GCIOSGF NEWSLETTER 會訊：
HOST：WP
EDIT：OF
We often hear "carbon reduction" in our daily lives, and energy conservation and carbon reduction have been a slogan that Taiwanese people are familiar with over the past three decades. However, carbon reduction is actually just a general term, specifically "reducing carbon emissions."
What is carbon reduction? Let's start with the greenhouse effect and carbon emissions
We have all learned about the "greenhouse effect" and know that the atmosphere includes greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane. When the concentration of greenhouse gases is higher, the equilibrium temperature of the atmosphere will increase; if greenhouse gases can reach a balance with natural changes such as photosynthesis, the temperature will stabilize. However, since the Industrial Revolution, humans have begun to use a large amount of energy such as coal and oil, causing the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to continue to increase, causing climate change, such as rising sea levels or abnormal droughts and floods.
The United Nations Environment Department stated that the only way to avoid climate change disasters is to quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, which is why "carbon reduction" has become a common goal for the world.
What counts as carbon emissions?
Carbon emissions refer to greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activities in addition to human natural breathing, such as burning fossil fuels for energy use, industrial processes, animal husbandry, etc., which will emit greenhouse gases. In order to facilitate calculation and comparison, various mixed greenhouse gases will be converted into "equivalent to how much carbon dioxide", which is often heard as "carbon dioxide equivalent".
What is the definition of carbon reduction? You must first know the carbon emissions
In recent years, more and more companies have begun to respond to carbon reduction activities and share carbon reduction results, but just talking about carbon reduction may not reflect the real situation. It is necessary to disclose "carbon emissions" at the same time to know the specific impact. Just like when we want to lose weight, we also need to know how much we originally weighed in order to measure the weight loss effect.
For example, when two companies both say "reduced carbon by 20,000 tons", the meaning may be very different, because the original carbon emissions may be very different! Therefore, it is necessary to talk about carbon reduction and carbon emissions at the same time to present the real carbon reduction results.
With this basic concept, when you encounter various advertisements or marketing methods that wave the banner of environmental protection and say how much carbon they have reduced, you can first ask: "So what is your original carbon emission?"
You must have heard of energy saving and carbon reduction, but does energy saving definitely reduce carbon?
The slogan of energy saving and carbon reduction is very common. Here are a few energy saving and carbon reduction methods that you must have heard of:
Common energy saving and carbon reduction methods
Turn off the lights: Reduce unnecessary electricity use and reduce energy consumption.
Take public transportation: Replace driving or riding a bicycle to reduce commuting carbon emissions.
Raise the air conditioner by 2 degrees: Every 1 degree increase in the air conditioner temperature can reduce electricity consumption by about 6%.
In general, these energy saving and carbon reduction methods are also encouraged by us, but the reason why these actions can reduce carbon is compared with the original habits with higher carbon emissions. We need to establish a concept: the key to carbon reduction lies in "relativity".
Carbon reduction and energy saving are not necessarily directly related
It is also important to note that these energy saving and carbon reduction methods are indeed effective carbon reduction actions in life, but this has also formed a myth, as if energy saving and carbon reduction are the only solution? In fact, carbon reduction and energy saving are not necessarily directly related!
In Taiwan, it is because we still use fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas as the main energy source, and 90% of the sources of greenhouse gases are related to energy; if it is changed to other countries such as New Zealand, when they use hydropower, geothermal and other power generation methods with lower carbon emissions, even "energy saving" does not necessarily mean "carbon reduction"; on the contrary, animal husbandry is their main source of carbon emissions.
Why can throwing away garbage correctly reduce carbon emissions?
The process of garbage incineration will produce carbon emissions, and throwing away garbage correctly and properly recycling recyclables can relatively reduce the amount of garbage that needs to be incinerated and reduce carbon emissions during the incineration process.
Proper classification and recycling allow resources to have the opportunity to recycle and regenerate, which can relatively reduce the energy consumption of re-mining raw materials.
Properly recycle kitchen waste to prevent kitchen waste from entering landfills and reduce methane emissions. The US Environmental Protection Agency once reported that 58% of methane emissions from landfills come from food waste.
When it comes to environmental protection, there are always many confusing terms. We will share the "Sustainable Unboxing" in cooperation with Professor Ye Xincheng of National Taiwan Normal University, and take you to dismantle the key words of environmental protection step by step, so that you can become an environmental protection expert!
article learning 生活中常聽到「減碳」，節能減碳更是過去三十年以來臺灣人耳熟能詳的口號，但其實減碳只是一種概括說法，具體來說是「減少碳排放」。
減碳是什麼？從溫室效應與碳排放說起
我們都學過「溫室效應」，知道大氣中包括二氧化碳、甲烷等溫室氣體，當溫室氣體濃度越高，大氣的平衡溫度就會提升；若溫室氣體能與光合作用等自然變化達到平衡，溫度則會穩定。但從工業革命以來，人類開始大量使用煤炭、石油等能源，讓大氣中溫室氣體濃度不斷增加，造成了氣候變遷，像是海平面上升或是出現異常乾旱、洪災等。
聯合國環境部表示，避免氣候變遷災害的唯一方法，就是快速減少導致地球暖化的溫室氣體排放量，這也是為什麼「減碳」成為全球的共同目標。
哪些算是碳排放？
碳排放指的是除了人類自然呼吸之外，因為人類活動額外產生的溫室氣體排放，例如為了能源使用而燃燒化石燃料、工業製程、畜牧業等都會排放溫室氣體。為了方便計算與比較，會將各種混雜在一起的溫室氣體換算成「相當於多少二氧化碳的量」，也就是常聽到的「二氧化碳當量」。
減碳定義是什麼？得先知道碳排放量
近年來越來越多企業開始響應減碳活動、分享減碳成果，但是光是談減碳，可能難以反應真實情況，必須同時揭露「排碳量」，才能知道具體的影響。就像當我們想減重的時候，也需要知道自己原先有多重，才好衡量減重成效。
例如當兩家企業都表示「減碳 2 萬噸」，意義可能大不同，因為原先的排碳量可能差很多！因此，要同時說減碳量、排碳量，才能呈現真實的減碳成果。
有了這個基礎概念，之後遇到各種揮著環保大旗，說自己減碳多少的廣告或行銷手法，都可以先問問：「所以你原本的碳排放量是多少？」
節能減碳你一定聽過，但節能一定減碳嗎？
節能減碳這句口號很常聽到，以下先列出幾點你一定也聽過的節能減碳方法：
常見節能減碳方法
隨手關燈： 減少不必要的用電，降低能源消耗。
搭乘大眾運輸： 取代自行開車或騎車，減少通勤碳排放量。
冷氣調高 2 度： 冷氣溫度每調高 1 度，就能減少約 6% 耗電量。
整體而言，這些節能減碳方法也是我們所鼓勵的，但這些行動之所以能減碳，是和原先碳排量較高的習慣相比，要建立一個觀念：減碳的關鍵在於「相對性」。
減碳與節能不見得直接相關
更要留意的是，確實這些節能減碳方法都是生活中有效的減碳行動，不過這也形成了迷思，好像節能減碳是唯一解？事實上，減碳與節能不一定直接相關！
在台灣，是因為我們仍以燃煤、石油、天然氣等化石燃料為主要能源來源，溫室氣體來源 9 成與能源相關；若換成在其他國家如紐西蘭，當他們使用水力、地熱等碳排放量較低的發電方式，即使「節能」也不一定能代表「減碳」；反倒畜牧業才是他們的碳排放主要來源。
為什麼丟對丟對垃圾能減少碳排放量？
垃圾焚燒過程會產生碳排放，而丟對垃圾、將回收物妥善回收，相對來說減少需要焚燒的垃圾量，也降低焚燒過程中的碳排放。
妥善分類回收，讓資源有機會循環再生，相對來說也能減少重新開採原料的能源消耗。
妥善回收廚餘，避免廚餘進到垃圾掩埋場、減少甲烷排放。美國環保署曾有報告指出，垃圾掩埋場所排放甲烷有 58% 來自食物垃圾。
關於環保，總是有許多聽了霧煞煞的專有名詞，我們與臺師大葉欣誠教授合作的《永續開箱》將會陸續分享，帶大家一步步拆解環保關鍵字，讓你成為環保門神
