Here we look at how I reduced my carbon footprint for September 2022 with the Za Hung Hydropower emissions reduction project, plus more. Find inspiration for how to reduce your emissions by following my monthly carbon offset series, which is part of our series on Living Sustainably.
How I Offset My Emissions
Most of my emissions are tracked and offset using the CoGo Carbon Tracker app that works like this:
- Install CoGo for free from the App Store or Play Store
- Link your bank accounts and cards to the app to automatically track your carbon footprint
- Offset your emissions by simply clicking ‘offset’ to pay for verified emissions reduction projects from South Pole
- South Pole emissions reduction projects reduce emissions now, not at some point in the future
- These projects help to protect biodiversity and bring real benefits to local communities
I also use:
- Trainhugger to plant a tree for every train ticket
- freetree.io to plant trees for free for my online purchases
- Ecosia.org to plant trees for free from my web searches
Why I Offset My Emissions
The science shows clearly that in order to avert the worst impacts of climate change and preserve a livable planet, global temperature increase needs to be limited to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Currently, the Earth is already about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s, and emissions continue to rise. To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
If you think that 1.5°C is a small increase in temperature just consider your own body: A healthy average body temperature is 37°C and a high average temperature for adults is 38°C. The difference of just a few degrees is the difference between being healthy or being in hospital or worse – planet Earth’s ecosystem is just as sensitive – that’s why limiting the increase in the average global temperature to 1.5°C is so important. It’s also essential to remember the whilst 1.5°C is the global average limit, some countries will experience significantly higher temperature increases.
The current average carbon footprint of a UK citizen is approx. 1,058kg every month. However, to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, it’s recommended that each of us has a carbon footprint of only 180kg a month by 2030. The CoGo Carbon Tracker app enables me to reduce my emissions now whilst I find ways to reduce my consumption, waste, and impact.
The point of this carbon offset series is to put me under the spotlight, to push myself to do as much as possible to live a climate positive lifestyle, and to inspire others by showing that we don’t have to wait to be told what to do, we can reduce our emissions now while we wait for green and renewable technology to become affordable for the majority of people, and while businesses improve their own carbon footprint in the race for net zero by 2050.
My Carbon Footprint for September 2022
In August my carbon footprint was 886kg: Quick note here, when I published my August carbon offset I said my August carbon footprint was 1,732kg, however, the CoGo app had duplicated the carbon footprint of some transactions so 886kg is the correct carbon footprint for August). Now, getting back to this month, my carbon footprint in September decreased to 546kg: The same as cutting down 9 trees or driving 1,355 miles in a car. Getting closer but still more than the target of 180kg per month for a sustainable lifestyle.
My Carbon Footprint for September Was Made Up Of:
- Food and drink = 162kg (down from 226kg the previous month)
- Around my home = 159kg (down from 279kg)
- Stuff I buy = 28kg (down from 327kg)
- Getting around = 434kg (down from 776kg)
- Unknown = 102kg (down from 124kg)
Taking a Closer Look at Each of the Categories:
In ‘Food and Drink’, most of my carbon footprint goes on Produce. I’m ok with this because my actual carbon footprint here should be lower than shown in the CoGo app: CoGo calculates an average carbon footprint per £1 spent on different categories and then makes further adjustments. I buy produce from Abel and Cole, an organic online supermarket that’s B Corp certified, and Oxton Organics, a regenerative organic farm that’s only 6 miles from home, so I see this as one of the lowest impact ways to purchase produce.
In ‘Around the Home’, almost all emissions came from the final bill from British Gas: I was forced to move to British Gas when Bristol Energy and Together Energy went bust. I’ve since moved to GEUK, the UK’s only certified green and renewable energy supplier with 100% renewable electricity and 100% green gas. If you’re interested to go 100% green electricity and gas you can read my review of GEUK.
In ‘Getting Around’, most of my carbon footprint comes from purchasing diesel. At the moment I just can’t afford to change to an Electric Vehicle (EV). I’m also conscious that a new EV isn’t necessarily the best solution, because the production of a new car creates a huge amount of emissions. A stat I heard was that a new EV only becomes carbon neutral after 70,000 to 80,000 miles. I had asked a Volvo dealer to confirm the facts on this, but I didn’t get a reply. So I’m still unsure if it’s better to have an EV or to keep my old diesel. My feeling is that as a minimum I should move to a newer petrol car, because the emissions are cleaner, and ideally a hybrid, but ultimately it should be second-hand to avoid emissions from producing a new car.
In a previous part of this series, I mentioned that some of my transactions in the CoGo app are being logged in the wrong category or don’t show a carbon footprint. CoGo support say they’re working on a future update to allow users to manually select transaction categories.
Using the CoGo Carbon Tracker app I was able to easily offset my emissions by purchasing an emissions reduction project through South Pole.
This Month’s Carbon Offsets
1. Using South Pole for Emissions Reduction Projects
This month I chose South Pole’s Za Hung Hydropower emissions reduction project in Vietnam, because it generates clean energy and improves local livelihoods. Here’s more information on the project, taken directly from SouthPole.com:
THE STORY: Power consumption in Vietnam has been growing by about 15% every year. Unfortunately, coal-fired electricity contributes to a large amount of greenhouse gas emissions and poor air quality. Hydropower is part of a plan the Vietnamese government has developed to increase access to clean electricity.
THE SOLUTION: The Za Hung Hydropower plant provides clean electricity to about 19,870 homes and helps the country to meet its growing energy demands. By offsetting the grid with clean electricity, the use of coal-fuel as well as greenhouse gases are reduced.
THE IMPACT: The project supports sustainable development by creating stable well-paid jobs for locals and offering on-going training opportunities in health and safety and plant operations. In addition to the fund for flood-affected households, the project donates money to support disadvantaged people in the commune. Thanks to the Za Hung project, local communities are benefiting from improved electricity, drainage, roads, and better air quality.
This project is certified as:
- Certified Emissions Reduction (CER)
- Gold Standard Certified Emissions Reduction (GSCER)
- Gold Standard Voluntary Emissions Reduction (GSVER)
- Verified Carbon Units (VCU)
And it supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals for:
You can find out more about this emission reduction project at SouthPole.com.
2. Using Trainhugger to Plant a Tree for Free for Every Train Ticket
Using Trainhugger to book my train tickets I’ve now planted 3 trees, travelled 731.8km, and saved 2673.2kg of CO2, which is the equivalent of saving 0.3 years of home energy use, taking 0.6 petrol cars off the road, or saving 8.0 square meters of arctic ice. All pretty good considering I hardly ever travel by train. I didn’t actually have any train travel in September so the numbers are the same as August.
3. Using freetree.io to Plant Trees for Free for My Online Purchases
Using the freetree.io Chrome extension to plant trees for free with my online purchases I’ve planted 7 trees so far, which is part of a total of 29,471 trees already planted by freetree.io users, as of 23rd October 2022.
4. Using Ecosia.org to Plant Trees for Free from My Web Searches
Using Ecosia as my search engine on desktop and mobile to plant trees for free I’ve planted 5,307 trees so far, which is part of a total of 160,587,903 trees planted by the Ecosia community, as of 23rd October 2022.
Now Let’s Recap About Carbon Offsets
Carbon offsets are not the solution, but they are better than doing nothing while I work to reduce my impact, and while it becomes possible to move 100% to using only green, renewable, and sustainable technology.
Emissions reduction projects can generate two types of offsets:
- “Ex ante” means that the certificates are issued before the actual emissions reduction (e.g. tree planting)
- “Ex post” certificates are only issued after the emissions reduction (e.g. projects that replace coal-fired power stations with renewable)
The CoGo carbon tracker app automatically tracks your carbon footprint, and makes it easy and low cost to purchase emissions reduction projects from South Pole. As South Pole focuses on verified climate protection, over 99% of the emission credits from South Pole’s portfolio come from “ex-post” climate protection projects, where the emissions are reduced before you receive the certificates, which you will typically receive within minutes of paying for the offset project. Read more about South Pole Carbon Offset Projects.
Using the CoGo Carbon Tracker app and purchasing verified emissions reduction projects through South Pole; using Trainhugger to book your train tickets; using the freetree.io Chrome extension to plant trees for free with your online purchases; and using Ecosia as your search engine to plant trees for free, are four very powerful, easy, free and low cost ways to quickly reduce your emissions whilst you transition your life to green, renewable, and sustainable.
Here Is What You Can Do
- Install the CoGo Carbon Tracker app for free from the App Store or Play Store
- Book your train tickets through Trainhugger
- Install the freetree.io Chrome extension
- And use Ecosia as your search engine
- Be inspired. We can help climate change if we do something about it
- Talk to your friends and colleagues
- Share this with others
Want to Continue Your Journey?
Where Next?
There is so much inspiring information to give you ideas of how to help climate change by growing, eating, and living sustainably, you can:
- Read Our Articles
- Sign-Up to Our Free Email Newsletter
- Get Started and Vote with Your Money
- Try the Sustainability Roadmap
- Use the Company Directory
- Support Nafford Junction
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Production Notes
This was produced by me, James Walters, as a personal project to help stop climate change by inspiring others to grow, eat, and live sustainably.
Any advice given is the opinion of those involved and does not constitute medical, financial, or legal advice.
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