The environmental impact of Christmas
Don’t worry, we are not telling you that you should not celebrate Christmas and we don’t want to make you feel guilty; we rather think that it is our duty to inform and make people aware of the environmental impact of these festivities and, where possible, to try to offset emissions by limiting consumption, changing our habits, maybe adopting or giving a tree in one of our forests.
You should know that during Christmas we emit 6% of the carbon dioxide that each of us produces annually: about 650 kilos of CO2 per head in the period between 24 and 26 December, but it increases more and more because, with the increase in world population and middle class, more and more people celebrate Christmas adopting a “consumerist model”. Another significant aspect is that of transport, which takes your gift anywhere in the world you want: millions of kilometers are made to reach family members for the holidays, with a consequent consumption of over 50kg of CO2 per head.
We know it’s not easy to digest, but every gift has a significant environmental impact also in relation to the type of goods. Each dress, each T-shirt, each piece of clothing uses dozens of liters of water and square meters of land; the production of electronic components of Christmas gifts determines the emission of over half a million tons of greenhouse gases. It is estimated that around four billion pounds is spent on unwanted presents each year in the UK alone, equivalent to almost five million tonnes of CO2. Along with those that will have broken, around 40% of toys given away at Christmas will be thrown away by March.
This Christmas give a tree and protect a forest
So, now that you are aware of the environmental impact of Christmas, how about partially offsetting your emissions by giving a tree as a present? The tree is a metaphor for climate change but also one of the solutions to combat the climate crisis and mitigate the effects of pollution; growing a forest means becoming responsible for the planet, building a better world together, more just, in balance with the forests, nature and ecosystems.
Discover below the forests where you can adopt.
Pizzotto Forest
Not only a spectator of historical events but also of natural ones, Bosco Pizzotto was hit by one of the most serious climatic events of the last decades, Vaia Storm, which on the night between October 28 and 29, 2018 changed forever the landscape of many Alpine valleys and forests. This forest, like many others, could do little to withstand Vaia’s extremely strong wind gusts, which literally uprooted hundreds of trees, mostly firs. The dominance of spruce and poor regeneration are among the characteristics of the forest that was crashed and can be improved.
