Insight
Global warming was the ‘hot topic’ when the media talked about sustainability in 2015 and 2016. It has since been replaced with electric vehicles, AI and, more recently thanks to Blue Planet, single use plastics.
But the threat and the consequences of global warming haven’t disappeared simply because they’re not being talked about in the news so often. The Earth has risen in temperature by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the last 140 years. In 2018, our planet saw its fourth warmest year since 1980.
NASA found that the warming has largely been driven by human activities which emit carbon and greenhouse emissions.
The Paris Agreement, first signed in April 2016, has a primary aim to strengthen the global response to combatting climate change. Global warming is not an isolated issue and has united nations on a mission to reduce emissions.
Not only does it pollute our planet, traffic emissions, is a silent killer. Air pollution is causing and contributing to nearly 40,000 deaths in the UK every year.
The pollution caused by traffic emissions attributes to some deaths caused by heart and lung disease. Air pollution has also been linked to an increased dementia risk.
It’s easy to sit back and let pollution be someone else’s problem, but as individuals we have the power to make a difference.
A study released by the Department for Transport showed that in 2017 car traffic had reached its’s highest estimate to date, at 254.4 billion vehicle miles for the year. By the end of September 2018, there were 38.4 million vehicles licensed for use on the UK’s roads.
On the commute, there are 15.3 million car journeys, where the car is only occupied by the driver. With the average commute added to Liftshare being 22 miles, these journeys could contribute 21.2 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
Liftshare has found that by sharing regular car journeys rather than travelling alone, you can cut your carbon footprint by over 10% a year.
To date, Liftshare’s products, clients and members, have saved 154, 584 tonnes of CO2. That’s the equivalent of removing over 33,000 cars off the road for a year.
But how easy is sharing journeys? Very! With 36,000 empty seats on the UK’s roads during the commute, there is likely a match for everyone. Liftshare’s tools connects passengers to empty seats to get you where you need to be, whilst saving money, emissions and meeting new people.
Liftshare has a suite of tech-based products designed to enable modal shift away from Single Occupancy Vehicles. This ranges from tools for businesses looking to reduce the number of cars commuting to site, managing their parking, and encouraging staff to take up active travel to servicing the needs of individuals wanting to travel more sustainably.
It is vital that we all play our role in the reduction of emissions damaging our planet (after all, relocating to Mars is still very much a long-shot) and our health. Want some inspiration to do your bit? Liftshare has its own suggestions on 7 ways to save the planet over on their blog.
Liftshare was a winner in the 2019 Impact Awards, in the category Sharing Economy.
