In the case of China, it could also probably be due to the massive expansion of its economy, which relies heavily on the burning of coal and other fossil fuels for the production of  energy.

Carbon dioxide causes roughly 60% of the ‘enhanced greenhouse effect’ or global warming resulting from certain gases emitted by anthropogenic or human activities.   In the year 2000, there were almost 23 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted worldwide. Of this, 28% came from the North American territories while only 0.09% came from Central African countries. (Source: Worldmapper). For example Qatar has the highest value of carbon dioxide emission of 64 while Uganda has a carbon dioxide emission value of only 0.094. Current levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are 380 parts per million (ppm) and that is about 100 ppm higher than during the Industrial Revolution that occurred more than 200 years ago and it is predicted that irreversible climatical change could occur if the level of carbon dioxide exceeds 450 ppm.  Emission of carbon dioxide vary greatly on the life style, places and ways of producing  energy.  

Carbon emission is measured by the emission of carbon dioxide from the use and burning of fossil fuels. It is a colourless gas which is a natural constituent of air and is mainly formed by the natural process and also by the combustion of fuels containing carbon.

Carbon dioxide is a green house gas which enables it to trap the heat in the atmosphere. Increase in greenhouse gases have already caused 0.3 to 0.6 degrees Celsius rise in temperature during the past 100 years. The growth in global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels over the past five years was four times greater that for the preceding ten years.  (Source: The Independent, November, 2006)  At present, over 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted annually through the use of fossil fuel and 1.6 billion tonnes are emitted due to change in land usage and through deforestation.  This has resulted in a sharp rise in temperature and change in the weather pattern in most parts of the world. Change in weather pattern could also lead to global warming and this could result in the sea levels rising as much as 85cm by the end of the 21st century if no precautionary measures are taken. This could also result in the flooding of the low lying and coastal areas and island nations such as Mauritus and Singapore disappearing from the earth surface due to  the rise of the ocean levels. Global warming could melt the ice
caps of the icebergs leading to more breaking up of the icebergs.   

Energy that comes from the sun and energy that is emitted by the earth determines the temperature of the earth. In this process the energy that is emitted into the atmosphere by the earth is partly absorbed by some of the gases that are found in the  atmosphere and some of it is reemitted back to the earth surface which further increases the temperature of the earth. The incoming solar energy is balanced by the outgoing energy that is reemitted from the earth.  The factor that alters this balance is the redistribution of energy within the atmosphere and this uneven balance produces changes in the climate of the land and ocean which directly affects the climate of the earth. Some of the outgoing radiation from the earth by the greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and nitrous oxide which tends to warm the lower atmosphere and keep the surface of the earth around 33 degrees celsius and in the absence of the natural greenhouse gases or the depletion of the ozone layer results in the increase in temperature which subsequently causes climatic changes in the earth.  Alterations in the concentration of the carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide has increased the greenhouse effect with the respective gases  increasing by 35%, 150% and 20% over a period of time. Human activities, fossil fuel usage, deforestation and changes in the pattern of agriculture have contributed towards this change in concentration.

Climate change is the greatest environmental challenge that the world would be facing in the years to come. It is expected that the global temperature is expected to rise between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees celsius by the end of the century which will result in subsequent rise in the sea levels. Rising global temperature would result in changes in the weather pattern, rising level of the seas and oceans and could result in flooding in certain parts of the world and experiencing droughts in another part of the world. This could result in food shortages and famines as a result of drought and flood.  Apart from that it will also result in intensification of tropical cyclones, hotter and drier summers which may result in heat waves and milder and wetter winters. Areas which have never experienced serious floods would be experiencing severe floods.

Average global temperature has increased by 0.74 degrees over the last 100 years and an increase of about 0.4 degrees has occurred in the last 30 years. The oceans of the earth have been playing a vital role in becoming the carbon sink that trapped the greenhouse gases produced by humans. This has, to a certain extent, helped in the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and slowed down global warming. On the other hand in the process it has slowed down the growth of planktons and corals that form the ocean food chain of the marine life found in the ocean.  

One of the complaints levelled at the oil palm industry as to carbon emission and climate change is the deforestation of the tropical forests or re-planting with the crop. While there may be some truth in this statement about two decades ago, as far as Malaysia is concerned, no virgin forests have been cleared to be planted with oil palm since 1990. 

Apart from that, recently the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has formally agreed that oil palm should only be cultivated in land that are not virgin rainforests and that it should be sustainable.  Areas that have been planted with oil palm are secondary forests where the timber have been extracted and left idle. In the case of East Malaysia most of these areas are made up of secondary forests with very little economical value to the locals.  Consequently, the best option available is to convert them into economical crops which could bring income to the locals and at the same time to have sustainable development in the long term.
Leaving the secondary forest without any economical activity creates additional problems in the form of shifting cultivation whereby patches of the forests are burnt and planted with hill padi by the locals. Such activities result in forest fires occurring which result not only in destruction of the secondary forests but also precious virgin forests. This brings about environmental problems such as haze and air pollutions and also the land that has been burnt and left vacant is prone to erosion. Thus by cultivating with a sustainable crop, the locals will have a consistent income and living.  The added bonus is that this also helps to preserve land from destruction.

Another important consideration is that by removing the secondary forests and planting them with oil palm, is actually a case of replacing a tree with another tree. Thus it could be termed that planting oil palm is establishing a planted forest in a different form. Planted forests become an essential component of acting as a reservoir for storing carbon as was previously carried out by the natural forests.

The ecosystems found in the planted forests also help in regulating the temperature in line with the variations of the climate. Oil palm takes in carbon dioxide and returns oxygen to the atmosphere in the process of photosynthesis. It is estimated that the crop emits 8 to 10 times more oxygen and absorbs up to ten times more carbon dioxide per hectare per year. Thus it is able to replace the carbon dioxide with oxygen which has been used in the reverse process during the day and maintain an equilibrium of the gases in the atmosphere. Oil palm trees grown in the plantations have been found to be more effective than the rainforests in  acting as carbon sink areas and are able to absorb harmful greenhouse gases more effectively in the atmosphere. They are able to absorb up to 36.5 tonnes of dry matter per hectare per year and compared to the rain forests which can only assimilate up to 25.7 tonnes of dry matter per hectare, they become more efficient in terms of rejuvenating the atmosphere.

Apart from that, oil palm trees have a high leaf area index for the absorption and dissemination of the gases into the atmosphere.  A point of contention among foreign NGOs is the draining of peat areas to be planted with agricultural crops such as sago, pineapple and particularly oil palm. They protest that by draining the peat areas, it release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and thus causing carbon build up. Agriculturalists would agree that converting peat areas for agricultural purposes is a difficult task and in the case of planting oil palm in peat areas, it invites a host of problems that need to be overcome such as efficient water management and flooding of the fields. In the case of Sarawak, the peat is shallower near the coastline and increases as it moves inland and can exceed more than 20m deep making cultivation of crops such as oil palm very difficult. Given a choice nobody would want to invest in planting oil palm in peat areas as the returns are not guaranteed due to various factors. Apart from that, the cost of establishing plantations in peat soil is very expensive and may not be sustainable in the long run.

The biodiversity found in the oil palm plantations help in the absorption of carbon dioxide found in the atmosphere. From the hardy plants and ferns found in the inter-rows of the palm up to the microorganisms in the soil contribute towards carbon dioxide absorption and help as carbon sink for the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Another way of controlling carbon emission is seeking alternatives for fossil fuels in running the palm oil mills. Directly improving the efficiency of the palm oil mills is improving the carbon balance of the mills. This could be attained by making use of the waste produced at the mills so that emissions can actually be reduced. Currently most of the mills use diesel as a source of energy. Other components of the oil palm could be converted into fuel. Empty fruit bunches,  palm fronds, palm kernel shells and mill effluents could be an alternative source of fuel for the mills. Electricity that is generated from EFB and POME could improve the balance between carbon emission and energy. Thus, palm oil wastes could meet approximately 17% of the country’s energy requirement and could reduce the dependence on petroleum.  THE END.