CO2 emissions

What is a tonne of CO2 and how can we cut our CO2 emissions?

We often hear about CO2 emissions and carbon offsetting in relation to global warming. We also know that each person in Switzerland generates nearly 5 tonnes of CO2 every year. But what exactly constitutes a tonne of CO2, how do these emissions come about, and what can we do in our daily lives to cut CO2 emissions? Our information and tips are designed to give you a better grasp of this topic.

Cut CO2 emissions: tip of the month

We update the tips every month. Get inspired! You can read more tips on each expense category further down on this page.

Illustrating the volume of CO2

A tonne of CO₂ equates to the volume of a swimming pool that is 25 meters long, 10 meters wide and 2 meters deep.

(Source: Swiss Climate)

Switzerland aims to halve CO₂ emissions by 2030 compared with 1990 and to be carbon neutral by 2050. By changing our consumer habits and our behaviour, we can reduce our personal _carbon footprint and help achieve the Swiss goal. In collaboration with enerjoy, we offer you tips on various aspects of life. Let’s make a difference together on a small scale.

Tips on day-to-day mobility and travel

Day-to-day mobility

Travel

All tips on mobility and travel

CO2 fact check: transport

When does travelling use up a tonne of CO₂? We have compared four selected modes of transport. A return trip to Cyprus generates around a tonne of CO₂, whereas a return trip on the TGV from Zurich to Paris only generates 4 kg of CO₂.

Travelling by plane

As we mentioned above, a return flight to Cyprus (Zurich–Larnaca) generates 1 tonne of CO₂ – in other words a swimming pool amount. As a rule, a return flight in economy class of about 5,000 kilometres generates around 0.991 tonnes of CO₂ per person.

(Source: My Climate)
Travelling by SUV

A 5,800 -kilometre trip in an SUV, which uses up 6.5 litres of diesel every 100 kilometres and weighs about 2,500 kilos, will emit 1 tonne of CO₂.

3 return journeys to Naples in an SUV equates to 1 tonne of CO2.

(Source: Ecoconso)
Travelling by car

A 8,300 -kilometre journey by car, which uses up 5 litres of petrol every 100 kilometres and weighs around 1,150 kilos, will emit 1 tonne of CO₂.

4 return journeys to Naples by car equate to 1 tonne of CO2.

(Source: Ecoconso)
Travelling by TGV

According to the French railway company SNCF, a ride on the TGV emits 3.2 g of CO₂ per kilometre travelled. This equates to CO₂ emissions of 1,920 g per person for each Zurich to Paris trip.

(Source: SNCF)

Tips on living and energy

Baths and showers

Energy consumption

Heating and hot water

All tips on living and energy

CO2 fact check: living and energy

What constitutes a tonne of CO₂ for a household? We take a look at heating and electricity usage. It takes an average of a tonne of CO₂ a year to heat a 1.5-room apartment. For a single-family home with an oil-fired heating system, however, the figure is five times that.

Heating a single-family home

2.5 barrels of crude oil (400 litres) or 380 litres of light crude oil equates to 1 tonne of CO₂.

A single-family home with an oil-fired heating system will consume approximately 1,900 litres of heating oil each year, which in turn produces an average of 5 tonnes of CO₂.

(Source: Swiss Climate)
Electricity single-family home

7,500 kilowatt hours of electricity (Swiss electricity mix) equates to 1 tonne of CO₂.

This is how much electricity a five-room house with an electric oven, electric boiler and a washer-dryer consumes on average per year.

(Source: Swiss Climate)
Heating a 1.5-room flat

A year of heating equates to 1 tonne of CO₂.

Heating a living space measuring 45 square metres – in other words a 1.5-room flat or the average living space per Swiss resident – produces about 1 tonne of CO₂ a year.

(Source: Swiss Climate)

Tips on diet

Meat

Milk and eggs

Fruit and veg

All tips on diet

CO2 fact check: food and drink

What constitutes a tonne of CO₂ in food and drink? We have compared selected products. What matters most is the origin.

Food: Fruit & veg
The origin of products is key. 1 tonne of CO₂ is emitted by the following quantities of fruits and vegetables:

1,887 kilos, locally produced

1,316 kilos, sourced from European countries

1,150 kilos, sourced from overseas (transported by sea)

88.5 kilos, sourced from overseas (transported by air)

(Source: Swissveg)
Foodstuff: Poultry
The origin of the products is key. 1 tonne of CO₂ is emitted by the following quantities of poultry:

268 kilos, locally produced

253 kilos, sourced from European countries

245 kilos, sourced from overseas (transported by sea)

68.9 kilos, sourced from overseas (transported by air)

(Source: Swissveg)
Foodstuff: Pork
The origin of the products is key. 1 tonne of CO₂ is emitted by the following quantities of pork:

310 kilos, locally produced

289 kilos, sourced from European countries

280 kilos, sourced from overseas (transported by sea)

71.4 kilos , sourced from overseas (transported by air)

(Source: Swissveg)
Foodstuff: Beef
The origin of the products is key. 1 tonne of CO₂ is emitted by the following quantities of beef:

73 kilos, locally produced

71.6 kilos, sourced from European countries

71 kilos, sourced from overseas (transported by sea)

40.8 kilos, sourced from overseas (transported by air)

(Source: Swissveg)