A study by Greenpeace shows how valuable home offices are for environmental protection. It would eliminate around 5.4 million tonnes of CO2 per year, which corresponds to 0.6% of annual C02 emissions in Germany. The prerequisite for this is that 40% of employees in Germany work from home permanently two days a week. In 2018, Germany reached a level of approximately 860 million tonnes of greenhouse gases emitted. They intensify the greenhouse effect, accelerate climate change and thus destroy our basis of life. The gases are in the atmosphere and absorb thermal radiation, which partly radiates back towards the earth’s surface. The important greenhouse gas caused by man is carbon dioxide (CO2). The reasons for its formation are the burning of fossil fuels or changes in land use. These changes are caused, for example, by deforestation. But other greenhouse gases also contribute to climate change:
– Methane (CH4) : These are produced by livestock farming or rice cultivation.
– Laughing gas (N2O) : These gases are mainly released during fertilisation, as both manure, slurry and industrially produced fertilisers contain nitrogen. The decomposition of
these nitrogenous compounds produces nitrous oxide. Fermentation residues from biogas plants can also release nitrous oxide.

The greenhouse gases produced in Germany are mainly caused by the consumption of energy: about 80 % of the gases are energy-related.
To protect the climate and avoid harmful greenhouse gases, there are various options that every citizen can take:
– Switch off all technical devices as soon as they leave the house (potential savings: 100 kilograms of CO2 per year)
– Replace all the light bulbs in your home with LED lamps or energy saving lamps. (Savings potential: 50 kilograms of CO2 per energy-saving lamp)
– Eat more vegetables and avoid eating too much meat. Animal husbandry and meat transport also contribute to climate change. Eating less meat can do something good for the
climate. (Savings potential: 200 kilograms of CO2 per year)
– Buy milk and meat on a farm or at the weekly market. This means that the products do not have to be transported halfway around the world. Savings potential: 100 kilograms of
CO2 per year