Six ways to quickly reduce carbon emissions III.

In household. Some changes to your daily activities at home make a bigger difference than others. Heating is one of the main sources of emissions, especially in countries where the burning of fossil fuels is the predominant source of heating. In the EU, heating represents 63 % of household energy consumption. In the UK, heating is responsible for a third of emissions, and in the US around half of households are heated by gas. This must change drastically if we are to limit global warming. However, lowering your thermostat by just one degree can reduce your heating bill by 10% and reduce emissions. In hot climates, using a little less air conditioning in the summer can also help with both costs and carbon. Another effective way to reduce heating emissions is to install a heat pump, which instead of burning fuel, concentrates the heat energy already present in the air, ground or water and pumps it through pipes. If electricity is produced using renewable sources, heat pumps do not emit any carbon emissions. Household cooling is another major contributor to climate change. Rising heat is increasing the demand for air conditioning worldwide, and by 2050 the number of air conditioning units is expected to more than triple worldwide. These units contain refrigerants that are potent greenhouse gases and use enormous amounts of electricity. However, there are more sustainable alternatives. From ancient building design like jaali architecture in India to green roofs, planting trees or in some cases simply drawing the curtains in hot weather, there are many ways to keep buildings cool without contributing to global warming. Other changes, such as using cold water to wash clothes and air drying them instead of using a tumble dryer, can also save carbon in your home – almost 0.5 tonnes of CO2e per year.