Review of Carbon Footprint: Definitions and Accounting Methods

The concept of carbon footprint provides new perspective on impact of human activities on climate change.In this paper we investigate the definitions and accounting methods of carbon footprint by reviewing related studies.A widely accepted definition of carbon footprint does not exist.After analyzing units,scope of emissions and system boundaries about carbon footprint in existing literatures,we propose a definition.A widely accepted method for accounting carbon footprint does not exist either.Instead,three methods are frequently used to calculate carbon footprint separately,that is input-output analysis,life cycle assessment,and hybrid LCA.We analyze theories,scopes of application,advantages and disadvantages,and applications of these three methods.Finally,we suggest some research areas of carbon footprint,which are related to methods,applications and uncertainty.