healthier, happier and richer

This is an irreverent but rigorous, fact-filled reference guide to low-cost, low-carbon living for everyone in tough times. Readers are taken through the choices of three real people who are trying to decarbonise on a budget:

• A twenty-something starting out in work.
• A father with two school children holding down a hectic job.
• A pensioner on a fixed income.

It is brimming with up to date information on current and future technologies, tips and ideas for every budget for how to spend the least for the biggest carbon reduction gain and insight from the experiences of people trying to live a low carbon life. Ultimately, the goal is to help all of us, regardless of means or background, maintain our environmental commitment and lower our carbon footprints while saving money in the face of hard economic times.

The book works out the sums and lets us know which choices will make the biggest difference, and which are false savings. Chapters cover food, personal transport, heating the home, holidays and durable goods. It tackles some of the tough trade-offs that confront everyone trying to reduce their emissions – whether to go vegetarian, whether green electricity tariffs are a con and whether replacing an ageing gas guzzler with a new car actually saves carbon.

Comments from others

“Those of us resolving to lead a lower-carbon life in 2010 could do worse than acquire a copy of Prashant Vaze’s new book, The Economical Environmentalist, in which the author picks over the fine details of his life. He works out how much CO2 he could save by driving more slowly, installing loft insulation or becoming a vegetarian. The result will be a little dense for some, but it is delightfully geeky and has the virtue of being right more often than not.”

Tim Harford, Financial Times

“Climate change will not be solved by Governments and businesses alone; it will take the efforts of people and communities changing their purchases and habits. It is rare to read a book that so well combines solid analysis and real life experience with wit and candour. Vaze has drawn on his skills as a former Government economist to produce such a guide.”

Nick Stern, Professor of Economics and Government and Chair of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at the LSE.

“We need to cut our emissions here in the UK by 40% in the next ten years. This will be very challenging. But it is feasible, affordable, and far from undermining our quality of life could actually enhance it. In this excellent book, Prashant Vaze provides us with a very practical assessment of what needs to be done. He successfully bridges the gap between high level analysis and everyday living. He shows that there are many opportunities for each of us to make our contribution to tackling dangerous climate change and building a green economy.”

David Kennedy, Chief Executive of the Committee on Climate Change

“This book has ideas, lessons, thoughts and encouragement for us all. Above all it shows how a low-carbon life can be a rich, rewarding, high-enjoyment thing to aim for.”

Chris Smith, Chairman Environment Agency

Prashant Vaze is an environmental economist and former policy maker. He is now the Chief Economist at Consumer Focus. He worked for 15 years in the Office of Climate Change, the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and the Department of the Environment. He also led the development of green national accounts at the Office for National Statistics, led projects to develop policies to decarbonise industrial and domestic heat demand, including the development of the renewable heat incentive and the Pay-As-You-Save model for financing energy efficiency.

Prashant Vaze is an environmental economist and former policy maker. He is now the Chief Economist at Consumer Focus. He worked for 15 years in the Office of Climate Change, the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and the Department of the Environment. He also led the development of green national accounts at the Office for National Statistics, led projects to develop policies to decarbonise industrial and domestic heat demand, including the development of the renewable heat incentive and the Pay-As-You-Save model for financing energy efficiency.