Transport

Focus on Transport 3 – 11 September

Lord, our life is often likened to a Journey, a journey of discovery, a journey that changes perspectives and brings us closer to you. As we go about our daily business, enable us to think and plan our travel so that it minimises the impact on your planet. May we in all things be respectful and honourable travellers for the sake of your creation and the glory of your name. Amen.

Personal travel accounts for up to a quarter of all the damage individuals do to the environment across Europe, including climate change effects. How many times have you used a car today?

An average car commuter drives 12 miles a day. Cutting that by half through car sharing saves around 400 kilograms of carbon dioxide over one year, or about 170 litres of petrol, or £200.

Can you get what you want nearer to home, or without travelling at all? You could think about using local leisure facilities and shops, or sometimes working from home. When it comes to holidays, there are many beautiful places to visit in the UK.

Leaving your car at home and walking, cycling, or taking the bus or train will help reduce the negative impacts of driving. Are you able to do this more?

What are the Archbishop’s Council and York Diocesan Board of Finance going to do?

We will arrange our travel within the diocese in a way that makes best use of our journeys. We will calculate our collective mileage on official diocesan business and offset our emissions through tree planting schemes.

We will seek to offset carbon emissions from air travel arising from our international diocesan links (e.g. South Africa) and trips to the Holy Land and other places of pilgrimage.

We will encourage and support churches to seek creative ways of continuing to meet together as church congregations but who look for ways to reduce travel and transport to and from events. We will encourage schools to seek and improve ways for children to travel to and from school safely while reducing their carbon emissions through unnecessary car journeys.

What can you do as an individual?

Where possible, use an alternative to the car.
Keep air travel to a minimum.
Making some simple changes to the way you drive can reduce fuel consumption and reduce climate change effects. For example, try driving smoothly, sticking to the speed limits, and keeping tyres properly inflated. You could save one month’s worth of fuel over a year through smarter driving.
Well maintained vehicles tend to run more efficiently. Waste from car maintenance is often hazardous, like engine oil, other fluids, batteries and tyres. Careless discarding of these items can cause pollution but council waste facilities will be able to accept them for safe disposal.
On an average day on the British roads, each vehicle carries 1.6 people, with approximately 38 million empty seats. Car sharing is when two or more people travel by car together for all or part of a trip. Car sharing can cut down on your travel costs, reduce your carbon emissions and may give you increased personal security when walking to and from the car.
You could also join a car club, which provides its members with access to a vehicle on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. Vehicles are usually parked close to homes or workplaces. For some people, joining a car club and having access to a car means they don't need to own one.

What can your church do?

Offset your CO2 emissions.
Join in with the Diocesan carbon offsetting scheme.

What else is happening?

Sustainable Energy Week is 11 - 15 April – you can find out more at www.eusew.eu

World Car free day is 22 September - www.worldcarfree.net

Further resources

Climate Justice Fund is managed by aid agency Tearfund, and helps churches and individuals to calculate their carbon footprint and compare it with what is considered to be their ‘fair share’ of emissions. www.climatejusticefund.org

Carbon Trust www.carbontrust.co.uk

Carbon Calculator - calculate your CO2 emissions at www.CO2.org