One of our aims when we moved here was to reduce our energy and carbon footprints. The energy footprint is going very well!

Carbon... as predicted , this is difficult. We set ourselves a target of 4423 kg of CO₂, or about 369 kg of CO₂ a month. In the UK we were responsible for 4692Kg of CO₂, but only because we'd moved to green electricity. The vast majority of that CO₂ was from our gas boiler for heating and hot water. Reducing our CO₂ output by 6% as a target for the first year in Sweden doesn't sound a lot - it isn't - but it was a planned step in the right direction, especially in the light of the bigger distance I have to travel to work. 

How has it worked out so far...? 

So far, it isn't.

The CO₂ target is way off! After hitting some horrid peaks in November of the equivalent of nearly 7 tonnes per year, it's started to fall again, but the rolling average is still some 4.9 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

We have bought a carbon offset, some 3.6 tonnes, mainly because of running two cars.

It's not a perfect solution, far from it, as I've previously said , but it's a start and an attempt to undo some of the harm we're doing. 

We've been careful not to credit ourselves before 4th October when we started filling the second car and had bought the allocation. You can see the "CO2 offset" version on the graph. With that, we're down to a rolling calculation of 3.1 tonnes per year. 

 The graph looks a little odd, but basically for each day after 4th October we are allowed an allowance of 4.27 litres of petrol. Consumption prior to that date doesn't get any offset. Over a period of time the offset will kick in more and more. I still want us to achieve our "real target" as opposed to the offset assisted version, but I am also a realist. We are getting there, if slowly.