About Climate Change

Each of us has what is called a carbon footprint - in simple English this is the amount of carbon dioxide (CO²) that is emitted directly as a result of our personal (or household) actions. The average household footprint in the UK is around 10 tonnes of CO² per year (excluding consumption which may double this basic figure). About 45% of the average footprint comes from heating fuel, 15% from domestic electrical use (non-heating) and around 40% from travel (mainly car and plane travel).

What is climate change or global warming?

Our carbon footprint is a measure of our own contribution to global warming. Virtually all scientists agree that global warming is caused by a build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The main greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide (but others such as methane also contribute). These gases act like a blanket and keep the surface of the earth warm. The scientists also agree that that this build up is almost certainly caused by human activity - mainly the burning of ‘fossil fuels’ such as coal, gas and petrol.

What are the effects of climate change likely to be?

The scientists predict that even if we were able to stabilise greenhouse gas levels today, the effects would continue for hundreds of years and global temperatures would rise by at least 2° by the end of this century. If we do not reduce our greenhouse gas emissions drastically global temperatures could rise by up to 7° by the end of the century. For comparison, the rise in temperature since the last ice age is around 5°.

The effects are already being felt in places like Bangladesh (flooding) and North Africa (desertification and famine). If major changes are not made - and soon:

• rising sea levels and crop failures could create 200 million refugees.
• areas of the world becoming uninhabitable and major cities like London and New York threatened by flooding
• much of north Africa and Southern Europe could become desert
• Amazon rainforest will be destroyed
• up to 40% of species worldwide could become extinct including iconic species like the polar bear

What should I do?

We all need to take responsibility for our personal CO² emissions and make continued efforts to reduce them wherever possible. You can measure and record yours on this website - and help us to track the parish carbon footprint. You will also find many ideas on this website and on the links to help you reduce your footprint. You can also join organisations like Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, Christian Aid and Oxfam and support their campaigns for stronger Government action.

The links below contain some excellent information on climate change.

The media and climate change

How should we respond to climate change?

The science of climate change

Ways to tackle climate change