We have one world, and we are not taking care of it! Resource stripping, habitat destruction, pollution of the land, seas and atmosphere have all led to a world where we risk catastrophy. The planet will survive, but not as we know it today - heatwaves, floods, drought, famine, war, the future looks bleak.
Efforts to tackle climate change seem sluggish - governments seem stuck in short-term policies, businesses are looking after their profits and many of us have reached a state of hopelessness - it's easy to give up, and just carry on as normal, ignoring...
But we CAN make a difference - if everyone starts making changes, the world changes.
Put simply - you can do one thing, across everything you do: CONSUME LESS!
Read on for specifics and references to further reading.
Many changes needed to tackle climate change and pollution need to come from manufacturers, industry change and governments. However, as individuals we can all make significant changes. Here are the top 5 changes that individuals can make which will have the biggest impact on their emissions.
Every person or organisation that you can influence brings us closer to a fixed planet!
ReferencesThis is a very personal choice - remember that any child could grow up and make huge positive changes or discoveries that could change the lives of millions.
It is equally important to bring children up to be custodians, not consumers!
A smaller family uses less resources
ReferencesAeroplanes run on fossil fuels, to which there is no current alternative.
Consider swapping business trips with video calls and virtual meetings. Travel in economy class. If you can travel by train instead, then do so.
If you have to fly, offset your miles (but please check the offset scheme!)
Only 6% of the worlds population have been on a plane. Every flight avoided helps!
ReferencesWalking or cycling, using public transport, switching to a greener car are all good options.
Living without a car is even better than switching to a 'greener' car, as less cars on the road also means less 'car related' infrastructure is required, with the associated gains.
Imagine what could be done with all the car parks - trees - solar panels - gardens?
For many, car use is their largest contribution to CO2 emissions
ReferencesIn food production, meat and dairy are the largest contributors to climate change and also habitat destruction.
Consider that 90% of global soya bean production goes to feed animals, and 50% of the worlds soya crop is grown in Brasil and Argentina - largely on land that used to be rain forest.
Eat locally sourced sustainable produce where you can, and eat seasonal vegetables; whilst food miles aren't the biggest issue, eating tomatos grown locally in a heated greenhouse is a bad idea.
In the UK, we should be aiming to reduce our meat consumption by 70% by 2030.
ReferencesBy 2050, we have to reduce our Carbon Footprints to around 2 tonnes per person per year in order to meet the 2℃ climate target. To put that into context, figures from 2016 give average per capita emissions (in tonnes CO2):
You can calculate your Carbon Footprint here or here then see the following sections for more actions that you can take.
Now you have determined your carbon footprint, you can simply pay into an offset scheme to make the problem go away, right?
We should all be focusing on REDUCING our emissions and use of the worlds resources, it is far better to use less than to use more and then pay extra for the privilege. Also, who are you paying? Is the scheme real? Do the trees they plant actually survive to store CO2?
If you want to offset, look very carefully into the scheme - an airline needs a 'badge' to convince customers that they are green, but their job is aviation, and their profits come from moving more passengers around, not from saving the planet!
At least by using schemes endorsed by international organisations, you have the best chance of investing in a real, effective scheme:
About 15% of the UK emissions come from heating our homes. There are various measures that you can take to reduce your energy consumption, many of them are quick and easy and will save you money. Others require some investment and have a longer payback time, but enable you to greatly reduce your energy usage.
ReferencesQuick tips from the Energy Savings Trust explain how various measures can save hundreds of pounds off your energy bills:
You can take various measures to upgrade aspects of your home. Grants are available for some of these items, others require a certain amount of investment on your part, but all will reduce your climate impact
Transport is responsible for the largest part of the UKs emissions at around 25%. Private cars & taxis account for 61% of that total, making private transport responsible for around 15% of UK emissions. Hence, just changing the way you move about has the potential to make a huge impact.
ReferencesThink about how, when and why you travel!
We have all become used to holidays abroad due to the availability of cheap flights. Unfortunately, the aviation industry accounts for 2.5% of the worlds CO2 emissions, and another 1% due to non carbon effects. The sector is still growing hugely and there are currently no viable alternatives to avation fuel. Many airlines run offset schemes, but some of these schemes are questionable "green-washing"
The agriculture sector accounts for around 11% of UK emissions. Of course our food comes from many parts of the world, so your choices affect emissions in many countries.
References
We can all make small changes in our food purchasing and diet that can help reduce our impact on the planet
This is perhaps the best way to mitigate your dietary climate impact. It is just as important to ensure that any replacements that you make are sustainably produced, and do actually reduce your impact. It is becoming clearer that sustainable agriculture and land use are key - a recent extensive study (see ref. Reducing foods environmental impacts) explores two scenarios:
You should therefore concentrate on choosing food from producers that are actively working to reduce their climate impact. If you choose to continue eating meat and dairy, eat less and better quality.
Fashion & shopping are a huge area, and there have been many claims that the fashion industry accounts for around 10% of global CO2 emissions. These figures are very hard to calculate, better studies have suggested between 2% - 8%. However, everything you purchase has a climate impact.
ReferencesBuy less stuff! - do you really need a new 'X', if you do - then buy a good quality replacement from a responsible manufacturer and use it until it stops being usable, not until the new model appears!