Featured image: Destroyed Forest with Standing Trees - Photo by Matt Palmer on Unsplash

Overview

It’s become obvious that to address climate change and our world’s spiralling economic disconnects, a lot of us are going to have to have less, build less, and want less. The key phrase here is “want less” – if we don’t want less, then we will never achieve systemic “sticky” changes.

Safe to say that we need to make “less” a virtue. I really think this is coming. We need to want less but better – things that let us reduce by adding quality. “Less” is just a category that allows me to group my thinking about how I personally might go about this.

Motivation

This project emerged from a personal commitment to understand and reduce my carbon footprint. Rather than relying on abstract targets or general advice, I wanted to:

• Measure precisely - Track actual carbon emissions from travel, energy use, and consumption
• Understand patterns - Identify the biggest contributors to my footprint
• Change behaviour - Make evidence-based decisions about reduction strategies
• Document progress - Create a transparent record of changes over time

Methodology

Annual Carbon Audits

Since 2019, I’ve conducted detailed annual audits of my carbon footprint, tracking:

• Transportation: Flights, trains, cars, and local travel
• Energy: Home electricity and heating
• Consumption: Major purchases and their embedded carbon
• Work-related: Conference travel and university activities

Each audit uses consistent methodology to enable year-on-year comparisons.

Carbon Currency Concept

I’ve developed a personal “carbon currency” approach where I:

1. Calculate my annual carbon budget
2. “Spend” carbon on activities throughout the year
3. Make trade-offs between different carbon-intensive activities
4. Track remaining budget in real-time

This reframes carbon as a finite resource to be managed carefully.

Key Findings

Transportation Dominates

Across all audit years, long-distance travel (especially international flights) represents the largest single contributor to my carbon footprint. A single transatlantic flight can equal months of home energy use.

Lockdown Impact

The 2020 COVID-19 lockdown provided a natural experiment, showing dramatic reductions possible through eliminated travel, though this wasn’t sustainable or desirable long-term.

Incremental Changes Matter

Year-on-year analysis reveals that:

• Switching to green energy tariffs made immediate impact
• Reducing flight frequency (not just distance) is most effective
• Local transport choices compound over time
• Home improvements have lasting benefits

Practical Changes Implemented

Based on audit findings, I’ve made these concrete changes:

• Travel: Prioritised train over plane for European travel
• Energy: Switched to renewable energy suppliers
• Home: Improved insulation and heating efficiency
• Work: Advocated for virtual conference attendance options
• Consumption: Extended product lifespans, bought less but better

Offsetting and Sequestration

The project also explores:

• Carbon offsetting - When and how it makes sense
• Tree planting - Real sequestration rates and timeframes
• Verification - Which schemes are legitimate
• Personal action - Direct sequestration through rewilding

Ongoing Development

This remains an active project with annual updates. Current focus areas:

• Refining measurement methodology
• Exploring new reduction opportunities
• Investigating long-term sequestration options
• Sharing learnings with colleagues and students

Broader Context

This personal accounting exercise connects to larger questions:

• What’s a fair individual carbon budget?
• How do personal actions relate to systemic change?
• Can voluntary reduction scale to necessary levels?
• What role for technology vs. behaviour change?

The annual audits serve as both personal accountability and a small contribution to understanding what individual climate action looks like in practice.

Resources

All audit data and methodology are documented in the related blog posts, providing a transparent record of approach and findings that others might adapt for their own carbon accounting.