The impacts from climate change are growing across the world; and will continue to get worse until the world hits net zero carbon dioxide emissions. Many people are increasingly frustrated, worried and scared about the lack of progress at national and international level. Those emotions are justified; greenhouse gas emissions are still rising.

We all want to do something to help; and one of the best things we can do as individuals is work towards net zero ourselves and do away with our own reliance on fossil fuels. By doing so, you are taking power away from those who are not acting, and taking control of your own contribution to climate change.

The media can portray personal climate action in an overly simplistic way; that it’s just about buying heat pumps, or never flying again.  This is not the best way to think about it. It is your total emissions from all your activities that matters. Your journey to net zero will be unique to you.

We have put together a three-step process to help you get to net zero: and would love your feedback!

Step 1 - Calculate your carbon footprint

By understanding your total carbon footprint, you will see where your biggest sources of emissions are coming from, as well as your total contribution to climate change.

The first step in getting to net zero is to calculate where you are now. There are lots of carbon calculators available online that you can use to calculate your total greenhouse gas emissions per year. It’s good to try a few to get a range of results. Here are two that use UK Government-based data:

• WWF Environmental Footprint Calculator: this high level calculator is quick to fill in and will give you an immediate estimate, but you can’t include your own bespoke data.
• Carbon Footprint’s Calculator: this calculator gives you a more in-depth assessment and allows you to input actual data for your energy and transport use, though it takes a little longer to fill in as a result.

Both of these calculators estimate the emissions from your consumption, as well as your energy and fuel use.  This is important because consumption will usually make up the biggest part of your carbon footprint.

Most people in the UK will have a carbon footprint of somewhere between 5 – 15 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

Step 2 - Reduce your emissions

How much do your emissions need to go down by to be consistent with reaching net zero emissions globally?

There is no government guidance on this important question, but using analysis from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we think that to be in line with the aims of the Paris Agreement (which is to limit global temperature increase to below 2°C) you should aim for an annual footprint of around 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or less [1].

Once you have calculated your footprint in step 1, you can identify ways to bring it down towards, or even below, the 2 tonne level. Don’t be discouraged if the gap is large. There are lots of things you can do, many of which will save you money rather than impose extra costs.

The most critical thing to do overall is reduce or remove your dependence on fossil fuels for energy and fuel. Here are some suggestions; how many of these are possible for you?

• Get a smart meter or energy usage app from your energy company to track your real-time energy use, so you can see which activities are using the most energy
• Use less energy overall. For example, keep lids on pots to reduce gas needed for cooking, or take fewer baths to reduce your hot water usage
• Increase the energy efficiency in your home; low energy appliances, LED lights, insulation, draught proofing
• If and when you can, switch to electric: electric hobs, electric heating, or heat pumps if you can afford to
• Switch to a 100% renewable electricity provider
• Use your petrol/diesel car less; walk or cycle more, and use public transport
• If and when you can, switch to an electric car
• Minimise flying; can you get a train to destinations in Europe? Can you take more holidays in the UK? There are beautiful places to explore here and across Europe, all within easy reach by train.

The other big area to think about is your consumption. Almost all of the goods and services we buy have an embedded carbon footprint. Although the producers of those products have a responsibility for those emissions, we as consumers do as well. Again, there are lots of things you can do to get these emissions right down; and most will save you money.

• Do you really need to buy something new in the first place? Can you repair your belongings, reuse more, or buy second hand?
• If you do need to buy something new, try and make it as locally and sustainably sourced as possible
• Reduce the amount of meat and dairy in your diet.  You don’t need to eliminate them entirely, but try to reduce them by at least 20%. Have meat-free days, and buy some non-dairy milk to try on your cereal or in tea and coffee
• Get your food waste down to zero by planning your meals in advance and only shop for what you will use. You can compost tea bags, peelings, egg shells and so on
• Don’t buy peat compost, or anything growing in peat compost including house plants or herbs; check with the supplier and tell them you won’t buy peat (check out our precious peatlands webpage)
• Take a detailed look at what you are buying through the year; spend a few hours to look back at your bank statements to calculate your spend and then your emissions over the year across different categories. You may be surprised at the results
• Look at your bank accounts, and choose a bank that has made a public declaration not to invest in fossil fuels.

We also have a handy list of actions you can take that reduce your emissions, help nature and improve your resilience to climate change impacts; a triple win.

The faster and sooner you reduce your own emissions, the better. If you have reduced your reliance on fossil fuels for energy and transport and you are reducing your total emissions across other parts of your life to get closer to a target of 2 tonnes per year or less, you’re doing a great job.

Step 3 - Invest in natural carbon removals

You’ve calculated your carbon footprint and reduced your emissions as much as you can. The final step is to balance any remaining unavoidable emissions by carbon removals. In other words, invest in nature!

It’s very unlikely that you can reach absolute zero emissions; so balancing off any residual emissions with removals is the third and final step.  Don’t be tempted to skip step 2 and go straight to step 3; reducing our emissions significantly is the most important thing to address climate change. But investing in nature, as well as its other multiple benefits for our lives, will help to balance our remaining emissions.

Planting trees or creating new saltmarsh both remove carbon from the atmosphere, and restoring degraded peatlands reduces emissions. You can support some or all of these activities to help to balance out your remaining carbon footprint. The Wildlife Trusts and others are undertaking research to see what other types of nature restoration will remove carbon and to reduce the uncertainties in how much carbon different habitats are storing.

You can even start at home.  Plant trees in your garden, or local area, and look after them as they grow. The amount of carbon a tree absorbs will change as it grows and varies by species. Broadly speaking, a tree like oak or birch will remove around 10 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, averaged over 25 years to 2050[2]. You would need to plant 150 – 200 trees for them to remove 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent each year on average, but plant as many trees as you can, and count that carbon as they grow. Planting hedgerows will have a similar benefit, though on a smaller scale. And remember, removing trees and greenery has the opposite effect; the carbon is lost, as are the benefits for nature and climate change adaptation.

Another option is to donate to a local project run by The Wildlife Trusts that is restoring peatland, creating new woodland or saltmarsh. The precise contribution from your donation will vary by project, and we are trying to develop better standardised ways to estimate carbon for people who would like to make a donation. But you can be confident you will be helping to remove more carbon from the atmosphere, as well as supporting nature’s recovery in your local area. Other NGOs like RSPB, National Trust, Woodland Trust and WWT are also working alongside us to restore nature and remove carbon, and can help you as well.

Many personal carbon offsetting websites exist; but be careful, as the promises from some of these can be misleading or even false. If you use an offsetting website, make sure you are comfortable with its credentials. Transparency is important, as is ensuring that any removal claims from your donation are additional to what would have happened otherwise.

You’re not alone

The latest polling by Ipsos shows climate change and the environment is now the third biggest issue of concern for the British public. Similar government statistics show two-thirds of adults are worried or very worried about climate change impacts. If you are feeling worried and scared; you’re not on your own.

The more action we can take as individuals, the bigger the overall impact will be. Getting towards net zero won’t happen overnight; but you can still do a lot in a short space of time and these steps should help you to plot a pathway and measure your progress as you go. We’re here to support you and get to net zero alongside you. You can find out more about our own journey to net zero across The Wildlife Trusts on our climate change webpage. And we want to hear about your progress! Share your ideas and actions on social media channels with us, using the hashtag #GoingNetZero.