The average emissions generated by an adult associated with Christmas were 513kg against a normal daily average of 22kg Campaigners say consumption such as travel, gifts and food are destroying planet and the meaning of Christmas Whether out of poverty or virtue, many of us spend much of the year reining in our appetites to save our pennies and our health. But at Christmas many of us put our worries aside and go wild in an orgy of lavish gifting, extensive travel and a gluttonous feeding frenzy. This carnival of consumption has a cost: not just to our wallets and our waistlines, but also to the climate. An analysis for the Guardian has found the average Briton’s consumption on Christmas Day causes 23 times more greenhouse gas emissions than a regular day. Emissions generated by each adult by all the travel, gifts, energy, decorations, food, drink and waste associated with the climax of the annual carnival of consumerism amount to 513kg of CO 2 equivalent (CO 2 e), the analysis found. The average daily emissions of a UK adult are about 22kg CO 2 e. The research lays bare the climate impact of the annual celebrations, enjoyed by hundreds of millions of people in the wealthiest parts of the world but which have long been criticised as having been hijacked by marketing promoting mass consumption. In the power-intensive modern economy, almost every activity comes at a carbon cost and associated damage to the climate. And with the speed and scale of consumption rocketing over the Christmas period, that cost is multiplied. Melanie Nazareth from Christian Climate Action said: “We have been deliberately sold a vision of Christmas that is based on material consumption. We are constantly bombarded by advertising and media that tells us that if we aren’t spending […]