2.1 The carbon footprint of UK individuals and households

The average (mean) carbon footprint of an individual living in the UK can be calculated by dividing total UK annual CO₂ equivalent emissions by the number of people in the country. Using the official government information in Figure 4 this produces a mean footprint of 16.4 tonnes CO₂ equivalent per person per year in 2013.

The average (mean) carbon footprint of an individual living in the UK can be calculated using the official government information in Figure 4. This produces a mean footprint of 11.7 tonnes CO₂ equivalent per person per year in 2019 (for the calculation see section 2.1.1 Averages – mean and median).

This provides a realistic mean footprint of a UK inhabitant on a consumption basis because it includes CO₂ and other GHG emissions, and takes the data on emissions associated with imports into account. It is about the same as the mean UK footprint used in the carbon calculator that you’ll be using later.

Several studies have attempted to provide a more detailed breakdown of this carbon footprint than given in Section 1. They produce different results depending on the data sources, the methods used and how the breakdown is categorised. One detailed breakdown of the average carbon footprint of a UK resident has been produced by Mike Berners-Lee (2020) (Figure 5).

Figure 5 indicates that just over a quarter (27%) of the mean UK personal footprint is for transport (car fuel, flights, public transport and the carbon associated with making cars). Household fuel use, mainly electricity and gas, adds a further 16%. This means that household energy and transport make up almost half (43%) of the total carbon footprint. Another quarter (25%) of the footprint is the carbon associated with food and drink consumed inside and outside the home. The rest of the footprint (32%) arises from housing construction, the consumption of goods and a wide range of services (from hotel accommodation to water supply), and public services such as education and healthcare. This is essentially the same as the high level breakdown in Figure 4.