Calculator Q & A

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1. What is a tonne of CO2?

In the UK we each produce 11 tonnes of CO2 on average each per year, with the US producing 20 tonnes, and a developing country such as India producing .3 tonnes per year. 5 tonnes of C02 gas would fill an air balloon, 5 tonnes of solid carbon (eg coal) would be 500 10kg bags.
The Government has set a target for every adult to produce less than 5 tonnes per year by 2012, which should be seen as a maximum if we are to effectively tackle climate change.

2. How does your calculator work?

We use figures provided by the DEFRA to provide an estimation of your annual energy use. If you are unsure of exact figures then please refer to the links in our guide which can provide you with details of car emissions, flight distances etc. The final estimation is then used to show you where you can make energy savings as well as indicating how many tonnes to offset.

3. Electricity – assumes average 9p paid per kWh, (standing charges and VAT included) and 0.45 kgCO2/kWh (roughly typical for 2005, partly based on national average figures supplied by uSwitch.com)

4. Gas – assumes average 1.9p paid per kWh, (standing charges and VAT included) and 0.19 kgCO2/kWh (roughly typical for 2005, partly based on national average figures supplied by uSwitch.com)

5. Fuel oil – 2.7 kg CO2 per litre of fuel oil.

6. Cars – Assumes 10.3 kgCO2 per gallon of petrol consumed per year and 11.9 kgCO2 per gallon of diesel. Push bikes: free from harmful CO2 emissions. LPG: Despite having low running costs and being widely considered eco-friendly, LPG still produce CO2 emissions as they burn fossil fuels – treaqt the same as petrol.

7. Public transport – commuting: based on 0.1 kgCO2 a mile, a weighted average of a basket of commonly used factors for local rail, national rail, bus, coach and tube.

8. Public transport – leisure, off peak, taxis: based on 0.19 kgCO2 a mile - a weighted average of a basket of commonly used factors for off peak rail, local and national, bus, coach, taxi. (Utilisation factor makes a big difference eg trains and buses are less full outside of rush hours)

9. Air travel – assumes 0.2 Tonnes CO2 per 1000 miles flown.

10. Total – This is the combined total of your core emissions as listed above. It does not include additional emissions you are responsible for such as food miles, and refuse processing.