Exploring CO2 Sources and Sinks Nexus through Integrated Approach: Insight from Pakistan

Land cover changes are used to indicate various anthropogenic activities that lead to greenhouse gas GHG emissions (mainly carbon dioxide, CO2). GHG mitigation policies are in place in mega cities of developing countries, such as the city of Faisalabad in Pakistan. The relationship between CO2 sources and sinks, however, is still largely unknown. In the present study, we estimate sectoral CO2 sources using actual data from the city's energy consumption as one of the critical parameters an anthropogenic activity, while sinks are extracted from land cover/land use change analysis of quad-temporal satellite images for the time period of 1975 to 2011. The integration of multiple tools/models makes this study unique for its kind. The results illustrate that the city area expanded by six times from 1975 to 2011 while CO2 sources increased eight-fold, and are expected to rise further if not addressed in timely fashion. CO2 sinks are being exhausted heavily in a large numbers. In particular, sparse and dense vegetation has shown a significant change over a mere decade. The forecast results, estimated by econometric model, likewise show an increasing trend in the future. It is also found that use of multiple tools and techniques deliver better results in carbon mitigation tracer research. This study could help in developing climate mitigation policies at a local level that will ultimately help in reshaping national policies.