Rawaq Forum news, Egypt Vision 2030
Dr. Mustafa El-Sherbiny, Ambassador of the European Union Charter to Egypt, hosted by the Rwaq Egypt Vision 2030 Forum
News Details
May 2, 2023
Click here to download the file attached to the news
Saturday 7-23-2022
In light of activating the activities of the regional campaign “Sustainable Climate” implemented by the Misr El Kheir Foundation in cooperation with many parties, the Rwaq Egypt Vision 2030 Forum held a discussion session hosted by Dr. Mustafa El-Sherbiny, the Ambassador of the European Union Charter in Egypt, to hold a discussion session on “Climate Changes and the Individual and Household Carbon Footprint” on Saturday 7/23/2022 at five in the evening and extended until eight via the website Zoom.
Where Dr. Mustafa El-Sherbiny began his speech by explaining that climate change is affecting the entire world, causing severe weather events such as floods, severe heat waves, and heavy rains, as well as rapidly changing climatic conditions.
To limit global warming to 1.5°C and achieve carbon neutrality, as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 2015 Paris Agreement, it is essential to understand the source of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, so that action can be taken to reduce emissions,
This brings us to the so-called carbon footprint. The carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O ), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide.
It is related to the activities of an individual, community, organization, process, product, service or event, among others, and therefore an individual carbon footprint can be described as the total amount of greenhouse gases generated by our personal actions such as transportation, household activities, clothing and food.
A product's carbon footprint measures the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions from its life cycle – from raw material extraction and production to final use by consumers including recycling or disposal.
A company's carbon footprint identifies greenhouse gas emissions from all of its operations, including energy generation used in building structures, industrial activities, machinery and equipment.
In his answer to the question: How can the carbon footprint help us combat climate change?
Answered: The carbon footprint is a valuable tool to measure the contribution to climate change by individuals, organizations, products and services, and more. For example, by calculating the industrial carbon footprint, the industry can better understand the main sources of emissions and find ways to reduce them.
Regarding the advantages of measuring the carbon footprint, Al-Sherbini explained that there are several advantages, whether for companies or individuals. For companies, Al-Sherbini said, “
- Help you to understand the main sources of emissions in your organization.
- Enables you to dig deeper into your company’sactivities< strong> and identify the most important challenges as well as opportunities.
- Facilitates the participation of stakeholders stakeholders.
- It enables you to become more aware of your consumption< strong> and contribute to making decisions more responsible.
- To To able to Compete in Market , g>You must implement sustainable strategies to reduce carbon.
- It can Help Estimate Footprint Corporate of in improve reliability and health D Data Used in Preparing Reports rong> Environmental Sustainability Environmental Sustainability and Governance (ESG).
At the individual level, to efficiently contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change, you can do this by monitoring and measuring your individual carbon footprint, as some people produce more carbon dioxide than others; The average per capita carbon footprint in the United States is sixteen tons, one of the largest in the world.
The average carbon footprint on a global scale is closer to four tons. To have the best chance of keeping global warming to 1.5°C, carbon footprints need to be measured at multiple levels, including national, organizational and individual.
Al-Sherbiny explained that the carbon footprint is calculated by estimating the carbon footprint not only by measuring carbon dioxide emissions but also emissions of other greenhouse gases such as methane - which is 25 times stronger than carbon - and nitrous oxide.
The effects of each of these gases are summed and represented as a single value in metric tons of carbon dioxide (MT CO2e). There are two commonly used methods to estimate carbon footprint, life cycle assessment and input-output analysis.
What can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?
As we go about our daily lives, we release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. By reducing our carbon footprint, we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
The choices we make every day in our homes, our travels, the food we eat, and what we buy and dispose of can help ensure a stable climate for future generations. A vegetarian diet, for example, is more environmentally friendly than a diet rich in meat.
According to a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in February 2022, beef eaters can reduce their carbon emissions by up to 48% by substituting non-beef meals with just one serving per day for a more environmentally friendly alternative.
Other lifestyle changes include using a bike instead of a car to travel, or you can use renewable energy to power your car and electronic devices.
For businesses, reducing carbon footprint is crucial in terms of compliance and stakeholder engagement. If you want to be successful in business, you must adopt sustainable strategies to reduce emissions.
For emissions that companies cannot cut or reduce, they can be offset – meaning companies can invest in activities that are so environmentally sustainable that they capture the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as the organization or activities.
For example, if a company's stakeholders cannot avoid flying or traveling long distances, one way to offset emissions is to donate money to environmentally sustainable projects. Everyone, including individuals and the private sector, has a responsibility to make the world a cleaner and environmentally sustainable place.
The session was attended by more than ninety male and female participants interested in the issue of climate change, and at the end of the session the door was opened for questions and inquiries and responses to them.
To know more information about the campaign activities, please visit the following link: https://bit.ly/3NedmVz