The elephant in the room. Dealing realistically with emissions from aviation

Has the time has come to include radiative forcing in the calculation of aviation emissions to more accurately reflect climate impact?

Whether you are a scientist, in business, an activist or just a plain member of the public, we all have one thing in common; reducing our carbon footprint to help achieve the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 1.5^oC objective.⁽¹⁾   The focus of action, or rather the blame game, seems to veer from not eating meat to electric cars. We are encouraged to use less, reuse or at best recycle.  Yet there is an elephant in the room that we are all too scared to at look in the face, and this is aviation and the real contribution of our constant flying is making to climate change.   

The fact that direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from aviation represents just 2% of global emissions, tends to underestimate its importance in emission reduction.  Taken in a different context, if aviation was considered as a country, it would rank in the top 10 emitters,⁽²⁾  with flying a significant and easily manageable portion of personal, family and business carbon footprints.   A study in Ireland found personal air travel represented on average 20% of the Irish primary household footprint, equivalent to 1.15 tonnes CO₂ per capita per year (t CO₂ ca^-1y^-1) of an average personal footprint of 5.70 t CO₂ ca^-1y^-1.⁽³⁾ A person flying Dublin to New York (5100 km) and back generates 1.05 t CO₂ ca^-1. So, each flight we take is a significant contributor to our total annual emissions.  Aviation was included in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2012 making it the largest sectoral emitter of greenhouse gases after electricity generation.  This was followed in 2016 by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) introducing The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) which aims to stabilise emissions at 2020 levels while requiring airlines to offset emissions in excess of this agreed level.⁽⁴⁾  Although these measures will help make the industry more efficient, they are unlikely to affect growth, with aviation emissions rising by 70% between 2006 and 2018, and predicted to rise substantially over the next 30 years (i.e. 300-700%).  Scheduled airlines in 2006 carried passengers equivalent to almost 4 trillion revenue passenger kilometres (RPK- i.e. a passenger kilometre is equivalent to one passenger transported one kilometre) which had risen to 7.8 trillion by 2017.⁽⁵⁾ Passenger (RPK) traffic is expected to continue to increase by 4.6% per annum over the period up to 2012 to 2032.⁽⁶⁾

Emission factors for aviation are based on the distance flown, with passengers and cargo considered separately. In Europe these are calculated by the  EUROCONTROL small emitters tool.⁽⁷⁾  This software uses the fuel efficiency of each aircraft type and also the average number of passengers carried per flight (i.e. the load factor), providing either CO₂ emissions per passenger kilometre (pKm^-1) travelled  on specific aircraft, or more usefully as average emission values for all aircraft used for domestic, short-haul (<3700km) or long-haul (>3700km) flights. Passenger kilometres are transformed to CO₂ emissions using conversion factors based on a range of variables with longer flights tending to be more efficient in terms of CO₂ emitted per km due to the landing and take-off (LTO) cycle requiring a more intense fuel burn than cruising at a constant altitude (Table 1).⁽⁸⁾

Table 1 Calculation of CO₂ emissions factors for passenger flights adjusted for average passenger numbers carried (i.e. load factor), and weight of the passengers in relation to any cargo carried, expressed as a percentage of the tonnes carried per kilometre (t km^-1).  Emissions are expressed in grams of CO₂ emitted per passenger kilometre flown (g CO₂ pkm^-1). These values do not include radiative forcing.⁽⁸⁾

Type of flight	Load factor (%)	Passenger only		Combined passenger and cargo
		Passenger t km-1 (% of total)	emissions g CO2 pkm-1	Passenger t km-1 (% of total)	emissions g CO2 pkm-1
Domestic	73.7	100	144.9	99.77	144.6
Short-haul	79.9	100	80.2	98.70	78.7
Long-haul	74.0	100	122.1	85.13	103.1

Emissions from carrying cargo by air is normally considered separately, with values for dedicated cargo aircraft being 2.9, 0.9 and 0.8 kg CO₂ tonne kilometre (t km^-1) for domestic, short- and long-haul flights respectively. However, long-haul passenger aircraft carry up to eight times more cargo in total than long-haul cargo aircraft alone. So, like passenger load factors, this affects how the emissions per passenger is calculated (Table 1).

As first and business class passengers take up considerably more space in the aircraft, between 3-6 times more, than an economy passenger, the total number of passengers carried is reduced thereby increasing the average CO₂ emissions per passenger.  When these are reflected in the emission factors then significant changes in emissions per passenger kilometre travelled are seen (Table 2). This mean that on the return flight from Dublin to New York with a weighted average emission of 1.05 tonnes of CO₂ per passenger, the economy passenger is only responsible for 0.8 tonnes compared to 2.3 tonnes for the business class passenger or 3.2 tonnes of CO₂ emitted for each first-class passenger on the same flight.

There is overwhelming evidence that the impact of aviation emissions on climate are far greater than are currently being estimated using CO₂ emissions alone.  One of the problems in considering GHG emissions from aviation in terms of carbon footprinting is the diverse range of emissions that result from flying at high altitudes resulting in the impact of emissions being greater than at ground level.⁽⁹⁾  The radiative forcing Index (RFI) accounts for non-CO₂ climate change factors such as aerosols, water vapour and NOx, and is a multiplier that adjusts CO₂ production to estimate the full impact of aviation on climate.  Although there are uncertainties associated with the RFI, especially as non-CO₂ effects are largely independent of actual CO₂ production, its use remains the best option available.⁽⁸⁾  The best estimates of radiative forcing come from the IPCC report of 1999⁽¹⁰⁾ supported by subsequent researchers.⁽⁹⁾  But for over three decades atmospheric scientists have been unable to agree the extent to which aviation impact on climate is being underestimated. Since the IPCC report, no alternative RFI value other than 1.9 has been considered for adoption. So, with the IPCC, EU and the UK all accepting a 1.9 RFI, based on best available scientific evidence, we need to act now by including RFI in GHG emission accounting of aviation if we are to achieve the IPCC 1.5^oC target. ^{(1, 8, 12, 13)}

This raises the question of whether in life cycle analysis or in carbon footprinting,  emissions from aircraft should be considered differently from land based emissions.  Non-CO₂ emissions are not always taken into account in other sectors, but aviation poses a different problem due to the complexity of its effects on global warming; so simply taking a fuel derived footprint does not take into account the total impact which is much higher than their CO₂ emissions alone.  Although many researchers have suggested non-CO₂ effects should not be included until the science is better understood,  the consensus is that a RFI should be used in all GHG analyses to take into account the full climate impact of aviation emissions.^{(14, 15)}  So, when RFI is added to the CO₂ emissions from that return flight from Dublin to New York the weighted average increases to 2.0 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita (t CO_2e ca^-1), with economy passengers each emitting 1.5 t CO_2e ca^-1, business class 4.4 t CO_2e ca^-1 and first class 6.1 t CO_2e ca^-1.  That is almost six times higher than the unweighted CO₂ value commonly used at present (Table 2).

Table 2 The CO₂ emissions factors adjusted for cabin seating class⁽⁸⁾ with and without RFI.

Flight Type	Seating class	Load factor (%)	% total seating	Emissions g CO2 pkm-1	Emissions plus RFI g CO2e pkm-1
Domestic	Weighted average	73.7	100	144.6	231.4
Short-haul	Weighted average	79.9	100	78.7	149.5
	Economy	79.9	96.7	77.4	147.1
	First/Business	79.9	3.3	116.2	220.8
Long-haul	Weighted average	74.0	100	103.1	195.9
	Economy	74.0	83.0	78.9	149.9
	Economy plus	74.0	3.0	126.3	240.0
	Business	74.0	11.9	228.9	434.9
	First	74.0	2.0	315.7	599.8

The IPCC recommend a reduction in personal emissions to 2.5 tonnes by 2030 and 0.7 tonnes by 2050 to keep within the 1.5^oC objective.⁽¹⁾   Many countries, including Ireland and the UK set GHG emission reduction targets of 80% from 1990 levels by 2050.   However, during 2019 countries began to seriously consider a ‘net zero’ target reflecting the urgency to tackle climate change.  With total revenue passenger kilometres flown increasing by 4.7% per year to 2032, any delay in adopting RFI begs the question if we really are taking the effect of flying on the climate seriously?  If we are to hope for any meaningful reduction in overall carbon emissions, then individuals and households will have to start engaging far more in the managed reduction of their primary carbon footprint which should include all personal travel including flying.

We need to use real emission values in carbon management. The IPCC has shown that we each have a personal allowance as well as reduction goals when it comes to emissions.  How you use your allowance is up to you, but we need urgent policy changes so we accurately account for emissions from aviation by including radiative forcing in calculations.

Professor Nick Gray, Centre for the Environment, University of Dublin Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland. 

References:

(1) IPCC, Global Warming of 1.5^oC. Summary for Policymakers. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Switzerland. (2017) https://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf  Accessed 23 September 2019.

(2) EU, Reducing Emissions form Aviation. (2019) https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/aviation_en  Accessed 19 September 2019.

(3) T. Kenny, N.F. Gray, A preliminary survey of household and personal carbon dioxide emissions in Ireland. Environment International  35: 259-272. (2009)  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2008.06.008

(4) ICAO, Doc 9501. Environmental Technical Manual: Volume  IV.  Procedures for demonstrating compliance with the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.  International Civil Aviation Authority, Montreal, Canada. (2018)  https://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/CORSIA/Pages/ETM-V-IV.aspx

(5) IATA Economic Performance of the Airline Industry. (2018) https://www.iata.org/publications/economics/Reports/Industry-Econ-Performance/IATA-Economic-Performance-of-the-Industry-mid-year-2018-report-final-v1.pdf

(6) ICAO, ICAO Long-Term Traffic Forecasts:  Passenger and cargo. (2016)  https://www.icao.int/Meetings/aviationdataseminar/Documents/ICAO-Long-Term-Traffic-Forecasts-July-2016.pdf

(7) Eurocontrol, Small emitters tool (SET)- 2018: Emissions calculator. (2018) https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/small-emitters-tool-set-2018

 (8) BEIS, 2018 Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting:  Methodology Paper For Emission Factors - Final Report. Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, UK Government, London. (2018) https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/726911/2018_methodology_paper_FINAL_v01-00.pdf

(9) D.S. Lee, G. Pitari, T. Berntsen, V. Grewe, K. Gierens, J.E. Penner, A. Petzold, M. Prather,  U. Schumann, A. Bais, D. Iachetti, L.L. Lim,  Transport impacts on atmosphere and  climate: aviation. Atmospheric Environment 44: 4678-4734. (2010)

(10) IPCC, Aviation and the global atmosphere. J.E. Penner, D.H. Lister, D.J. Griggs, D. Dokken, M. McFarland,  Eds., Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. (1999)

(11) IPCC, IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Volume 2 — Energy. Chapter 1 — Introduction. (2006)   http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/pdf/2_Volume2/V2_1_Ch1_Introduction.pdfAccessed 26 September, 2019.

(12) EU, Emission Reduction Targets for International Aviation and Shipping. Directorate General for International Policy. IP/A/ENVI/2015-11, European Parliament, Brussels. (2015)

https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/569964/IPOL_STU(2015)569964_EN.pdf

 (13) IPCC, Summary for Policymakers. In: S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor, H.L. Miller, Eds., Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. (2007)

 (14) M. Berners-Lee, D.C. Howard, J. Moss, K. Kaivanto, W.A. Scott, Greenhouse gas footprinting for small businesses - the use of input-output data.  Science of the Total Environment 409: 883-91. (2011)

 (15) N. Jungbluth, C. Meil, Aviation and Climate Change: Best practice for calculation of the global warming potential. ESU-services Ltd. commissioned by ESU-services Ltd., Schaffhausen, Switzerland, (2018) www.esu-services.ch/de/publications/

Why is water increasingly becoming a non- renewable resource in many areas?

 There is no doubt that global warming is going to change the pattern of water availability throughout the World.  Some areas will get more rainfall, in some instances significantly higher amounts, or the same as before but as fewer and more intense rainfall events. In contrast, other areas will get less rainfall leading to severe and possibly permanent drought, a scenario currently playing out in Australia and some parts of central Africa.  It remains difficult to be precise at this stage how it will affect specific areas and there will be local variations arising from more regional trends.  Global warming will also lead to increased evaporation and plant evapo-transpiration creating more water movement between the land and the atmosphere as well as melting snow and glaciers releasing more freshwater.  

In terms of water resources there will be a continued increase in the loss of snow and ice which are often used as an important water supply resource.  Less precipitation will lead to less surface water and less aquifer recharge, with less aquifer recharge resulting in  a gradual reduction in both ground and possible surface water availability. Intense rainfall events will lead to greater loss of water as surface runoff, leading also to flooding and poorer water quality as we saw in the UK and much of Western Europe between December 2013 to February 2014.  Overall demand for water will be driven by the expected increase in temperature, although resources will have been compromised by the more erratic climate. The current trend in increase demand due to urbanization and migration will continue as more people migrate to cities, and there will be an increased water demand for irrigation and livestock. Overall less water results in poorer hygiene and greater risks of disease and disease transfer. In areas where precipitation increases sufficiently, net water supplies may not be affected or they may even increase; however, where precipitation remains the same or decreases, net water supplies will decrease overall.

In areas where snow is an important factor in water availability, the period of maximum river flow may move from late spring to early spring or even  late winter. Changes in river flow have important implications for water and flood management, irrigation, and planning. If supplies are reduced, off-stream users of water such as irrigated agriculture and in-stream users such as hydropower, fisheries, recreation and navigation could be most directly affected.  Global climate change is gradually reducing available water resources but at the same time creating greater demand – this is not a sustainable situation leading to PEAK WATER

Peak water is reached when the rate of water demand exceeds the rate at which water resources used for supply can be replenished. Therefore, all water supplies can be considered finite as they can all be depleted by over exploitation.  So while the total volume of water in the hydrological cycle remains the same, the availability of water does alter.  This is particularly true of aquifers (groundwater) and static water bodies such as lakes and reservoirs where the water may take a long time to replenish. So water availability is strongly linked to rainfall and the ability to retain this water within resources becomes incrementally more  difficult as increasing intensity of precipitation reduces infiltration.

Due to increasing demand from population growth, migration to urban centres and for agriculture, it is possible that a state of peak water could be reached in many areas if present trends continue.  By 2025 it is estimated that 1.8 billion people will be living with absolute water scarcity and in excess of 4 billion of the world’s population may be subject to water stress.   Peak water is not about running out of fresh water, but the peaking and subsequent decline of the production rate of supplied water.

A question I am often asked is how does a renewable resource become finite?  The answer is not as straight forward as first appears.  Water availability is governed by a number of possible factors: Over-abstraction  (i.e. using it before it can be replenish thereby exhausting the supply and causing significant and often permanent ecological damage), not returning water to hydrological resources, saltwater intrusion often caused by over-abstraction, pollution  of resources and finally climate change effects (glacier loss, reduced stream flow, evaporation of lakes).  Comparatively only a very small amount of water is regularly renewed by rain and snowfall, resulting in only a small volume of water available on a sustainable basis.  So all water supplies have an optimal abstraction rate to ensure they are sustainable, but once exceeded then supplies are doomed to failure.  The  Hubbert curve applies to any resource that can be harvested faster than it can be replaced (Figure 1).  This applies to all water resources but especially to groundwaters.

Figure 1. The Hubbert Curve

Peak water is defined in three different ways according to the impact on the resource as:  peak renewable, peak non-renewable or peak ecological water:

Peak Renewable Water comes from resources that are quickly replenished such as rivers and streams, shallow aquifers that recharge relatively quickly and rainwater systems.  These resources are constantly renewed by rainfall or snow melt; however this does not mean these resources can provide unlimited supplies of water.   If demand exceeds 100% of the renewable supply then the “peak renewable” limit is reached.  For many major river catchments globally, the peak renewable water limit has already been reached.  For example, in excess of 100% of the average flow of the Colorado River is already allocated through legal agreements with the seven US States and Mexico. So in a typical year the river flow can now theoretically fall to zero before it reaches the sea.  Similarly the River Thames can during periods of low flow fall below the volume of water abstracted.  The river is prevented from drying up due to over-abstraction by returning wastewater after treatment to the river which is then reused numerous times as it approaches London. Due to the high population within the catchment, the Environment Agency has classified the area as seriously water stressed with towns and cities along the length of the Thames such as Swindon, Oxford and London itself, at risk of water shortages and restrictions during periods of dry weather.

Peak Non-renewable Water  comes from resources that are effectively non-renewable aquifers that have  very slow recharge rates , or contain ancient water that was captured and stored  hundreds or thousands of years ago  and is no longer being recharged (a problem that will be exacerbated by climate change), or groundwater systems that have been damaged by compaction or other physical changes.

Abstraction in excess of natural recharge rates becomes increasingly difficult and expensive as the water table drops which results in a peak of production, followed by diminishing abstraction rates and accompanied by a rapid decline in quality as deeper more mineralized waters (i.e. increasingly salty to the taste) are accessed. Worldwide, a significant fraction of current agricultural production depends on non-renewable groundwater (e.g. North China plains, India, Ogallala Aquifer in the Great Plains of the United States) and the loss of these through over-exploitation threatens the reliability of long-term food supplies in these regions.

When the use of water from a groundwater aquifer far exceeds natural recharge rates, this stock of groundwater will be depleted or fall to a level where the cost of extraction exceeds the value of the water when used, very much like oil fields. The problem is that climate change often results in less rainfall creating a greater dependence on aquifers for supply.

Peak Ecological Water is water abstracted for human use which leads to ecological damage greater than the value of the water to humans. The human population already uses almost 50% of all renewable and accessible freshwater leading to serious ecological effects to both freshwater resources and transitional habitats such as wetlands.  Since 1900, half of the world’s wetlands have disappeared while approximately 50% of freshwater species have become extinct since 1970, faster than the decline of species either on land or in the sea. Water supports both man’s need and that of its natural flora and fauna.  These fragile environments need to be preserved for overall planet health. The simple fact that water supply quality is closely linked to ecosystem processes and health, with most water bodies able to self-purify its water constantly removing pollutants and improving quality overall. However, the problem has been in putting an economic value on ecological systems (sometimes referred to as ecological services) and nature as a whole; whereas water used by humans can be easily quantified economically.  In the mistaken assumption that such values are zero has led to them being highly discounted, underappreciated, or ignored in water policy decisions in many areas.   Over-abstraction is a major problem in many rivers in southern England that are fed from the aquifer below; so as more groundwater is abstracted then the water table falls causing the water level in the river to also fall and even dissapear.

It is not only rivers that are drying up due to over abstraction and global warming but some of the largest freshwater lakes in the world such as the Aryl Sea and Lakes Chad and Victoria in Africa (Figure 2).

 

Figure 2. The rapidly shrinking Aryl Sea in time sequence starting Sept 1977 (a) to June 2013 (f). 

Figure 3. Peak water in the USA compared to economic growth

In the USA, water abstraction and water use peaked during 1975 to 1980 but has stabilized since (Figure 3).  This should have affected economic growth but it has been able to continue  to grow by implementing better water management strategies to satisfy the new needs of industry.  This has been achieved through water conservation, stricter regulations, water efficient and improved technology, education, water pricing etc.  So US citizens are now using less water per capita than ever before.   However, many regions of the U.S. face water scarcity (e.g. the arid west) and new areas of water scarcity continue to develop due to climate change (e.g. southeast and Great Lakes region) which all indicate that peak water has been reached (Figure 4).  The key question is how long can economic growth be sustained without water becoming a limiting factor?

Figure 4. Water supply sustainability index predicted for 20050. 

More information:  http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/highlights/report-findings/water-supply)

Will water shortages affect us in Ireland and the UK?  The straight answer is yes, and to some extent already is.  No one is exempt from the peak water crisis.  Due to global warming most arid regions will probably run out of water in less than two decades.  In wetter areas, peak water has been reached due to: heavy use of water; pollution of resources (often associated with urbanization); infrastructure not being completed to keep up with demand (China, India) and finally inadequate infrastructure (London, Dublin).

Agriculture, industrialization and urbanization all serve to increase water consumption. Agriculture represents at least 70% of freshwater use worldwide and with the demand for food soaring, especially as a result of climate change and increasing crop failure (e.g. China rice failure in 2011), then demand for irrigation and livestock watering will continue to be a major drain on supplies.  

Over-abstraction causes severe ecological damage as lakes dry up and rivers fed by groundwater disappear;  a rapid reduction in water quality of groundwater due to mineralization and saltwater intrusion and increased exposure to pollution and pathogens. There are alternative methods of supplying water (i.e. supply-side management solutions) such as river transfer where water is pumped from one catchment to another using natural river systems, extended pipelines carrying water from areas of low demand to areas of high demand, international bulk water transfer using land and ocean going tankers which is already used to supply islands such as Gibraltar; desalination which is creating freshwater from sea water and even fog harvesting collecting water from sea mists and fog using fine nets.But supply-side management option are high energy solutions, so we have to also look seriously at demand-side management as the first and prefeered option for the development of sustainable water supplies. 

Nick Gray

Sources: 

Gray, N.F. (2015) Facing up to Global Warming: What is Going on and How You Can Make a Difference. Springer  International Publishing, Switzerland.

Fig 2 The Aryl Sea was once a massive freshwater lake but is now rapidly shrinking due to excessive abstraction from the rivers that flow into it. The letters a to b show the time sequence of area since September, 1977 to June, 2013. As abstraction has continued the lake has become increasingly polluted, nutrient enriched and mineralized causing extensive ecological damage. This has happened since the mid 1970’s! Source: UNEP  http://na.unep.net/geas/getUNEPPageWithArticleIDScript.php?article_id=108  Reproduced with permission of the United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.

Fig 3 Peak water in the USA has been reached, but continued economic growth has continued by implementing a water demand management approach to the available water supply which is now at peak.  Reproduced with permission of the National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C., USA.

Fig 4 Water supply sustainability index predicted for 2050. In the USA it is estimated that water shortages will become increasingly severe as a consequence of global warming (Source: The National Climate Assessment, http://www.globalchange.gov/

A guide to driving your car more sustainably and save money

On average travel represents a staggering 56% of our primary (personal) footprint in Ireland.  Car ownership is rapidly increasing throughout the EU reaching an estimated 252 million in 2015/6.  This is equivalent of 600 million tonnes of CO2 e being emitted by European drivers each year, which is only a small portion of the 1.8 billion cars worldwide.

Manufacture’s fuel efficiency data and fuel types are discussed explaining the difference between real and lab based emission values. Comparison with other transport modes are made using carpooling as an example of how drivers can make car usage more efficient than public transport where it is limited or not available.  The booklet explains practical ways in which we can all drive more sustainably as well as exploring the problem of emissions arising from the  manufacture and disposal of vehicle which is currently ignored in our footprint analysis.  Buying a car is discussed and studies have shown that you don’t need to buy a new electric vehicle (EV) or hybrid to drive with minimum impact.  Emissions from EVs are compared to standard fuels indicating that the selection of the most appropriate vehicle type can save you a lot of money over the lifetime of the vehicle, and that EVs and Hybrids are not always a good choice for drivers with selection dependent on length and frequency of journey, whether urban or rural, or used for commuting.

Driving sustainably results in drivers reducing their fuel consumption by 10-50% saving without actually driving less distance of using the car less frequently.  This represents significant financial savings as well as reducing emissions, pollution and increasing driver safety.

This means that an easily achieved 10% reduction in fuel consumption which all drivers can achieve, without reducing the frequency or distance driven, would save 10 million tonnes of CO₂e within the EU each year, equivalent to 7.9 million tonnes in the UK or 0.42 million tonnes of CO₂e in Ireland where car ownership is around 2,000,000.  So for every 10% reduction in fuel usage each car would on average be saving 0.234 or 0.213 tonnes of CO₂e per annum in the UK and Ireland respectively from their primary footprint.  With a 20-30% reduction possible for the average driver then driving sustainably can make a significant different to greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change as well as making our air cleaner and driving safer.

Driving Sustainably:  A guide to reducing your carbon footprint is written by Nick Gray and is the first guide to reducing your carbon footprint in the Tigroney Sustainable Planet Series published by Tigroney Press. Available as a free e-book (ISBN 978-1-912290-20-8) download at: http://hdl.handle.net/2262/85300 or https://bit.ly/2QrWnFe

Follow COP21 live

This year the UN climate talks (COP21) are taking place in Paris from the 30th November to 11th December. The aim is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate with the aim of keeping global warming below 2 degrees C. There will be an estimated 50,000 participants including 25,000 official delegates. For those attending the aim is to stimulate interactions during the conference between the negotiators and representatives of Civil Society. Of course the remaining 7 billion of us won't be able to attend the conference, but thanks to the UN we will be able to follow the conference live at  http://unfccc6.meta-fusion.com/cop21/

More information of global warming and climate change http://bit.ly/1NPLbun

Posted Nick Gray

World Food Day

Today is World Food Day which highlights the urgent issue of chronic hunger and promotes positive action through events in some 150 countries.  Follow the action on the web or  on Twitter

About 795 million people are undernourished globally, down 167 million over the last decade, and 216 million less than in 1990–92. The decline is more pronounced in developing regions, despite significant population growth. In recent years, progress has been hindered by slower and less inclusive economic growth as well as political instability in some developing regions, such as Central Africa and western Asia.

Read more in the latest FAO Report The State of Food Insecurity in the World

Download report

Posted : Nick Gray https://twitter.com/Nickgraytcd