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Rising carbon emissions can be offset directly through car insurers like Ibuyeco

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We all know that road transport is a key contributor to the rising levels of CO2 in the atmosphere.

Despite increasing awareness of the problem, in 2006, it was estimated that there were almost 33 million vehicles on UK roads, with more and trips being done by cars and for longer periods. Even the number of children traveling to school by car over the past 20 years has doubled, which has contributed 2m extra tones of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Road transport accounts for a fifth of the UK's entire national carbon emissions, totaling 33m tones in 2004. Road traffic has increased by 10% since 1997 and the government now spends £1bn a year on expanding the road network, despite knowing that this will increase traffic further.

And with the real cost of motoring falling by 9% between 1997 and 2005, while bus fares increased by 15% and rail fares by 5%, there are few financial incentives to change behavior.

So what can be done about it?

Well, we can all do our bit by reducing the number of journeys we make by car and by using more environmentally friendly methods of transport. Also, taking measures like ensuring tyres are at the correct pressure, regularly servicing your car and reducing your speed will help as well.

Alternatively, you could look at buying a more eco-friendly car like a Toyota Prius or one of the new LPG ones.

Unfortunately, for most of us there are always going to be times when we have to take the car, so another thing you can look at is carbon offsetting. This is when you make a contribution towards a 'green' scheme or initiative that will counter the amount of carbon you have put into the air.

Companies like The CarbonNeutral Company, will use guidelines to estimate what your carbon emission is and put a monetary value on it; which you can then use to contribute and invest in activities that will save the same amount of CO2.

Alternatively, there are a new breed of car insurance schemes that do this automatically. One of these is ibuyeco (www.ibuyeco.co.uk), who estimate what your mileage for the year will be, factor in your type of car, its age etc, and then work out what your likely carbon emissions will be for the duration of the policy. They then add an additional amount to your insurance price, which goes directly into carbon offset projects.

Of course, in an ideal world, we wouldn't have cars or we'd all drive ones that don't pollute. But until that day, there are things that we can do to at least lessen the impact of our cars on the environment.

Carbon and climate questions

• I'm really confused about the whole carbon thing! Can you explain it?
  Scientific evidence indicates that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions caused by human activity are negatively affecting the global climate. Cars are one of the main producers of these types of emissions.

• What does carbon offsetting mean?
  Carbon offsetting is a way of compensating for the CO2 emissions you produce with an equivalent CO2 saving.

• I've heard the expression Carbon Neutral before. What does that mean?
  It is the point at which the equivalent amount of CO2 produced by a manufacturing process; distribution system and / or product use is equal to the amount being removed. A CarbonNeutral programme involves assessments of carbon emissions, advice on reductions of emissions at source and 'offset' of unavoidable emissions.

• Does carbon offset provide a solution to global warming and really make a difference?
  On its own, carbon offsetting does not provide an answer to global warming, but it does reduce the impact of our own activities on the environment. Carbon offsetting is part of the overall approach to carbon management and provides the vital first step in getting business and individuals to consider the implications of their CO2 emissions.

• Is offsetting as good as reducing my own emissions?
  Offsetting should not be seen as a long-term alternative to reducing emissions, which can be achieved, for example, through buying green electricity, reducing motorised travel and use of energy efficient appliances. However, many of these options are simply not practical or too expensive in the short-term, so compensating unavoidable emissions through offsets is a good way to reduce global emissions and your carbon impact until other low carbon solutions become more accessible. The ideal strategy will involve a mix of both emissions reductions at source and use of offsets.

• Is there anything else I can do to reduce my car emissions?
  Yes, there are some easy ways in which you can reduce your car's carbon emissions. Full details can be found on our website www.ibuyeco.co.uk and include simple things such as making sure your tyre pressures are correct as well as reducing your speed.

• Why is it important to me?
  ibuyeco believe that the environment is important to all of us. You are investing in the future by taking action now and doing your part to balance the world's CO2 emissions.

• What is Biomass Energy?
  As trees and plants grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere - in many places around the world this biomass is burnt to provide energy. If the biomass is cut and cannot or does not re-grow, then it may be described as non-renewable. If this is the case the CO2 released in combustion makes a net addition to concentrations in the atmosphere. If however, the plants grown for energy are replanted, then the process is carbon neutral - the plants absorb CO2 one year, it is released again when it is burnt, absorbed again the following year and so on. Under this scenario, the biomass is renewable energy.