What is a carbon footprint?

Everyone has a carbon footprint - it's your own personal measure of how much carbon dioxide you create and how much you contribute to climate change. It consists of two parts:

• The direct footprint measures the direct emissions of CO2 from the burning of fossil fuels for energy use in the home and for transport (e.g. cars and planes).
• The indirect footprint is a measure of the CO2 emissions embedded in the products and services we use – those associated with their production, transport and disposal (e.g. food miles).

The average carbon footprint of somebody living in the UK is 4.47 tonnes of CO2. The target is to get this down to 2.5 tonnes of CO2 per person if we’re to make a real contribution to tackling climate change. Use the Act On CO2 calculator to find out what your carbon footprint is. You'll also get a personalised action plan with recommendations about how you can help tackle climate change.

Calculate your carbon footprint on the Act On CO2 website.