Kick the Habit: A UN Guide to Climate Neutrality

Flying a thousand kilometres in first class (long distance flight, emissions per passenger)

... in business class

770

... in economy class 510

220

it is our right. Personal and commercial transport consumes about 20 per cent of the global energy supply, 80 per cent of which comes from fossil fuels. So the more an individual acquires or consumes commodities that have had to travel to the point of use, the larger their climate footprint will be. Globally, the energy used by road transport is the biggest chunk in New cars are becoming more and more efficient, but this trend is counterbalanced with more miles driven and more vehicles on the road. According to the World Re- sources Institute global vehicle production increased about 14 per cent between 1999 and 2005. In India Tata Motors launched the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, at the beginning of 2008. It will sell for 100 000 rupees, or US$2 500. Nanos will replace many highly-polluting two-stroke vehicles. And their owners have as much right to drive as anyone else. Tata will start by making about 250 000 Nanos and expects annual demand eventually to reach 1 million cars, to add to the 13 million or so on the country’s roads already. On the other hand, experts say India’s greenhouse gas emissions will rise almost seven-fold if car travel remains unchecked. transport-related emissions, accounting for more than 70 per cent within the sector. Road transport saw an emissions increase of 46.5 per cent between 1987 and 2004. Air travel is expanding fast: the miles flown rose between

KICK THE HABIT THE PROBLEM

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