Climate footprint Climate footprint The term climate footprint has emerged from the field of carbon footprinting, and refers to a measure of the full set of greenhouse gases (GHGs) controlled under the Kyoto Protocol. A climate footprint is a more comprehensive measure of anthropogenic impact upon the climate than a carbon footprint, but is also more costly and labour-intensive to calculate. A climate footprint is a measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO), methane (CH), nitrous oxide (NO), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF) emissions of a defined population, system or activity, considering all relevant sources, sinks and
Low-carbon diet and rail releases carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary gas responsible for global warming. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are emitted from mechanical refrigerating and freezing mechanisms – both staples in food shipment and storage. Anthropogenic methane emission sources include agriculture (ruminants, manure management, wetland rice production), various other industries and landfills. Anthropogenic nitrous oxide sources include fertilizer, manure, crop residues and nitrogen-fixing crops production. Methane and nitrous oxide are also emitted in large amounts from natural sources. The 100-year global warming potentials of methane and nitrous oxide are recently estimated at 25 and 298 carbon dioxide equivalents, respectively. Steinfeld et al. estimate that