Impact classes of the superclass E2 - Climate change
EI 2.1 Greenhouse Gases:
A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect and leading to global warming. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and synthetic fluorinated gases such as CFCs, HFCs and HCFCs.
Infrastructure is key in contributing to the global GHG emissions. The transport infrastructure accounts for around 21% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of which road transport is responsible for about three-quarters of emissions. Rail travel and freight emit only 1% of transport emissions. Other transport – which is mainly the movement of materials such as water, oil, and gas via pipelines, is responsible for 2.2%. Aviation accounts for 11.6% of transport emissions, while shipping contributes about 10.6% of total transport emissions (Ritchie, 2020).
EI 2.1.1 GHG Emissions:
Emissions of greenhouse gases lead to an increase in their atmospheric concentration, measured in the units of parts per million (ppm) associated with the activities of an infrastructure company.
EI 2.1.2 GHG Avoidance:
Emission avoidance is the prevention of emitting carbon in the first place and can be divided into two categories, avoidance via carbon offsets and avoidance via direct carbon reduction measures such as efficiency improvement.
EI 2.1.3 GHG Removal:
The removal of GHGs after they have entered the atmosphere from measures such as carbon capture and storage.
Ritchie, H. (2020). Cars, planes, trains: where do CO2 emissions from transport come from? Accessed on 11 April 2022 from http://OurWorldInData.org : https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-transport.