The decision of the Federal Constitutional Court has given climate protection additional momentum. We are all called upon to make a contribution here, also in our private behaviour. However, we are often unaware of the CO2 emissions associated with our behaviour.

With the Federal Environment Agency’s CO2 calculator, anyone can quickly and easily draw up a personal CO2 balance. The calculation includes information on housing situation, electricity consumption, mobility, eating habits and income. Joint consumption such as heating and electricity are automatically divided by the number of household members by the CO2 calculator. Whether, for example, a car is used by one or more people can also be entered for the calculation. Based on this data, a personal CO2 balance is created. The personal data is compared with the German average. This averaged 9.1 tonnes of CO2 per capita in 2019, while the global average was around 5 tonnes. The per capita emissions of some countries in Africa are even as low as 0.8 tonnes of CO2.

The personal CO2 scenario can also be created for the future. In doing so, it is possible to try out which behavioural changes are necessary to achieve one’s own CO2 targets. In order to achieve the two-degree target for Germany, German greenhouse gas emissions would have to fall by 80% to 95% by 2050 compared to 1990. This would mean that less than 1 t of CO2 equivalent per person should be emitted annually (source).