Climate Change

There are actions that all of us can take to help tackle Climate Change.

Your ‘carbon footprint’ is a measure of how many emissions you are responsible for based on how much fossil fuel is burned to support your lifestyle and choice.

Measure your Carbon Footprint.

Actions to reduce your 'carbon footprint' include:

• Avoid travelling in a car by yourself (if possible). Consider if you can take public transport, walk or cycle to your destination.
• Avoid flights, consider alternative ‘stay at home holidays’ or travelling on the Eurotunnel or ferries that use less fossil fuel per passenger (if possible).
• Reduce food waste by using smaller dishes and portions at home. Put food waste into food bins or compost it at home if you have a garden or allotment.
• Reduce your meat and dairy intake. Consider lentils or soya beans as meat alternatives in recipes. Eating chicken and pork instead of beef and lamb will also help to lower emissions.

There are other actions that will have less of an impact but that are still important to reduce your ‘carbon footprint’, these include:

• Decreasing your water usage by using small scale water saving devices like shower timers and rain water butts. You can also take short showers instead of baths and use a watering can, not a hose in your garden.
• Use the Eco mode on home appliances.
• Clean items you put in your recycling. If you are ever unsure put the items into your household waste, most of which is reused to generate electricity in Kent.
• Never litter, ensure your littler is disposed of in a public bin or keep it with you and dispose of it at home.
• Make use of household waste recycling centres in the borough and bulky waste pickup services to maximise recycling.
• Report any incidents of fly tipping you come across to improve road safety, environmental quality and the rate of waste recycling/reuse.

Some action you could take requires significant investment so will not be a realistic option for everyone, these include:

• Install heat pumps or solar panels to your home to generate and offset a portion of your energy use. Domestic batteries can further enhance this.
• Changing to a green tariff for your electricity and gas to ensure you are using green energy in your home.
• Installing home insulation to reduce you household bills for heating and reduce your emissions at the same time.
• Buying/leasing an electric vehicle. There are government grants available to help you to buy the car and install a charging point at your own home.