Carbon footprint & linear algebra

11 Sep 2023

Carbon footprint & linear algebra: a short introduction to input-output analysis - article by Elise Raphael (UNIGE) following the Climathics Conference at the SwissMAP Research Station.

Carbon footprint & linear algebra As mentioned in the SwissMAP Perspectives interview, one of the next steps is to provide content to mathematicians to incorporate sustainability topics into their lectures. For example, linear algebra shows up in carbon footprint computations... Many of us have once tried a carbon footprint calculator, such as WWF’s. While the results are always a good incentive to try to change our lifestyle, it does make one curious about where these numbers come from. It is indeed quite hard to find the details of the computations and data involved in computing carbon emissions. One surprisingly recent method, called extended input-output analysis, comes from economy and uses some basic linear algebra to track quantitatively the carbon emissions associated with a purchase (called consumption-based emissions).

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En mémoire d'André Haefliger (UNIGE, January 15-17, 2024)

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