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CO2 - what is it?


Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a non-toxic gas which is produced by natural sources and human activity.


Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. It is referred to by its formula CO2. It is a non-toxic gas which is set to contribute to the greenhouse effect and thus to global warming. Other greenhouse gases are water vapour (H2O), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and Fluorocarbons (PFC, HFC).

Despite the fact that the global warming potentials of CH4, FCs and N2O are respectively 21, 100 and 310 times higher than CO2, greatest attention is paid to CO2.



Every living aerobic organism produces CO2 while breathing. CO2 is also produced during the burning of various fossil fuels. This burning or combustion process is a very complex sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between fuel and an oxidant, accompanied by the production of heat and light in form of either glow or flames.

A typical combustion reaction is:
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O + heat

In simple words: Fuel + Oxygen → Heat + Water + Carbon Dioxide
While burning 1 liter of diesel fuel, 40.9 MJ of energy and 2647g of CO2 are produced



Atmospheric carbon dioxide derives from multiple natural sources including volcanic out gassing, the combustion of organic matter such as decomposing trees and the respiration processes of living aerobic organisms.

Man-made sources of carbon dioxide come mainly from the burning of various fossil fuels, including diesel fuel.

The use of fossil fuel varies from country to country. However, figures taken from the UNFCCC reporting system for the Kyoto protocol for developed countries show that fossil fuel is mostly used for heating and power generation:


Source: UNFCCC

While power generation and heating contribute to over 50% of the CO2 emissions, these are areas were viable alternate energy sources exist already today with low CO2 emissions.


Co2 Home | CO2-What is it? | CO2-What is the Issue? | CO2-What is the IRU's response

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