Factory chimneys spewing out smog into the horizon. This is a widely recognised, tangible image which captures something we have known for a long time - fossil fuel intensive industries like coal-powered electricity generation or steel production emit vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere leading to the climate and biodiversity crisis we are now living through.

With 70% of the world’s emissions traced back to 100 companies, it is easy for the individual to feel disconnected from this image of industrial pollution. But our actions directly contribute to the smog. The companies are responsible for promoting a high-carbon economy, but individual choices and actions are what give these companies a reason to be. These factories serve us and the emissions intensive society we live in. Electricity from these power stations powers our homes and offices, it charges our phones, it powers our streetlights, computer screens and internet, allowing us to go out and revel or stay in and consume late into the night. Steel builds the bridges we walk across, and the train tracks we commute on without a second thought.

I wanted to figure out just how much I, as an individual, contribute to the smog we so often feel unaccountable for. To do this, I needed to calculate my carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual, event, organization, service, or product, expressed as the carbon dioxide equivalent. There are many ways to go about doing this, but the easiest and fastest way is to use a platform that has already been created exactly for this purpose, like Giki Zero.*

Once I had set up my profile, Giki Zero asked me to enter data from various aspects of my life. The data Giki Zero requires is at much more detailed level compared to any similar platforms; questions asked not only related to obvious concerns like diet and electricity provider but also how many items of clothes I expect to buy within the next year and how many nights I anticipate spending in hotels. Based on my responses to these broad-reaching questions the platform calculated my carbon footprint.

My total footprint was calculated as 5064kg per year, which is just shy of the emissions released by charging 1 million smartphones. This figure is lower than the UK average by quite a margin but it still a long way-off the target footprint. I must admit, as someone who is environmentally conscious and has already made many of the day to day changes that individuals should undertake to benefit the environment - plant based diet, no food waste, renewable utilities provider - I was shocked with this result.

So, what does this footprint actually mean? Giki rather helpfully, or terrifyingly, tells us this in simple terms: if the rest of the world lived like me, we would only have 9 years and 3 months until the 1.5 degrees carbon budget runs out. . This means in 9 years and 3 months we would have emitted enough carbon emissions to push us over the 1.5 degrees warming limit; the limit that if surpassed, scientists have warned, the consequences for the planet will be catastrophic.

Giki Zero provided a breakdown of my footprint, so I could identify and tackle the main emissions culprits in my life. For me the main culprit was air travel.

I have known for a long time that the next big change I need to make in order to significantly cut my footprint is to reduce the number of flights I take, which is easier said than done when we live in such a travel-centric society, in which families and friends are often dispersed around the world.

Calculating my footprint and seeing just how much of it is derived from flying on Giki has encouraged me to act on this. Any travelling I have booked since then has been (where possible) by bus or train.

This August, for example, I relocated to Rome and made the entire journey by bus. It was long (36-hours), but the route took us through Paris, the Swiss Alps, Milan and many beautiful small villages and towns. It made me realise how much I miss when I cut my journeys short by flying – a lot of the adventure is in the getting there.

And where flying is really is the only viable option, I have vowed to myself to offset that flight by donating to LEAF and its tree planting efforts.

The world needs to undergo drastic, rapid changes to reverse the climate and biodiversity crisis. To do this, we need action at the individual level because emissions intensive industries will exist so-long-as people give them a reason to. So, I challenge you. Calculate your footprint, learn how you contribute to the smog and make a change!

To help combat the climate and biodiversity crisis please donate to support LEAF in the work we do support ecosystems, species and communities across the globe.

* Giki Zero uses UK data

Measuring Your Carbon Footprint with Giki Zero

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