The impact ditching the car for just one journey can make

With the arrival of the autumn, many Brits are planning to extend their holiday season longer in the run up to Christmas. But as we become more aware of what impact we’re having on the planet, ditching the car for one leisure trip can make a massive impact on how much carbon emissions are produced.

New data from London North Eastern Railway (LNER) shows more than two-thirds (69%) of Britons plan on using their car for autumn getaways and highlights how a total 186,200 TCO2e of carbon emissions could be saved if each took just one journey by train rather than car.

Working with experts from University College London (UCL) Energy Institute researchers, the data analyses the impact that taking autumn excursions by car will have, with 25% of people taking more than one leisure trip this autumn in an attempt to seek a final holiday before the winter sets in. Switching just one leisure journey to train this autumn could result in a 28% reduction on total journey carbon emissions, and across one year could result in a 17% reduction of annual leisure travel emissions (1099.63 million kgC02e).

Ryan spoke to Professor Paul Ekins from UCL and travel editor Sophie Lam.

Photo by Tim Foster on Unsplash