Carbon Footprint Evaluation and Reduction as a Climate Change Mitigation Tool – Case Study of Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Since the knowledge of carbon footprint evaluation, co-operations have since been striving to set an example of environmental responsibility by establishing environmentally sound policies and practices, and by developing curricula and research initiatives to support an environmentally sustainable future. One of the most recent efforts in this quest was the urge to create awareness and evaluate carbon footprint for the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) for the period August 2011 to July 2012. It stressed the need to conduct a detailed and comprehensive carbon footprint analysis for the whole University. The aim of this analysis was to determine the carbon footprint of FUNAAB, not only to give a tangible number with which the University’s carbon sustainability level can be compared with other academic institutions, but also to provide the much-needed baseline against which future mitigation efforts on the university campus can be measured. In this paper, boundary conditions were set out to identify the various emission sources on campuses using international standards like the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission factor. Using a genuinely analytical questionnaire, surveys, and interviews, data on the various emission sources were collected. The data collected was analyzed and used for the calculation of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in FUNAAB using the appropriate emission factors from Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) guidelines and GHG emission data respectively. FUNAAB’s carbon footprint for the 2011/2012 session was found to be about 5,935 tons CO2, with transportation, campus energy consumption and farm machineries contributing about 63%, 35% and 2% respectively. Staff and student commuting alone contribute about 55% of all the emissions associated with University activities. FUNAAB’s per-capita emissions with a total of about 10,256 students for the 2011/2012 session amount to about 0.6 tons CO2 emissions per student. By this study, FUNAAB contributes a total of 5,935 tons of CO2 for all emissions released into the atmosphere yearly. These CO2 emissions contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer causing Greenhouse effects and global warming. FUNAAB can reduce her carbon footprint by introducing green energy sources such as solar energy in place of the standby diesel generators that contributes an estimated 84 tons of CO2 monthly. In addition, transportation emissions can be reduced by implementing a transportation routine programme to reduce the amount of cars that commute to the University daily. The period of study covers August 2011 to July 2012.