Emisión de gases de efecto invernadero por uso de combustibles fósiles en Ibagué, Tolima (Colombia)

Climate change is caused by the increase of concen-trations of greenhouse gases (ghg), especially CO2, caused by the proliferation of fossil fuels use. Forest systems can capture carbon in biomass and mitigate the climate change problem. The aim of this research was to estimate the emission of ghg from the sale of fossil fuels in the city of Ibague and propose options of mitigation with productive systems in Tolima. Throughout a review, the total number of service stations in the city urban area was determined. Carrying on interviews to employers that attend public, the sales of fossil fuels (gasoline, diesel and natural gas vehicle-ngv), were determined and based on the total number of stations and emission factors, it was estimated the total emission from each fuel in the city. Some mitigation options, such as coffee, cocoa and teak plantations have been proposed. It was estimated an emission of 368 Gg CO2/year (1 Gg = 10⁹ g) from sales of fuels, equivalent to 718 kg CO2/person/year. These ghgemissions should be mitigated with reduction in the use of fossil fuels or throughout establishment of agricultural and forestry production systems which allows fixating CO2.