We produce greenhouse gas emissions like methane, nitrous oxide and ozone when we burn fossil fuels like oil, natural gas or coal. These emissions are a major contributor to global climate change. To meet our climate change targets, we need to drastically cut our emissions.
Individual lifestyle changes alone won’t get us to our climate goals. For that, we’ll need bold political action at all levels of government. But the changes we make to cut emissions in our own lives do make a difference, and our actions can influence those of our friends, family and community members. It all adds up.
Here are the top four sources of emissions for the average Canadian, plus some tips for cutting them:
How to cut your carbon emissions
1. How we get around
About 24 per cent of Canada’s emissions come from transportation, and cars and trucks powered by fossil fuels are the biggest polluters. In fact, Canadians have bought so many SUVs and light trucks that we have the world’s least-efficient personal vehicle fleet!
We can do better by making thoughtful choices how we get around.
- Choose cycling, walking and public transit over driving wherever possible.
- Trade your large, inefficient vehicle for an EV or a plug-in hybrid.
- Don’t fly. And if you have to fly, purchase a quality carbon offset.
2. What we eat
Our food system is another significant contributor to emissions and climate change. It includes how we raise and harvest the plants and animals we eat, as well as how we process, package and ship them.
Here are a few ways to lighten your impact on our food system:
- Support local agriculture, including farmers markets and community-supported agriculture. Wherever possible, choose organic.
- Opt for more plant-based meals and less meat and dairy products. Beef, lamb and cheese have some of the largest carbon footprints of all food products.
- Don’t waste food. Nearly half of all food produced worldwide is wasted after production, discarded in processing, transport, supermarkets and kitchens. When we throw out food, we waste all the resources that went into its production.
3. How we use energy in our homes
Canada is the top per-capita energy consumer in the world, which means we need to make more conscious choices about how we use energy. You can start by looking at how you use energy at home. By making some thoughtful changes, you’ll not only emit fewer emissions, you’ll save money too.
Of course, the significance of your home electricity consumption depends on how carbon-dependent your province’s energy grid is (for example, provinces that depend on coal, such as Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, have higher GHG emissions than provinces that depend on hydroelectricity). In general, we can all benefit from lowering our energy use at home.
- A house with a furnace is like a car that idles all day. Swap your furnace for an electric heat pump, which works by extracting heat from one location and transferring it to another.
- Get a home energy audit.
- Learn how to cool your home in the summer without an air conditioner and prevent heat from escaping in the winter. Keep in mind that a highly energy-efficient building barely needs any energy for space heating: occupants and appliances largely suffice to keep it warm.
- Swap your gas stove for an electric stove.
- If you live in a condo, work to ensure renovations include energy-efficiency upgrades and that your building or strata has a long-term plan to get off fossil fuel heat.
4. The stuff we buy
The goods and services we buy all result in emissions, through production, transportation and disposal. When we consume less, we produce fewer emissions, and we’re gentler on the Earth.
- Buy fewer things, especially new things. Rent, borrow and buy used wherever possible, and when you do have to buy new, choose high-quality, durable goods, and make them last.
- Commit to the Rs — Refuse, Reuse, Repair, Recycle — with extra emphasis on refusing to buy goods with a lot of packaging.
- Research the energy efficiency of large purchases.
For more information on how you can help solve climate change, check out the top 10 things you can do about climate change.
