Carbon footprint and age, does it vary?

Have you ever considered how the carbon emissions we generate vary as we get older? As part of our study Cartografía Carbono 2020, aimed to characterize the carbon footprint of the spanish society, we analysed how the carbon footprint and age are related.

Of course, it is not age itself that determines emissions, but the way people live, which naturally evolves as the years go by. Of course, everyone is different, but this is only a general trend, which does not necessarily apply to every individual.

From the age of 15, the carbon footprint grows in all categories (home, transport, food, and living expenses), peaking between the ages of 45 and 64. This peak represents 33% more CO2 emissions than those observed among those people between 15-24 years old.

On the other hand we detect that at 65 it starts to decrease, mainly in transport and lifestyle, but increasing at home. This is due to less travel, less private car use, and a reduction in their consumption. In addition, spending more time at home increases electricity and heat consumption, resulting in higher emissions.

In general, as people advance in their professional careers and have more financial stability or higher incomes, their carbon footprint grows: larger homes to air-condition, more private car use, more long distance travels, and they eat more frequently at restaurants.

If you want to know more about the carbon footprint of Spanish society, you can download the full report here.

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