at the house, monthly bill etc. and usage of solar energy will have to be furnished.
• In the Waste category, the individual will need to inform about the waste generation on their part and their family.
• In the Transport section, the individual will have to inform about the mode of transport used by them- four wheeler, two-wheeler or bicycle.

 

Significance of Carbon Watch App

• It would help in making the people Climate-Smart Citizens while making them capable of accessing their carbon footprint.
• The application will help the government to make a strategy for Chandigarh.
• It will help in analysing the average ratio of Chandigarh in the national and world emission.