Climate change: Six everyday things you can do to help stop global warming | UK news

[ad_1]

Traveling by car and plane less

The coronavirus pandemic has proven how much pollution vehicles add to our carbon footprint.

During the various lockdowns in 2020, UK greenhouse gas emissions fell by 8.9% – from 454.8 million tons in 2019 to 414.1 million – the largest drop since records began in 1990.

Transport accounts for about a third of Britain’s total emissions, and toxic fumes from cars and vans cause thousands of premature deaths each year.

So choosing public transportation or car sharing to get around will help reduce your carbon footprint considerably.

The government bans any new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, but before that, if you’re able to travel by electric bus or tram — or own your electric car — this is the best option for the planet.

Total greenhouse gases also decreased as a result of the interruption of air travel during the pandemic.

The aviation industry is responsible for 2% of all human-caused carbon dioxide emissions, according to the Air Transport Working Group.

But while reducing non-essential air travel will make a difference, the potential climate campaign group claims that it is a small minority of frequent flyers that are causing the real harm.

They say that 70% of all flights in the UK are operated by the same 15% of people, the vast majority of whom are high earners.

As a result, they want to levy a frequent flyer tax to deter people who can afford to fly more from doing so.

Professor Collins explains that while you can electrify cars, you can’t do the same with airplanes. So the only way to reduce emissions from air travel is to fly less often.

[ad_2]