Carbon Footprint Controlling and Monitoring as a Step Toward Sustainable Urban Development, (Case Study: Tabriz City _ Iran)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 . Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Faculty of Planning & Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

2 Department of Urban & Regional Planning, Faculty of Planning & Environmental Sciences, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Fossil fuels associated with urban landfills are the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Studies indicate that one of the most effective ways to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere is to increase green space and afforestation in cities. This study aims to predict green space demand to absorb carbon footprints from fossil fuel consumption and landfill. Calculating greenhouse gas emissions through landfill is examined and evaluated for the first time in urban planning in Iran. This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. The raw data required for this study were obtained from reports on fossil fuel consumption and landfill in Tabriz. Also, the estimation method provided by the Ministry of Petroleum of Iran was used to indirectly calculate greenhouse gas emissions and a mathematical model designed by the US Environmental Protection Agency to estimate the volume of gas produced. The results indicated that the volume of CO2 emitted from 2013 to 2019 were, respectively, about 5,850,363 - 5,089,094 - 2,839,819 - 2,206,225 - 2,355,156 and 2,763,010 tons. Calculating the carbon footprint shows that the per capita green space needed to absorb CO2 for 2018-2019 is 943 m2. But the environmental rights needed to provide water for this amount of green space are not there due to the existing water crisis. Based on this and taking into account international proposals, it is necessary to invest in renewable energy, especially solar and wind energy, in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Also, the hybrid public transport fleet should replace gasoline and diesel vehicles.
1-Introduction
Fossil fuels and urban landfills are the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases include a set of CO2 gases, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane (CH4), and nitrogen oxides (N2O), which act as a layer around the earth and absorb waves emitted from the earth and lead to global warming. The volume of these gases increases in the atmosphere as a result of human activities such as increased fossil fuel consumption, deforestation, and environmental damage, and causes an increase in the earth's temperature. Global warming and its climate changes have endangered the life of the planet. Although fossil fuels are the main source of energy for cities, they are also the main source of pollution. Therefore, approximately 81% of all greenhouse gases are produced from the consumption of fossil fuels. One of the most important greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide gas, which is accepted as the heating effect of greenhouse gases. About 70% of CO2 emissions in the world are related to urban areas. In fact, urban areas are among the main centers of climate change, but there are important opportunities to reduce climate change and low-carbon societies and move towards sustainable development in cities. Metropolises like Tabriz city, due to the establishment of thousands of industrial units and the consumption of nearly two million liters of gasoline per day, as well as the production of 1,300 tons of garbage per day, can be considered as a suitable example for examining the footprint of carbon dioxide produced in metropolises. Studies show that one of the most effective ways to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere is to increase green spaces in cities. The purpose of this study is to calculate and estimate the green space per capita needed to absorb the carbon footprints resulting from the consumption of fossil fuels and landfill.
 
2-Materials and Methods
This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method. and has investigated the city of Tabriz as the study area. The data required for this research was obtained from the reports related to the consumption of fossil fuels and the amount of waste production in the city of Tabriz using a library method. The amount of carbon dioxide gas emission and the resulting carbon footprint were calculated by the authors indirectly and according to the discussed method. Fossil fuel consumption data for the mentioned years (1392-1398) to calculate the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrogen oxide (N2O) emissions from their emission sources (fossil fuels and landfill) was extracted. For this purpose, the estimation method provided by Iran's Ministry of Oil (MOP) for indirect calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels (Gasoline, Gas Oil, Fuel Oil, and Kerosene) and a mathematical model were designed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).
 
3- Results and Discussion
The results of the present study are in line with the results of the study (Teimori et al., 2013). So that the results of both studies show that the per capita amount of green space is not the answer to the footprint of carbon dioxide gas. In addition, green space per capita is considered a factor for controlling and self-purifying greenhouse gases. This research, like the research (Ortega-Montaya & Johari, 2020), considers urban areas to be the most important key tool to deal with the increase of greenhouse gases. Also, in line with the research of Lee and his colleagues in 2010, the current research considers carbon footprint prediction to be necessary for evaluating human effects on the environment. Finally, unlike other researches, this research did not focus on only one dimension of greenhouse gas production factors, but the amount of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the total consumption of fossil fuels as well as the waste landfill has been investigated.
 
4- Conclusion
The results of the study showed that the per capita urban green space of Tabriz does not match the carbon footprint of fossil fuels and buried waste, and to balance the effects of CO2 caused by fossil fuels and landfill, about 149,385 hectares should be added to forest lands or urban green space. Meanwhile, the total green space in this city is about 2650 hectares. It means that it is 56.4 times the biological capacity of Tabriz city. In fact, in addition to the existing green space per capita in 2017-2018, Tabriz municipality is required to increase 943 m2 of green space per citizen of Tabriz, which is significant compared to Shiraz metropolis, so that the per capita green space required for Carbon footprint absorption of Shiraz city is 51.78 m2. This comparison shows the high amount of carbon dioxide in Tabriz city. Also, this study showed that the performance of the green space of Tabriz municipality is not consistent with the carbon footprint of fossil fuels and landfill because the per capita 17 m2 is significantly less than the amount of green space needed to absorb the carbon footprint per person. However, it should be noted that the creation of green space alone cannot absorb and stabilize the CO2 footprint, because the environmental protection required to supply water to this amount of green space, due to the current water crisis, prevents this work. Therefore, investing in renewable energy, especially solar and wind energy, as well as converting the gasoline and diesel public transport fleet into hybrid vehicles in order to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide is necessary in the city of Tabriz.

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References

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