Erasmus Goes Green

Carbon footprint is the result of summing up the different Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions together and is expressed in terms of equivalent CO2 Emissions (CO2eq). GHG emissions are reported to a GHG inventory, which evaluates all GHG emissions in a defined perimeter during a specific period of time.

The GHG inventory details every anthropogenic source of GHG emissions and carbon sinks. It can be applied to a nation, a territory, an organization, a project, a product or an individual. The carbon footprint is obtained by adding all the GHG Emissions which are converted to equivalent CO2 emissions by using their 100-year Global Warming Potential (GWP).

To find out more about GHG, GWP, CO2 equivalent, the Emission Factors used and much more, read the report prepared by the Erasmus Goes Green team “Assessment of the Transport-Related Carbon Footprint of the Erasmus+ Programme” available here

 

Emissions in aviation come mostly from the combustion of jet fuel (jet kerosene or jet gasoline). Their emissions are composed of ~70% of CO2and ~30% of H2O(water vapor). There is less than 1% of precursor gases and other emitted pollutants (mainly NOx and CO) and even smaller accounts of N2O and CH4 emitted with modern engines.

The aircraft emissions occur at high altitudes at the tropospheric limit (10km of altitude). Their impact is therefore different than sources at the ground level. It is particularly true for precursors and water vapor, which are usually not mandatory for national reporting.

Vehicle categories are refined depending on the fuel used, the type of engine technology, their age and their pollution control technology. The main GHGs emitted from fuel combustion are CO2, CH4, N2O. CO2 emissions usually depend on the fuel type and its carbon content only. CH4 and N2O do not depend on the fuel type but also on the vehicle technology (e.g. pollution control technology) and the vehicle operations (e.g. type of road).

Railway locomotives are diesel, electric or steam. Electric locomotives do not generate direct combustion emissions. They are responsible for indirect emissions coming from electric generation. Steam locomotives are used in a very small proportion today, thus, their contribution to GHG emissions is small. The methodologies are similar to road transportation, with a separation between CO2 and CH4/N2O emissions. The first consider the fuel type and its carbon content, while the latter are based on fuel type, the locomotive types and their operation (type of travel, weight load etc)