Mobility as a climate killer
An effective way to save emissions is to pay attention to personal mobility. According to the science program Quarks, this area accounts for 21 percent of CO2 emissions. So if you use the bike or the train more often instead of the car, you can save a lot. According to the Quarks CO2 calculator, the car with a combustion engine consumes 416 kilograms of CO2 a year on a commute of ten kilometers. An e-car that was refueled with the current German electricity mix has a better balance, but still ends up at 274 kilograms. Local public transport, on the other hand, causes 140 kilograms and an e-bike only just under nine kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions. Even going on vacation can be very harmful to the climate. According to the CO2 calculator of the non-profit organization Atmosfair, the personal climate footprint for a return flight between Berlin and Mallorca is 792 kilograms of CO2. Quarks’ tip: Switch to the long-distance bus for short distances and fly once every few years for long distances and stay in one place for a long time at the same time.
Green electricity saves a lot of CO2
Another climate sinner is the heating and electricity consumption of the Germans. According to Quarks, households also account for 21 percent of per capita CO2 emissions. According to ZDF, in order to effectively reduce emissions, one should pay attention to the energy classes of refrigerators, washing machines and other electrical appliances. Consumer electronics, in particular, have a high energy consumption even in “standby mode”. A power strip with a “Save Energy switch” can save electricity and thus CO2. It is also worth buying a dishwasher, as it is much more environmentally friendly than washing by hand. According to ZDF, anyone who then accepts a temperature reduction of one degree in their apartment can save five to ten percent of heating energy. According to the Federal Environment Agency, the use of renewable energies would also be advisable. With an average electricity consumption of 1,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, purchasing green electricity can save an average of 530 kilograms of CO2 per person.
Climate-damaging consumption
You can also live more climate-friendly through personal nutrition. Animal products make up the majority of CO2 emissions in nutrition. “For every kilogram of beef, around 13 kilograms of greenhouse gases are released into the air. Pork and poultry perform better with three to four kilograms of CO2. Organic products are somewhat more climate-friendly: one kilogram of beef produces slightly fewer emissions at 11 kilograms,” says Quark’s website. ZDF reports that if meat consumption in Germany were to be halved, a total of 13.3 million tons of CO2 could be saved. But not only the consumption of animal foods can be harmful to the climate. Some clothing, furniture and toys also have a poor CO2 balance. According to the Frankfurter Rundschau, it can help here to buy second-hand clothing instead of new goods and to at least avoid unnecessary packaging waste when buying new ones.
CO2 compensation for air travelers
If you don’t want to do without things like the flight on vacation, you can also rely on the so-called CO2 compensation. According to Zeit Online, emissions can be offset with a donation in addition to the flight price. This principle is offered by numerous providers such as Atmosfair or the myclimate foundation. The organizations then use the donated money to finance climate projects that avoid greenhouse gases or bind them from the atmosphere.
Tim Adler / Editor finanzen.net
Image sources: Jo Panuwat D / shutterstock.com, Sepp photography / Shutterstock.com