Climate change: the facts
The scientific evidence behind climate change and why we must act now to prevent profound effects that will alter our quality of life.
The greenhouse effect
Climate change myths
Climate change effects on the UK
The global effects of climate change
What you can do
It’s up to us how the story ends. Lower your CO2 emissions with these helpful tips.
What Government is doing
The role Government is taking to reduce carbon emissions both in the UK and abroad.
What business is doing
How ACT ON CO2’s brand partners are working with Government and citizens to help tackle climate change.
Campaigns
Watch the TV ad
The new TV commercial sets out to encourage viewers to drive 5 miles less a week
Campaigns
Remember. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
Waste-watching tips to help you save money and carbon emissions.
Campaigns
Change how the
story ends
It’s our children who’ll suffer if we don’t reduce CO2 emissions.
Partnership case studies
Major retailers see importance of reducing carbon footprint to help tackle climate change.
Climate change
The evidence is overwhelming, Met Office Scientist Debbie Hemming talks about the facts of climate change.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Fitting loft insulation could save you up to £100 a year."
Fitting loft insulation to the recommended amount (270mm) could save you up to £100 a year. Even if you already have insulation, you could still save up to £30 a year.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Cavity wall insulation could save you around £150 a year on fuel bills."
Cavity wall insulation can take a matter of hours to install, and could save you around £150 a year on fuel bills, as well as reducing your carbon footprint.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Install draught excluders."
Install draught excluders where there are gaps and you could save around £20 per year.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Install double glazing."
Windows – if your house does not yet have double glazing, could save up to £80 a year.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Grants and offers are available to help you make your home more efficient."
Get some financial help. There may be grants and offers available to help you make your home more efficient.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Switch off appliances when not in use to save £30 per year."
Switch off appliances when not in use to save £30 per year. Leaving unused appliances on standby (which means they’re still using energy) costs around £800 million a year in the UK.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Only boil as much water as you need."
Only boiling as much water as you need could save you up to £25 a year (based on five kettles a day, boiling one litre more than necessary).
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Hang out clothes to dry in good weather."
Hang out clothes to dry in good weather. Also, switch on the washing machine when you have a full load, and wash clothes at 30 degrees to save energy and money.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Take quicker showers."
Take a quick shower rather than a long bath to cut your water use in half.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Turn your thermostat down by 1ºC."
Turning your thermostat down by 1ºC could reduce CO2 emissions and cut your fuel bills by up to 10 per cent.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Try walking instead of driving for one short car journey a week."
Try walking instead of driving to replace one short car journey a week. Also, follow smarter driving tips – like keeping tyres correctly inflated – to save up to a month’s worth of fuel a year.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Try not to waste food."
Try not to waste food – the average UK household spends £424 a year on food that goes straight in the bin. Plan a menu for the days ahead, make shopping lists and use leftovers wisely.
Reduce your C02 emissions
"Turn the thermostat down on your hot water cylinder."
Turn the thermostat down on your hot water cylinder so that it’s set at 60 degrees Celsius or 140 degrees Fahrenheit and save.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Close the curtains."
Close the curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Take a home energy check."
Answer some simple questions about your home and get a free, impartial report telling you how you can save up to £270 a year on your household energy bills. Or call the ACT ON CO2 advice line on 0800 512 012 for advice on saving energy and money in your home.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Replace traditional 100W lightbulbs with energy saving alternatives."
Replace traditional 100W lightbulbs with energy saving ones and you will save up to £60 over the lifetime of the new bulb.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Re-use and recycle everything you can."
Recycle everything your local council will collect. Much recycling is free, but bulky goods/electrical items may cost a small amount.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Fit your hot water tank with an insulating jacket."
Fitting your hot water tank with an insulating jacket will only cost a few pounds and, with all the heat it traps, it pays for itself within six months. Fit one that’s at least 75mm (3 inches) thick and you could save around £30 a year.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Replace your old boiler."
Replace a boiler (10-15 years old) with an energy efficient condensing boiler (‘A’ rated) and suitable controls (e.g. thermostats) and you could save up to £90 each year.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Replace white goods with energy saving equivalents."
Replace white goods with energy saving recommended appliances, and you could save between £5 and £20 each year.
Reduce your CO2 emissions
"Choose a more fuel-efficient new car."
Next time you buy a car, choose a more fuel-efficient model and you could save up to three months’ worth of fuel in a year.
Calculate your carbon footprint
Find out how much CO2 you create and reduce your carbon footprint.
Compare new car CO2 emissions
Compare the CO2 emissions and fuel costs of all new cars.
News
Used car Fuel Economy Label launches
A colour-coded Used Car Fuel Economy Label was today launched by Minister for Transport Sadiq Khan…. The label provides consumers with clear ‘at a glance’ information on the running costs, fuel consumption and environmental performance of used cars available from participating dealers. The initiative builds on the success of the new car fuel economy label, which is now widely recognised by consumers.
New affordable homes to be greener
An initiative aimed at increasing the use of renewable construction materials in affordable homes… has been agreed by DECC (Department of Energy and Climate Change) and the Government’s housing and regeneration body the HCA (Homes and Communities Agency). DECC has provided funding under the Low Carbon Investment Fund, which will be administered through the HCA’s National Affordable Housing Programme. The funding is to create a series of greener homes designed to minimise environmental impact through the increased use of building materials from renewable sources.
New nuclear power could supply every home
A third potential new nuclear operator entered the UK market today, taking total proposals for new… nuclear power stations up to 16 gigawatts of electricity.
A consortium of GDF SUEZ SA, Iberdrola SA and Scottish and Southern Energy Plc has secured an option to purchase land for the development of a new nuclear power station at Sellafield. Following the sale run by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), the consortium set out plans to build up to 3.6 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the UK, with work beginning in 2015.
Remember. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle campaign launches
Over the coming weeks you’ll be hearing a new campaign from ACT ON CO2: “Remember. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.”… Its aim is to encourage us all to do more to reduce the waste we create, and to build on the progress we have made in recycling in the UK by diverting even more of our household waste items from landfill.
We still bury a lot of rubbish in landfill sites; nearly 2,000 kilos for each person in the UK, or the weight of two cars, every year. This is a huge waste of raw materials – it takes 20 times more energy to produce a tin can from scratch than it does to recycle one – and once in landfill, any biodegradable material from our rubbish breaks down to release methane, the most harmful greenhouse gas.
To help reduce this effect the Government wants to encourage householders to take some simple steps to rethink what we put in our bins. Firstly, to reduce wastage by considering what they buy in the first place. For example, as much as a third of the food that families buy in the shops ends up being thrown away. Simple steps such as menu planning can help to reduce that.
Secondly, can items be reused? Many organizations now help to find new owners for the things you don’t want any more. Charity shops will accept clothes, books and toys; furniture recyclers will clean up your old dining table and find a new home for it; or you can pass items on to your neighbours via websites like Freecycle.
Thirdly, recycling. As well as the usual newspapers, bottles, and cans, you can also recycle paint, engine oil, wood, metal, batteries, leftover food, old carpet... almost anything. During the campaign we’ll be explaining how to reduce, reuse or recycle household waste in your local area, so listen out for our radio ads - made from recycled clips of course!
Energy Saving Week begins
Energy Saving Week, the annual event organised by the Energy Saving Trust to promote energy saving actions among… householders, begins on Monday 19 October.
The theme this year is waste and the advice is designed to help consumers stop wasting money and energy in their personal and home-based lives. On Monday the theme is wasteful behaviour; on Tuesday, warmer homes; on Wednesday, smarter driving; on Thursday, it’s switch off/turn down/turn off day; and on Friday, it’s buy better day.
£10m for low carbon communities
The Government has launched a search for local authorities, charities and social enterprises to take up the challenge to... help communities fight climate change.
Communities can apply for a share of a £10million fund as part of the Low Carbon Communities Challenge to build on existing low carbon schemes.
Around a quarter of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions come from heating, lighting and powering electrical appliances in homes. By 2050 this needs to be almost zero if the UK is to cut its emissions by 80% highlighting the importance of local action.
Rail passengers to get on bikes
Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has launched a major £14m package to transform facilities for cyclists at rail… stations and encourage healthier, greener travel.
Over the next two years a series of measures, including 'Cycle Hubs' at 10 major rail stations and 10,000 extra cycle parking spaces across the country will be introduced by Government, Network Rail, Cycling England and train operators. The new cycle hubs will include extra cycle storage facilities, repair services, hire schemes and improved cycle access to and from the stations.
World's biggest turbine blades
The world’s biggest wind turbine blades will be made in Britain, Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Miliband said today…
Announcing grants for three offshore wind energy companies Mr Miliband today told the TUC annual conference:
“With strong government backing, the UK is consolidating its lead in offshore wind energy. We already have more offshore wind energy than any other country, we have the biggest wind farm in the world about to start construction, and now we’ll see the biggest turbine blades in the world made here in Britain.
“Our coastline means the offshore wind industry has the potential to employ tens of thousands of workers by 2020, manufacturing, transporting, installing and operating new turbines.
“It will take an active government to get us there and the funds I’m announcing today are part of the £120 million investment we are making this year and next in the wind industry to make that happen.”
Plan to help homes cut emissions
Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband has outlined Government’s latest measures to help householders… save money and energy as he welcomed 10:10 – a new independent campaign to cut carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.
- Around 90,000 homes in some of the poorest areas in the UK should see an average saving of 20% per year in their emissions through a new community based energy saving scheme which starts today. This amounts to financial savings of around £300 per year off fuel bills.
- In the past year, more than 1.2 million homes have received some form of insulation under the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target with enough professional loft insulation installed to stretch from London to Sydney and back. The number of households getting this help through energy companies has been increased, with Government recently increasing the target by 20%.
Responding to the 10:10 campaign, the Department of Energy and Climate Change has confirmed that it is on course to cut its own emissions at its London headquarters by 10% by April 2010 and it will make further reductions through the rest of 2010 and beyond. DECC staff have been encouraged by Ed Miliband to join him in taking up the 10:10 pledge in their homes and lifestyles.
A greener future for transport
Carbon emissions from domestic transport will be reduced by up to 14 per cent over the next decade as a result… of the Government's carbon reduction strategy, published today by Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis.
Transport currently makes up 21 per cent of all UK domestic carbon emissions. The strategy entitled 'Low carbon transport: a greener future' sets out the policies and proposals for reducing transport sector emissions through to 2022.
It also frames the debate for the longer-term decarbonisation of transport to give people and businesses more low carbon choices about when, where and how to travel or transport goods.
Online debate for young people
Are you aged 18 or under? Want to have your say on climate change or Copenhagen? Want to share your views with...other young people, MPs and Government Ministers? You can!
DECC has teamed up with the Hansard Society to hold a 'Heads Up' online debate for young people on climate change and the Copenhagen Summit. The debate began on Monday 28th September and will run until Friday 16th October, and DECC's Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, Joan Ruddock, will be contributing periodically, responding to questions, points and views.
The debate is a fantastic opportunity for young people to express their views on climate change and Copenhagen at the highest political level, and is open to under 18's, supporting teachers and youth workers.
Miliband to host climate talks
The United States has asked the UK to host the next Major Economies Forum (MEF) for Leaders Representatives… in London on October 18-19.
The United States has asked the UK to host the next Major Economies Forum (MEF) for Leaders Representatives
The Major Economies Forum was instigated by the US administration in early 2009. Its aim is to provide a more informal discussion space for countries to talk about their goals but also any concerns they may have.
The 17 major economies participating are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the UK, and United States. Sweden as President of the EU, Denmark as host of December’s Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the UNFCCC itself also participate.
Marine Energy prototypes backed with £22m fund
Wave and tidal developers are invited from today to bid for £22 million in new government funding to accelerate the… commercial development of marine energy in the UK.
The Marine Renewables Proving Fund, announced in July as part of the Government’s Renewable Energy Strategy, will be designed and delivered by the Carbon Trust and will provide finance for the demonstration of wave and tidal technologies.
The funding follows demand from industry and analysis by the Carbon Trust which has shown that extra support is needed to take marine devices successfully from initial prototype development through to early–stage commercial generation, where they are eligible for funding from the Marine Renewables Deployment Fund.
CLIMATE CHANGE: IS THERE A HAPPY ENDING?
New research shows 52% don’t believe climate change will affect them…
Research published today from the Department of Energy and Climate Change reveals that over 50% of people questioned don’t believe climate change will affect them and only 1 in 5 (18%) respondents think that climate change will take effect during their children’s lifetime.
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