Tuesday, August 14, 2018

My City My Responsibility - Why Should Anyone Learn Carbon Accounting?

Dear All, 


In my last blog, I introduced our online course on Basic Carbon Accounting that will be launched very soon. In today's blog, let me explain why this is a great opportunity for all of you readers!  

Carbon Accounting is a process of measuring, monitoring and reporting any individual's or activity's or event's or process's greenhouse gas emission in a defined period. Greenhouse gases (GHG's) are the gases that are able to trap heat in the atmosphere that make the Earth's surface warmer, and therefore a habitable place for all living beings. However when the concentration of these gases increases beyond a certain limit, that's when it starts creating a problem leading to what is called as CLIMATE CHANGECarbon dioxide is the main GHG, however there are other gases that contribute to the effect too. While the amount of GHGs in our atmosphere has fluctuated due to natural causes over the billions of years of the Earth's existence, in the post-industrial era, the GHGs have been accumulating in the atmosphere at an alarming rate, due mainly to various human activities fueled by coal and petroleum.

Carbon accounting helps us account for all the GHGs by creating a greenhouse gas inventory of each activity in a systematic manner. It provides a holistic picture of all the emissions and thus enables us to design an appropriate emission reduction strategy. This allows you to set GHG mitigation targets and contribute towards preventing Earth from tipping into a 'hothouse' phase, which will be highly destructive to humans.

With the signing of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change by the world's nations,  post 2020 it may soon become mandatory for businesses to submit or publicly declare their annual carbon account. Already, some of the major corporations in the world are undertaking carbon accounting in their organizations. Reporting carbon annual emissions and the reduction targets is a norm among all major multinational companies. 

Source: http://fortune.com/2017/05/22/climate-change-co2-fortune-100-companies/

All this means is that:

a. If you are a young person at the start of your professional career, having at least a basic understanding of carbon accounting in addition to the other skills required for your profession, will add value to your resume, and make you an attractive candidate to recruit for the best companies in your sector.

b. Once you acquire a basic understanding of the principles of carbon accounting, you can build on the knowledge and become an auditor or a consultant in this sector. China and India are the two leading carbon emitters in the 21st century. There is a tremendous pressure on us to keep our carbon emissions in check, without derailing the story of development. We can only manage what we measure. Therefore, it is only a matter of time before government of India will have to demand carbon accounting data from its industries in order to meet its international commitments and to cement its position as a responsible member of the global community. In the next 10 years or so, thousands of new job opportunities may open up in this sector, and those with an early start and some experience in the bag will benefit the most!

Our online course on Carbon accounting can definitely be a starting point for you. You can build a great career path for yourself, AND contribute to solving the greatest problem faced by humanity today!  

Dr. Priyadarshini Karve & Pournima Agarkar. 



1 comment:

Hansu said...

When is the course commencing?