It is up to individuals to save the environment, not governments

I fully agree with this post that while the Copenhagen Summit brought widespread international awareness of the economic benefits of energy-efficiency, it fell short on achieving its key objectives.

The most important steps that we must take include working together as individuals to achieve results. It is amazing the difference that just one person can have on the environment. Think of a situation where there is a long traffic jam in the middle of a large city. There are hundreds of motorists stranded on a jam-packed motorway, unable to move anywhere. There may have been a major car crash which leads to endless delays and even has a knock-on effect on the surrounding traffic in the area. The delays are so vast that many people are unable to get to work and the local economy loses tens of thousands of pounds. These motorists keep their car engines turned out throughout the traffic jam, thereby emitting higher levels of CO2 into the atmosphere. However, if each motorist had turned their car engine off during that same traffic jam, the CO2 emissions for that day, in that particular area, would have been significantly reduced.

In addition, if some of those motorists had used the train or had taken the bus to work, this would have reduced CO2 emissions. However, in reality there are still countless situations taking place every day in all countries where the opportunities to restrict our carbon emissions simply aren’t sought. All that is required is to take steps as individuals to protect our environment by remembering to use our energy responsible and to minimise our own personal contribution to the environmental problems we face.