Each French person emits an average of 11.9 tonnes of CO equivalent2 per person per year, according to the Ministry of the Environment, or 761 million tonnes in total. To reduce its ecological impact, it is unfortunately not enough to change its light bulbs or to sort its waste, which has a minimal effect. The solutions to be adopted are more radical, but ultimately not so impossible.
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According to one Lund University Swedish Studyhaving one less child is the best way to reduce its impact carbon. Based on 39 previous scientific studies and government reports, it assesses the individual actions the most effective way to reduce its carbon footprint. His results confirm that it is a totally different way of life that is to be considered, because the small daily gestures, although useful, only play a minor role. Changing the light bulbs in your house, for example, has eight times less impact than going without meat. Putting your flat-screen TV on standby saves 2 kWh per year, or about 106 grams of CO2 eliminated. Enough to barely compensate for 900 meters in car ! Nevertheless, it is possible to act without giving up everything; here are a few tips.
have fewer children
To have one child less is to reduce one’s emissions of CO2 58.6 tons per year, according to the study by Lund University. ” This equates to 684 teenagers deciding to to recycle systematically their waste for the rest of their lives say the researchers. The idea is however highly controversial, in particular because the researchers base their calculations on an American family, whosecarbon footprint per capita is very high and where the birth rate is relatively moderate. Nevertheless, our way of life influencing the whole world, the impact should extend to those whose birth rate is progressing very quickly. Some therefore put forward iconoclastic measures: the ecologist Yves Cochet supports, for example, a “reverse family allowance”, which decreases with each additional child.
Do without a car and drive slower
Power a vehicle over one ton to carry a single passenger of 70 kilograms raises questions. Yet 70% of employees take their car to work, according to INSEE. Certainly, many have no choice, but even for a journey of less than one kilometer, 58% of French people continue to prefer the car! Public transport or carpooling of course lengthen the travel time a little, but avoid traffic jams and allow you to build relationships. If you really care about your car, adopt a smoother ride and driving slower limits its impact. Changing from 90 km/h to 80 km/h on national roads, for example, reduces fuel consumption by 15%.
Ban air travel
A Paris-New York round trip or six Paris-Marseille round trips emit one tonne of CO2e per passenger, i.e. the annual consumption of a French person for heating their home or 5,000 kilometers by car. By comparison, six Paris-Marseille round trips by TGV generate 24 kilograms of CO2e (40 times less). As far as possible, it is therefore necessary avoid the plane for his travels, preferring videoconferencing for a professional meeting or France for his holidays (there are even landscapes worthy of the Grand Canyon in the Vaucluse !). If the journey is really essential, take a direct flight, because it is during take-off that planes consume the most fuel. Several companies including Air France also offer compensation for its emissions.
Adopt a vegetarian diet
Food weighs a quarter of the carbon footprint of a French person, according to a 2018 Ademe study taking into account the entire sector (agricultural production, transport of goods, consumption ofenergy…). But it all depends on what you eat: one kilogram of beef generates 16 kilograms of CO2e, against 6 kilograms CO2e for pork or 0.7 kilogram CO2e for one kilogram of durum wheat. According to one study published in Climatic Changeswitch from a meat-rich diet (more than 100 grams per day) to a diet vegetarian reduces its carbon footprint by 1,198 kilograms CO2e/year, i.e. more than 10,300 kilometers by car. However, meat consumption in France is declining: according to the Crédoc, it has decreased by 12% in ten years. But more for health and price concerns than for real concern for the environment.
Live together
” Single-person households cause CO emissions to skyrocket2 “says the Ipsos research institute in a 2010 study. A single person thus generates a carbon footprint of 10,685 kilograms CO2/year, compared to 5,436 kilograms per individual for a three-person household. Logic: heating and electricity expenses are largely pooled when you live with several people. The type of housing is also decisive: households living in a single-family house consume on average 2.2 times more energy than those living in buildings (houses do not benefit from the heat unobstructed by neighboring dwellings). Ademe thus recommends reducing the share of individual houses in buildings new for the benefit of the small collective and “to optimize the surface of the housing”. It is still possible to reduce your carbon footprint without moving, in particular by insulating your home.
Prefer phone to email
The computers, data centersnetwork equipment and other devices digital will weigh 14% of emissions greenhouse gases in 2020. A simple email generates 4 grams of CO2, while a message with a photo represents the equivalent of 500 meters by car. Therefore prefer telephone conversations, and store your data locally (for example on a Hard disk), rather than in the cloud where your data is stored thousands of miles away on servers energy hungry. Preferably work on a laptop, which consumes two to four times less than a computer Office.
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