Energy Saving and Carbon Neutrality in the Funeral Industry

Abstract

As a result of the global population growth since World War II, and the major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the increase in the number of deaths, carbon emissions resulting from cremations in the funeral industry have increased by more than initially expected. In order to achieve the goal of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, to reach net-zero carbon neutrality by 2050, in this study, we comprehensively examined the literature on the differences in burial methods in terms of carbon emissions, and undertook stepwise analysis of the solution’s sequence from 1990 to 2050 using the recurrence relations in the trend changes using 5-year intervals. By collecting the annual number of global deaths and calculating the average carbon emissions per death to be 245 kg, we analyzed and compared these data with the annual carbon dioxide amount and global population until 2050. In addition, the results for cremation and Cryomation were analyzed and compared to construct a model of comparative advantage. The results of this study show that Cryomation is more energy efficient and has a greater impact on carbon emission reduction than cremation because it does not require carbon emission elements such as embalming or coffins. Thus, Cryomation can effectively reduce damage to the environment. Taking appropriate strategies for the funeral industry to promote Cryomation can achieve the goals of environmental protection and sustainable development.

The Ecological Funeral: New Ideas in Contemporary Lithuania

“…One of the newest forms of ecological burial is the drying of the remains to powder which is later used as compost. Green funerals like these enables carbon, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution to be reduced (Lee et al 2022).…”

Integrated Zoning Protection of Urban Remains from Perspective of Sustainable Development—A Case Study of Changchun

“…On 2 June 2019, the regional waterlogging sections reached 56, which seriously affected urban production and life. Meanwhile, the reduction of urban green space has led to the enhancement of the urban heat island effect and a decrease in carbon absorption capacity, and the number of extreme summer heat days in Changchun has increased year by year in recent years [62][63][64][65]. Based on the above problems, it is necessary to restore water systems and green spaces as resilient urban spaces, especially in today's policy of "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality", and also as "urban white areas" to reserve space for urban disaster prevention and avoidance.…”

Untitled

“…Despite appearances, however, if we project ourselves to 2060, as Rugg [23] invites us to do, nothing seems clear-cut. Recent research conducted on the effects of cremations globally notes that cremations have increased more than expected, threatening to make it impossible to achieve the COP 21 Paris (2015) goals of carbon neutrality by 2050 [13]. The authors collated the annual number of deaths over a long period of time and, by calculating the average carbon emissions per death, derived projections of the annual amount of carbon dioxide emitted.…”