Today, carbon emission is an important problem that scientists are trying to solve. Carbon emission is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas emitted into the atmosphere. Tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere naturally. The biggest source of natural carbon emissions is the carbon dioxide exchange between the oceans and the atmosphere. Humans, animals and plants emit carbon dioxide during the respiratory process. Along with these, while animals and plants that die in nature mix with the soil, carbon dioxide mixes into the atmosphere again. However, these are all natural carbon emissions, and nature has been maintaining this balance for millions of years.
Increasing carbon emissions in our atmosphere since the industrial revolution, along with other greenhouse gases, have been the main actor of global warming and environmental crises. The main cause of natural events and disasters that are not normally seen in our own geography and in different parts of the world are also the changes in the climate due to carbon emissions.
What is Carbon Emission and Why Is It Important?
Carbon emissions are essentially part of the balance of nature and highly necessary. Many biological interactions produce carbon, from the exhalation of animals to their mixing with the soil. We can also think of this carbon as a nutrient that plants use for photosynthesis because photosynthesis is basically the plants taking up carbon dioxide from nature and releasing it back as oxygen. Let's not forget that most of the carbon in the world is not above ground, but underground.
However, we are also the ones who take carbon emissions out of being a part of the balance of nature. The use of fossil fuels is basically removing the carbon that should be underground. Nature has a hard time balancing the high amount of carbon that we unearth through fossil fuels. When we add the fact that we cut the forests to undertake this function and use them as industrial materials or settlements, we face a different situation. In doing so, we both increase the carbon above ground in unnatural ways and reduce the number of plants that will convert this carbon into oxygen.
So if carbon is a part of nature, what's the bad news of being above ground? Carbon, together with other greenhouse gases (such as methane, nitrous oxide, fluorine gas), creates a greenhouse effect in our atmosphere, as the name suggests, causes the sun's rays, which must hit the earth and return to space, to remain in the atmosphere. This unnatural and mostly man-made cycle is the main reason for global warming, melting glaciers and rising sea levels, which we often hear. Although carbon emission is a natural process, it triggers the climate crisis as it is today.
What are the Causes of Carbon Emission and Greenhouse Gas Increase?
When we look at the world's millions of years of history, we see that carbon emissions and greenhouse gases increase from time to time. However, the real cause of the unnatural carbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions we are talking about today is again human and its industrial development practices. The fact that the main raw material in terms of energy is fossil fuels, and the gradual reduction of living things that will turn carbon into oxygen in forests and seas are the work done by one's own hand. Of course, industrial development and creating added value is one of the imperatives of our modern world, but it is not impossible to do this without increasing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, although it is more difficult. In other words, the Sustainable Development discourse we hear from different media is based on this.
Sectors Affecting Carbon Emissions
We can group the main sectors that affect carbon emissions into five categories, respectively, as a percentage. These; Electricity and Power Generation, Industrial Production, Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry Affairs, Transportation and finally Home Consumption. Electricity and Energy Production take the biggest share. Because globally, the main ingredient of energy is still fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and carbon emissions are at the highest level. Industrial Production not only uses energy, but also carbon dioxide from factories is mostly released into the atmosphere without a filter. Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry Affairs also contribute to the greenhouse gas effect through both the use of energy and the reduction of forests. Considering that most of the transport vehicles use petroleum-based fuels, it is natural to be on the list.
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