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Almost all human activity has a carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of greenhouse gases produced, measured in units of carbon dioxide.
Natural processes, such as photosynthesis, use up CO2 during daylight hours, whilst respiration (both animals and plants respire) adds CO2 to the environment. In pre-industrial times, net increases in CO2 production were minimal, since the 19th century, however, when the industrial revolution started, CO2 levels have been rising. Ever since then our global carbon footprint has been increasing.
Germany has the highest level of CO2 emissions in Europe, ahead of other countries like Sweden, Finland and Denmark, caused mainly by a larger use of fossil fuels for energy and heat production.
What makes up your carbon footprint? Activities such as driving a car, travelling on an airplane, or heating a home all use up energy. Much of this energy comes from burning fossil fuels. This produces CO2. As well as costing a lot of money, inefficient use of transport or home energy creates a lot of unnecessary CO2, making your carbon footprint much bigger than it needs to be.
The web contains a number of carbon footprint calculators (www.carbonfootprint.com/, www.safeclimate.net/calculator/). Using these we can measure how much CO2 our activities produce compared to the level of emission that would ensure rises in CO2 would slow down and eventually begin to reverse.
As well as being more efficient in our use of energy and transport, there are other steps we can take to reduce our carbon footprint. The European Commission recommend the following 10 ways:
- Cycle or walk for shorter journeys. If you have to drive, do it ecologically – set your car in motion without pressing down the throttle, shift to a higher gear as soon as possible, look ahead to avoid sudden breaking and accelerating.
- Plant a tree. One tree of average size absorbs about 6 kg of CO2 per year, so over 40 years it soaks up about 250 kg.
- Turn your thermostat down by 1°C (saves 10% of your heating bill).
- When airing your house, open the windows for a few minutes only, instead of letting the heat escape over a long period. If you leave a small opening all day long, the energy needed to keep it warm during six cold months (10°C or less outside temperature) would result in almost 1 tonne of CO2 emissions.
- Heat only as much water as you need for your tea or coffee. Heating a whole kettle of water uses about as much energy as lighting your living room for the evening.
- Make sure your home is well insulated, since 50% of heat escapes via the walls. Insulation is good for the environment and makes financial sense in the longer term.
- Recycle all you can. Better still, reduce your consumption where possible. Buy goods with less packaging and switch from disposable to reusable products.
- Keep fridges and freezers clean and away from ovens and cookers. They work more efficiently that way.
- Switch off lights and appliances you are not using. Do not leave anything on stand-by mode.
- Switch to energy-saving light bulbs. They last ten times longer than ordinary bulbs, while generating up to 400 kg fewer emissions and cutting up to €60 off your electricity bill during their lifetime.
Aside from reducing our carbon footprint through causing less CO2 to be produced, we can also offset our carbon footprint by planting trees, investing in sustainable energy production, and buying and retiring carbon credits, which means investing in environmentally friendly companies, encouraging them to make further CO2 savings.
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 | What are the biggest contributing factors to the carbon footprint created by your family, and by your local community as a whole? |
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| Do you think it’s better to reduce or offset your carbon footprint? |
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| Can you think of any positive changes you could make in your life to reduce or offset your carbon foot print? |
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| Could these steps be expanded and applied to your community as a whole? (Focus on each change you have thought of and see if it could apply to everyone in your community). |
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