Understanding and reducing your personal carbon footprint

We’ve explored what can be done to tackle the main sources of emissions at a societal level. But what about the impact that our own daily lives have on the climate?  

A powerful way to understand the impact of your daily life is to look at your personal carbon footprint, which is the total amount of emissions emitted as a result of your lifestyle and consumption choices. 

Understanding your own impact, how it depends on your choices and habits, and how it could be reduced, can be very empowering. After all, when it comes to our own lives, there is a lot we have the power to change. 

What’s included in your carbon footprint? 

Your carbon footprint encompasses emissions from various aspects of your life, such as: 

• Energy use at home: heating, cooling, cooking, refrigerating, hot water usage, lighting, and any other electric devices used (for example, microwave, toaster, washing machine). 
• Transportation: Car use, public transit and air travel. 
• Food consumption: Production, transportation and waste of food. 
• Consumer goods: Manufacturing, transportation and disposal of items you purchase. 
• Services: Emissions from businesses and institutions you use. 

Global disparities in carbon footprints 

Carbon footprints vary significantly across countries and social groups. This variation reflects differences in wealth, lifestyle and access to resources.  

For example, in the graphic below we see the average tonnes of CO₂ emissions per person per year divided up by regions. There is a stark divide between Global North and Global South countries. Sub-Saharan Africans average about 1.6 tonnes of CO₂ per year whilst North Americans average 20.8 (13 times more).

Adapted from Chancel et al. (2023). CC BY 4.0.

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This second graphic shows the average tonnes of CO₂ emissions per person per year divided up by income brackets. As you have seen in previous steps of this course, the higher your income or wealth, the more likely you are to consume and thus emit CO₂. You can see the top 1% of earners emit over 72 times as much as the bottom 50%.

Adapted from Bothe, Chancel and Voituriez (2023). CC BY 4.0.

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Now it’s your turn 

Use this WWF carbon footprint calculator to calculate your personal carbon footprint. Try to answer all questions in the WWF tool as best as you can. If there’s something you don’t know, make a guess. Remember, this is a starting point for understanding your emissions, not a definitive measure.

Once you’ve completed the calculator, you can use it to consider how you might reduce your carbon footprint.

Reducing your carbon footprint

What do you think? 

In this poll, we’ll explore various ways individuals can reduce their carbon footprint. Remember, everyone’s situation is different, so consider which actions might be most relevant and feasible for you. 

Launch the poll.

Please note, by selecting this link you will be taken to a page containing content provided by a third party website.

A useful tool that can be used in problematic ways

It’s undoubtedly valuable to understand our personal carbon footprints, and to reflect on the responsibilities this implies and the opportunities we have to reduce it. However, it’s also important to be aware that this useful tool can be used to misrepresent the issue of emission reductions as being mainly a personal issue. From this perspective, responsibility is passed to the individual to change their consumption behaviours and lifestyles. Indeed, you may be surprised to learn that the idea of personal carbon footprints was popularised by fossil fuel companies to shift attention and responsibility from their industry to individuals.

This doesn’t mean that carbon footprints aren’t useful – they are. They help us understand our impact and identify areas for change. The key is to recognise that far-reaching changes also require collective action and systemic solutions. Individuals can make impactful changes, but these efforts must be supported by broader societal shifts.

Indeed, many factors affecting your carbon footprint are influenced by the systems, infrastructure and culture around you. For example, if you live in an area with poor public transit and bike infrastructure, you may have to rely on commuting by car. You may thus have a larger carbon footprint and fewer opportunities to reduce it.