Assessment of Carbon Footprints of Staff in University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria

Aims: The study was carried out to assess the carbon footprints of staff of three agricultural-based Colleges of the University of Agriculture, Makurdi.

Study Design and Methodology: Staff Departments, cadre (academic and non-academic) and gender were assessed using an online questionnaire by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). Variables ranging from food consumption, home, travel and stuff were assessed among 120 respondents within the selected Colleges of the University. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data obtained.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in University of Agriculture, Makurdi between March, 2017 to May, 2017.

Results: The study revealed that, staff from the College of Animal Science had the highest carbon footprints of 597.60 tonnes/year, requiring approximately 3.90 planets to maintain their lifestyle. The Department of Animal Production had the highest carbon footprints of 314.80 tonnes/year among Departments investigated and required up to 4.00 planets. The academic staff had the highest cumulative carbon footprints of 880.40 tonnes, a lifestyle that could be accommodated within 6.20 planets. The female staff of the selected Colleges emitted higher than their male counterparts (893.20 tonnes/year), requiring 6.30 planets to continue with their lifestyles.

Conclusion: The footprints of staff in the Colleges studied were higher than the UK emission standard per capita per annum of 3.06 tonnes/year, indicating that they would need more than the earth to live in, if everyone else in the world adopted their lifestyles. The study recommends that adequate awareness on the negative impacts of high carbon emissions be carried out to help citizens reduce their carbon emissions in order to live within the limits of the earth.