Importance of climate change
The impacts of climate change on different sectors of society are interrelated. Drought can harm food production and human health. Flooding can lead to disease spread and damages to ecosystems and infrastructure. Human health issues can increase mortality, impact food availability, and limit worker productivity.
It is also a major threat to international peace and security. The effects of climate change heighten competition for resources such as land, food, and water, fuelling socioeconomic tensions and, increasingly often, leading to mass displacement.
Climate change and environmental problems are some of the biggest challenges that we are currently facing. Just imagine a planet, where every country and its citizens are environmentally conscious about how their decisions and daily choices may affect the environment. Even so much so that they actively seek choices and options that minimise or reduce impact. In such a case, we could ensure a sustainable, inhabitable living environment on Earth for future generations to come.
Why we need fewer cars on the road
Despite cars now being more efficient than ever, the increasing number of vehicles on our roads means greenhouse gas emissions from road transport are still increasing. In fact, vehicle numbers increased from 240,000 in 1950 to 33.8 million in 2017. These numbers have resulted in the UK being ranked the fourth most congested developed country, and third most congested in Europe. The only way to tackle these problems is to reduce the number of vehicles that exist on the UK’s roads. This can only be done if there is a shift away from personal vehicles to more sustainable public transport. In doing so, both greenhouse gas and carbon emissions can be reduced.
Cars release a huge amount of C02 into the atmosphere, which effects climate change as the increasing amount of c02 levels leads to global warming. It is important to know that globally, transport accounts for around a quarter of CO2 emissions. And much of the world's transport networks remain focused around the car. Road vehicles – cars, trucks, buses, and motorbikes – account for nearly three quarters of the greenhouse gas emissions that come from transport. This can result in less ice caps due to melting, resulting in an increase in sea levels which could then result in flooding around coastal areas. These are just a few of the effects that car emissions can have on climate change, so it is important to try and help reduce it by finding other ways to get around such as public transport.
For many people, the journey to and from work are the bookends of the daily grind. But how we choose to travel to the office, or even to pop to the shops, is also one of the biggest day-to-day climate decisions we face. Hopefully, by knowing the effects car emissions can have on the climate you will think more about the method of transport you are going to take. Whether it is somewhere you can go by foot and then don't need to drive anywhere at all. This can all be helped by just taking a few moments to think before making any decisions.
Investment into public transport
One way to contribute to nature conservation and help tackle climate change is to use more public transport services. Why not travel shorter distances inside the city on foot or by public transport instead of a car and by doing that save time and the environment, and even stay healthy? Consider your transport choices and your need to travel on a daily basis. Try to leave the car at home for your journeys when you can, for example when traveling to work or school, and use public transport, or walk, wheel or cycle instead. Replacing car journeys with public transport can help reduce CO2 emissions by 42% if using the bus and 73% if using the train.
Greater utilisation of public transport services over personal vehicle use is one of the best ways on how to reduce emissions and helps to save the environment. Many cities have successfully managed to reduce CO2 emissions by as much as 50 percent by reducing or limiting the flow of private cars. This is a great indicator to show that using public transport makes a huge difference when trying to tackle climate change. Therefore, we should encourage people to invest into this strategy to make it a better place to live in for our grandchildren and generations after.
