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What Can I Do To Tackle Climate Change?
40% of the UK's CO2 emissions come from households so there is plenty we can do to tackle climate change and work towards a low carbon future. Tackling climate change doesn't mean drastic lifestyle changes, it only takes small actions to make a big difference, for instance:
Did You Know: If every household installed just one energy saving light bulb, the electricity saved in a year could power the Blackpool Illuminations for nearly 900 years and there would be enough carbon dioxide saved to fill the Royal Albert Hall 1,980 times!
If you want to reduce your impact on the environment, have a more comfortable home or see a drop in your next energy bill the first step to take is calculating your carbon footprint. So check out the Energy Saving Trust's Carbon Cutter to calculate your carbon footprint and identify where you are wasting energy and money.
Things you can do that won't cost a thing
Fighting climate change doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg, in fact tackling climate change has the helpful side effect of saving money. The following tips don't cost a thing so there's no excuse for not trying them out:
- Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1°C could cut your heating bills by up to 10%, saving you up to £50 per year
- Always turn off the lights when you leave a room. Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily. Doing this could save you around £32 per year
- Switching off the microwave when not in use can save a handy £10 and 80kg of CO2 per year
Keeping on top of small wasteful habits doesn't take too much effort and it is a key step in reducing our carbon footprints.
Did You Know: If everyone in the UK took one minute off every shower they took then we could save £220,062,567, the equivalent of taking 364,260 cars off the road saving 1,114,635 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Make your home more efficient and comfortable
The most effective thing we can do to reduce our carbon footprints is to upgrade our homes. It is also where the biggest money savings can be found. Investment into energy efficient home improvements quickly pay for themselves and there are lots of grants & schemes available to help with upgrading your home. Investing in your home can dramatically reduce the size of your carbon footprint and produce a significantly lower energy bill:
- About 25% of heat in an un-insulated home escapes through the roof, so insulating your loft is an easy ‘quick win’ worth around £155 a year in fuel savings. Loft insulation is cheap to buy and easy to install
- If your house was built after the 1920s, chances are it has cavity walls. If these aren’t insulated, having them sorted is relatively cheap and can be worth £120 a year in savings
- Double glazing is an investment too. It’ll reduce noise, increase the comfort of your home and save up to £110 per year. Even old-style sash windows can be double-glazed
Investing in your home is the most effective way of reducing your carbon footprint and it comes with the added benefits of making your home more comfortable, reducing your energy bills and increasing the value of your home.
Start generating your own energy
If you're on top of your energy waste and have an energy efficient home its time to start thinking about generating your own energy. Renewable energy technologies like wind turbines, solar panels and biomass heaters offer an alternative to fossil fuels and can help reduce your home's CO2 emissions.
With the introduction of Feed in Tariffs solar panels are an attractive investment, paying out up to £900 per year over 25 years. Don't worry if you don’t have the savings to take advantage of FITs because you can still benefit from free solar panel installations. Companies like a Shade Greener will install solar panels for free, the catch is that the money generated by FITs goes to the company instead of you but you benefit from the free energy produced by the panels, reducing your yearly energy bill by around £140.
For more useful tips to help you stop wasting energy and money please visit:
or call Energy Saving Trust help and advice on 0800 512 012
Last Updated on Thursday, 22 December 2011 16:28
