Take action at home

One of the most cost-effective and quick ways to reduce your own domestic carbon emissions (as well as saving you money on your heating bills) is to have your home insulated with loft and cavity wall insulation. A campaign across Greater Manchester called ‘Get me toasty’ was launched earlier this year to help you do just that. Visit getmetoasty.com for more information, or call your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012. They can help you access the grants and assistance available and offer free, independent and impartial advice on installers in your local area, as well as advice on other ways to reduce your energy bills and living a lower carbon lifestyle.

The best source of support for all aspects of action at home is the Energy Saving Trust who provide free impartial advice on home energy efficiency and generating renewable energy.

In Greater Manchester we have our own Energy Saving Trust Advice Centre who are ready and willing to help. They can be contacted by phone on 0800 512 012.

It’s easy to feel powerless in the face of a huge problem like climate change, but by uniting everyone around immediate, effective and achievable action, 10:10 enables us all to make a meaningful difference.

The plan is simple: we work together to cut our carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. 10:10 is an idea whose time has come

For those of you that have already switched to low-energy lightbulbs, here's some tips on how to further reduce your energy bills and cut CO₂ emissions.

Do you stand by the kettle waiting ages for it to boil the water for your cup of tea? This is not only a waste of time and money, it also wastes energy. Only boil up the water you need – you’ll save electricity and you’ll get your cuppa quicker too!

Televisions, washing machines, computers, dishwashers…appliances continue to use energy when they are left on standby. Up to 85% of the total energy used by an appliance is consumed when it is on standby. This is costing you money and wasting energy. It’s easy to turn them off…so do it.

Next time you buy a new washing machine, dishwasher, fridge freezer, or other Appliances (we’re not suggesting you go out and replace all your white goods this week), check that it has the Energy Efficiency logo, is A-rated for efficiency and displays the EU Energy Label. These are your guarantees that the appliance will cost you less to run, save electricity, and therefore reduce your contribution to climate change. Click here to find out more about energy efficient appliances.

We waste loads of water by leaving the tap running when we brush our teeth – 5 litres a minute in fact. If we all turned it off we would save enough water to supply 500,000 houses a day. Saving water can save us money in the long run as water companies use less electricity on wasted water.

You’ll hardly notice the difference and it could save you £30 a year. It is also a huge waste of money and energy to heat an empty house. Don’t leave the heating on when you’re out, set the heating to come on 30 minutes before you get home – you’ll still have a lovely warm house to come home to in winter.

Despite what people think, switching your energy supplier is really easy to do and, as green energy suppliers generate electricity from renewable sources, such as the wind and sun, using them automatically cuts greenhouse gas emissions.

Cars are a source of atmospheric chemicals such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, sulphur and benzene, which can cause asthma, acid rain, cancer and global warming. Of all the car journeys made in the UK, 42% are less than two miles long. Wherever possible, try to walk or cycle - you’ll save money and be generally healthier. In fact, a 10% increase in adult physical activity would benefit England by £500 million a year. If you can’t travel without your car, why not see if you can car share - it’s a lot more sociable and it’ll reduce energy wastage and pollution. Click here to help you plan your travel route.

You’ll still get clean clothes at the lower temperatures and you’ll be saving energy and money at the same time. Make sure you’ve got a full load, it is an obvious waste of electricity and therefore money if your washing machine is working hard to wash one pair of jeans.

Summer arrives and you fancy some strawberries. If you buy Californian strawberries they have travelled nearly 5,500 miles, whereas the UK produces strawberries right on your doorstep. That 5,500 miles has wasted energy and caused pollution - from the aeroplane and lorries used to transport them - when you could have actually picked your own or bought locally produced fruit. Anyway, surely it’s better to buy British…our stuff is great!

Even the most environmentally active people undertake some activities which produce unavoidable CO₂ emissions. Many carbon offsetting companies now exist to invest payments in carbon saving schemes.

Some, such as PURE, fund projects both in the UK and overseas.