Driving to reduce our impact on the climate
A team of researchers in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia is working with environmental charity Global Action Plan to develop tools to boost carbon literacy – the skills and knowledge needed to understand and manage our carbon footprints. Led by Prof Jacquie Burgess, this project builds on existing research on communicating climate change and carbon trading, and translated into hands-on experiences in practical settings through GAP’s outreach and educational work.
GAP have developed an eco-driving efficiency simulator, with a steering wheel and foot-pedals, where players ‘drive’ along computer-simulated roads in various conditions and see the carbon-emission results of different driving styles.
Dr Gill Seyfang, one of the researchers on the project commented “Carbon literacy skills will be essential for negotiating the transition to a more sustainable future. We hope these tools will prove to be effective ways of teaching those skills and helping people to think creatively about reducing their carbon footprints”, and colleague Dr Irene Lorenzoni explained “Most people find it very difficult to visualise carbon emissions in relation to personal lifestyles and to reduce their personal impact on the climate. The aim of the tool is to enable us through fun activities to explore how, as part of a community, we can help each other reduce our impact on the climate.” This one-year project is supported by a grant from Carbon Connections, a HEFCE-funded initiative to promote carbon-reduction enterprises.
Contact:
Dr Gill Seyfang(g.seyfang“at“uea.ac.uk), Dr Irene Lorenzoni (i.lorenzoni“at“uea.ac.uk) or Prof. Jacquie Burgess (Jacquie.burgess“at“uea.ac.uk) in the School of Environmental Sciences
Chris Blincoe (c.blincoe“at“uea.ac.uk) at Carbon Connections