For this week's simple steps, we spoke to Stephen Ferguson, the chairman of the Cambridgeshire County Council and Mayor of St Neots, to explain the steps he thinks about and takes personally when attempting to reduce CO2 emissions.

  1. Reduce the amount of meat you eat, which will reduce the number of embedded CO2 emissions created in meat production. This does not mean you have to become vegetarian or vegan but you can be pragmatic. For instance, Cllr Ferguson and his family try to eat meat three times a week and avoid it otherwise.
  2. Try to switch to an electric vehicle. However, this is difficult for a lot of people, but if you can, that can make a big difference.
  3. Alternatively, you can reduce the amount of travel you do. Especially overseas travel on aeroplanes which creates significant levels of carbon emissions.
  4. Be more aware of your energy usage. By understanding what your emissions are, you can act on them. For example, make sure your house is insulated or use LED light bulbs.
  5. Buy and consume less. A knock-on effect would be that far less product is wasted and emissions created from delivery drivers decreases.
  6. Lastly, waste less food. The agriculture business accounts for many carbon emissions, and the amount of food thrown away and wasted each year is vast.