CLIMATE ACTION
Small steps to cut footprint
World average 6 tonnes
UK average 12 tonnes
Lots of phrases are used when talking about the climate crisis and our impact on the world but they are not always explained .
WHAT IS ‘ NET ZERO ’? The council ’ s climate action strategy ’ s aim is to make our borough ’ s harmful emissions so low that we can effectively say we are ‘ net zero ’. But what does that mean ?
Making Ealing carbon neutral by 2030 means reducing the amount of harmful carbon dioxide emissions (‘ greenhouse gases ’) we produce as a borough to zero overall . Greenhouse gases come from burning fossil fuels such as gas , coal and oil .
Reducing emissions to ‘ net zero ’ is central to the council ’ s climate action strategy . This does not mean removing all emissions generated from our day-to-day living . Instead , it means making sure they are being considerably reduced across the borough and that any remaining emissions are cancelled out and balanced by reductions in other areas .
Nationally , and globally , some of this ‘ offsetting ’ of the leftovers is likely to mainly be achieved by being absorbed by oceans and forests – in Ealing , we will need to do things on a smaller scale , but ‘ greening ’ will still play an important role .
WHAT IS YOUR ‘ CARBON FOOTPRINT ’? We must drastically reduce the harmful gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide we release into the atmosphere from fossil fuels , often without realising , whether through driving or heating our homes .
Carbon footprint is the amount of carbon dioxide released into the air from your activities as an individual . It is a good way of measuring your own personal impact .
As you can see in the graphics on this page , it consists of things like heating , travelling and waste . In the UK , our average carbon footprint was double that of the world average in 2017 according to the World Wildlife Fund ( WWF ) – showing how much work there is to be done . You can work out your own , using the WWF ’ s calculator at footprint . wwf . org . uk
22 around ealing Autumn 2021