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With pressure increasing for every household to reduce its carbon footprint by cutting the amount of energy it wastes, we can all do our bit.
Here's a list of practical steps you can take to lower your personal emissions. And not only will you be doing your bit for then environment, you'll also be saving money on your energy bills.
A typical household can cut as much as �269 a year off their fuel bills without losing either warmth or comfort, by following our step by step guide.
Top tips for cutting your fuel bills and reducing your carbon footprint:
Find your cheapest supplier
By far the biggest single impact we can make on our bills is by switching energy provider. Using energyhelpline.com's state-of-the-art calculator you can locate the cheapest supplier in your area and change power company.
Change to energy saving bulbs
Swap your old light bulbs for new energy saving alternatives. New low energy bulbs can last up to twelve times longer than their traditional counterparts and each one could save you up to �9 a year, or around �100 over the course of its lifetime.
If every home in the UK swapped just three of its light bulbs, the combined saving would be enough to power all of the street lights in Britain - for a year!
And don't forget to switch off your lights when you're not using them. It only takes half an hour for the energy used by a lamp to produce enough CO2 to fill a party balloon!
Insulation
We lose more than 40% of the heat from our homes through the loft and walls. Good insulation can halve that figure! Buy the best quality materials you can, but remember if it's a mineral wool or fiberglass product - wear protective clothing and a mask.
While in the attic think about insulating water tanks, pipes and hatches too. Also worth considering is cavity wall insulation, it's easy to install and your money is typically recovered within three years.
Turn your central heating thermostat down
A great way of cutting your heating bills is to turn the thermostat on your central heating down by just one degree. Sounds insignificant doesn't it, but we could be cutting household bills by up to �40 a year and pumping around 300kg less of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Just turning it down by 1 degree it could save you up to 10% of your heating bill.
Only boil as much water as you need
If everybody only boiled as much water as they needed when making hot drinks, the UK would save enough electricity to power two thirds of all its street lighting.
Close your curtains at dusk
Drawing your curtains when the sun goes down will cut heat loss from windows and save money.
Forget standby
Switch off electrical appliances such as TV's, videos and PC monitors rather than leaving them on standby.
Wash your laundry at 30C
Washing clothes at a lower temperature than normal, say 30 degrees instead of 40 will result in lower electricity bills.
Upgrade your boiler
With new central heating boilers being more energy efficient, it's worth replacing yours if it's more than 15 years old. By law, new boilers must be of the highly efficient condensing type, which can help you save up to a third on your heating bills.
Buy energy efficient appliances
When its time to replace household appliances, consider their energy efficiency rating and look for the Energy Efficiency Recommended Logo, as a guide to help you choose the most suitable product.
Draughtproof windows and doors
Draughts could be costing you as much as �20 a year and are the cheapest way of saving money, requiring only basic equipment and DIY skills to install.
Insulate your immersion
Insulating your hot water tank is another cheap and easy way to save money. If it's not already got a foam outer layer good insulating jackets cost around �10 and reduce heat loss by as much as 75%, saving you around an extra �15 a year.
Put aluminum foil behind any radiators fitted to outside walls
You can buy specially designed reflective panels from most DIY stores, but strong kitchen foil will do a similar job of reducing heat loss on exterior walls for a fraction of the cost.
Think solar
Solar panels are worth considering if you're on a real mission to cut fuel bills. Although still expensive they are coming down in price and will generate electricity for your home. Recommended if you're re-roofing your home.
Some facts
• A forest approximately three and a half times the size of Greater London would need to be planted to absorb the CO2 emitted annually from UK housing.
• If every household in the UK installed three energy saving light bulbs, electricity equivalent to the output of a typical power station would be saved each year.
• If every household in the UK replaced their old fridge freezer with an Energy Efficiency Recommended one, electricity equivalent to the output of two typical power stations would be saved each year.
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