The latest climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change led to the Secretary-General of the UN to call it a code red for humanity. António Guterres said burning fossil fuels, emitting greenhouse gases and cutting down forests is putting billions of people at risk. The animal kingdom is suffering with us, and we need to act now to prevent catastrophic damage to the planet.
As well as changes on a national scale, we all need to do our bit to help the cause by reducing our own carbon emissions. And although getting the loft insulated, switching the TV off at the plug and changing to a more eco-friendly mode of transport might not solve the world’s climate problems, it will help contribute to a more sustainable world.
In 2019, domestic transport produced 27 percent of all the UK’s emissions, and this hasn’t changed much in the past 10 years. It is, therefore, an area where we can all try to reduce our carbon footprint.
What are the worst offenders?
As you’d expect, most of the emissions come from road traffic – a whopping 91 percent, to be precise. More than half of these emissions are from cars and taxis, with 18 percent coming from heavy goods vehicles and 17 percent from vans.
The carbon footprint of each transport-type is measured by the number of grams of carbon dioxide equivalents per passenger kilometre. Domestic flights are, as you might presume, the most poisonous to the planet at 255g per passenger per km, but petrol and diesel cars are not far behind at 192g and 171g respectively.
What are the alternatives?
Obviously, nothing beats walking and cycling when it comes to minimising your impact on the environment. But in many instances, this just isn’t practical, especially if you’re travelling long distances, you need to get somewhere quickly, or you’re carrying something bulky. In this case, one of your best options is to go by train. This cuts your emissions to just over a fifth that of driving.
Travelling by coach will also lower your emissions significantly, but with trains you also have the benefit of speed (and not getting stuck in traffic!). London is a significant CO2 emitter, so the next time you’re travelling to the capital, consider looking up train times to London instead of driving there. You won’t have to suffer the stress and expense of trying to park either!
You might see the UK as a small player when it comes to solving the climate crisis. And while our overall CO2 emissions are a fraction that of other countries, we’re all obliged to do our bit, and if we lead from the front it increases the chances of others following our carbon neutral footsteps.