This Carbon Calculator Developed by Development Alternatives, will help you to estimate your household’s carbon footprint in terms of kilograms of CO2 emitted per year.
Scroll over the Help links to find additional information that will guide you in using the calculator correctly and help you get more accurate estimates.
Scroll over the Formula links to see how the estimates are calculated
You are all set to start using the calculator now. Begin by telling us the number of people in your home.
In an innovative approach towards climate change mitigation a carbon calculator has been developed, that promises to demystify the issue of climate change and turn the challenge of combating climate change into a youth led mass movement in which every individual has an important role to play. The carbon calculator was launched at the Earth Day 2008 celebrations at an event themed on “Mitigating Climate Change – Going Carbon Neutral”.
Although the idea of a carbon calculator that helps you quantify your personal carbon footprint and impact on climate change has existed for some time and there are innumerable versions available on the internet, they are mostly not relevant to the Indian user, based as they are on data from the developed western world where the production and consumption patterns and lifestyles are vastly different from that followed in India.
This carbon calculator on the other hand has been developed keeping the Indian user in mind and makes use of data relevant in the Indian context to help estimate the carbon emissions arising out of one’s daily activities. This approach helps to distribute equitably the responsibility of ameliorating climate change thereby making it a self-propelled people’s movement. This calculator is unique in that it not only guides the user in using the calculator correctly to get accurate estimates but also provides the science and logic behind the calculations. This approach assures the user of the credibility of the calculations and trains the interested user in applying a similar thought process towards estimating the impact of each action and every sector. The calculator is interactive and very user-friendly and can be easily operated by children.
The calculator does not merely stop at measuring one’s GHG emissions, but goes a step further in suggesting simple ways in which to reduce our carbon footprint. Students who have used the calculator have communicated how they were shocked to learn how and to what degree they were personally contributing to climate change and how they have now opted for greener options like energy efficient devices and made simple changes in their lifestyles towards mitigating climate change. As such stories of change continue to pour in, it can rightfully be concluded that it is leading to the development of a market for energy efficient and environment friendly products amongst the youth community.
The carbon calculator is thus proving to be an effective weapon in the diverse arsenal for climate change mitigation and may be expected to pave the way for an energy revolution propelled by citizen concern without which no degree of policy change can ever bring about a difference.