Final answer:
Carbon footprinting measures total greenhouse gas emissions, not just carbon dioxide, and includes the impact of transportation. It helps quantify an individual's or entity's impact on climate change.
Step-by-step explanation:
Carbon footprinting is a method used to measure the environmental impact of an individual, organization, or product by calculating the total greenhouse gas emissions caused, directly and indirectly. The statements that accurately describe carbon footprinting are:
- (a) It measures the total greenhouse gases emitted, not just carbon dioxide but also other gases like methane and nitrous oxide, which have a higher global warming potential (GWP).
- (b) It is not specific to carbon dioxide emissions solely; other greenhouse gases are included and are often measured relative to the GWP of carbon dioxide.
- (d) It quantifies an individual's impact on climate change by considering various activities and behaviors that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions.
Note that statement (c) is incorrect because transportation emissions are indeed a significant part of the carbon footprint calculation, as transportation is a key source of fossil fuel consumption and resultant carbon dioxide emissions.