Private transport
Private transport is the other area most likely to contribute to your personal carbon footprint. If you are calculating a footprint for your whole house, remember to include all your vehicles and any you might hire when on holiday.
To calculate your annual CO2 emissions from transport,
please go the the
VCA data base
by clicking here (http://www.vcacarfueldata.org.uk/search/search.asp) and entering your car manufactuer, model and fuel type.
For older cars you can go here instead:
http://www.smmt.co.uk/co2/co2search.cfm
The databases tell you how many grams of carbon your car emits which you can use to find which band your car is in the form above.
Now enter your annual mileage against the relevant band into the calculator. Remember to do this for all the cars you drive. If you have taken a long road trip in the UK or Europe and would like to estimate the distance between two cities the following websites may be helpful:
www.britain.tv/travel_distances.shtml
www.freedom-tour.com/mall/kmeurope.htm
If you can't find you car's model in either of the websites linked above, you can
make an estimate of your emissions band based on the following table of engine sizes
| Category | Band |
| Motorbikes | A |
| Small urban cars | B |
| Small cars: 1401-1800cc | C |
| Medium cars: 1801-2000cc | D |
| Medium/large cars: 2001-2500cc | E |
| Family cars/people carriers: 2501-3000cc | F |
| Sport cars and 4WDs > 3000cc | G |
Recent local research has shown that carbon footprints associated with private transport use are as follows - see where you fit in?
Low footprint - Less than 1 tonnes CO2 per year
Well done, you probably walk, cycle or use public transport a great deal. About 25% of people walk to work and 6% cycle which is really good for the environment and your health too !
Average Footprint - Around 3 tonnes CO2 per year
Locally we are dependant on the private car even though we live on a small island and the average journey length is a very low 3.3 miles! Is every journey you make really necessary ? Can you walk, cycle, share lifts or use public transport more? Reduce your trips as much as possible and remember even simple things like ensuring your car is well maintained, your tyres are at the right pressure and your car isn't carrying unnecessary weight will improve your emissions.
High Footprint - More than 6 tonnes
About one third of Jersey's carbon footprint comes from the use of road fuels and 51% of people travel to work alone in a private car. In general, the bigger the car, the larger the engine and the more emissions it gives out. As technology develops vehicles are becoming more fuel efficient and cleaner so the next time you renew your vehicle think about choosing one that has low emissions and high fuel efficiency. Remember though, the greenest car is a bicycle or your feet!
To find out how to reduce your dependence on your car please click here.
Benchmarks and information
Low household footprint around 4 tonnes per annum
Well done, your household's footprint is very small you clearly are taking positive action to 'live lightly' spread the word to others on the positive measures you take and how much money it saves you!
Average household footprint - around 9 tonnes per annum
Your household's footprint represents the average local emissions but don't be complacent, if you look at your totals from each section you will be able to identify where you can make the biggest savings and focus your efforts to improve.
High household footprint - around 20 tonnes per annum
Your household has a large footprint but the good news is that you can make substantial financial savings by rethinking the way you do things as well as helping the planet ! If you look at your totals from each section you will be able to identify where the majority of your emissions are coming from and focus your efforts to improve, one reason local people can have very high emissions is because they make a lot of flights every year.
For more help on reducing your environmental footprint please visit www.ECO-ACTIVE.je
Indirect emmissions
This is the first carbon calculator developed for Jersey, however it does not yet take into account the 'indirect' emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases due to the items we purchase and services we use. To reduce your indirect carbon emissions try to consider your purchases carefully for example buy local and seasonal produce as well as reducing, reusing and recycling as much as possible. Visit the ECO-ACTIVE website for more ideas.
How does your individual carbon footprint compare?
A simple way to compare the carbon footprint between countries is to calculate the carbon dioxide emissions as measured by all the different forms of energy used. This overall 'carbon dioxide budget' can then be allocated across the population to give a figure for CO2 per head. The graph below uses figures from US Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) and the International Energy Agency.
Jersey appears to perform pretty well compared to some other countries. However, remember we are a very small island with very little energy intensive industry or on-island power generation so it is not surprising our per capita emissions are low. That said, notice how far bigger nations like Switzerland have low emissions yet they have very different economies.
These apparent low figures should not mean we take a 'free ride!'. Carbon dioxide damages the atmosphere wherever it is emitted and we all have a global responsibility to ensure we each play our part in reducing our personal carbon footprint.
This Carbon Calculator has been developed by thisisjersey and ECO-ACTIVE using the results of local research carried out by James Le Ruez.
If you have any comments or questions about this calculator please
contact us at info@eco-active.je
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