Breathe
Sometimes, it seems our shopping arrives at a click of a button, but every parcel’s journey leaves a carbon footprint. The promise of quick & cheap delivery has increasingly led to fragmented orders, often dispatched in half-empty vehicles. Extra packaging and higher greenhouse gas emissions undermine the efficiency e-commerce once offered.
The Climate Change Committee recognises that alongside system-level action, everyday consumer behaviour can help reduce avoidable emissions.
What’s more, cutting emissions can deliver co-benefits — wider improvements for health, society and the economy — including cleaner air for us to breathe.
Scroll on to find out more.
The dataset used in the visualisations below is provided by the Edinburgh Climate Change Institute (ECCI). It models how actions recommended by the Climate Change Committee (CCC) could improve air quality and reduce respiratory illness and deaths, as the UK moves towards net zero by 2050. As more CCC-recommended guidelines are followed, the outcomes move towards the modelled benefits.
To make these impacts comparable, the benefits are expressed in pounds as a monetised value to individuals and society, so we can compare places and see how gains add up over time. It is important to note that these figures are not money paid to individuals — they are an estimate of what improved air quality is worth across places and over time.
The potential for cleaner air by 2050
This map uses small areas (neighbourhoods) across the UK to compare estimated air-quality gains in 2025 with the cumulative gains modelled to 2050 under the CCC’s recommended pathway to net zero. Drag the vertical handle to reveal each side.
On average, gains rise from about £3,700 of air-quality benefit in 2025 to around £1.04 million cumulative by 2050.
Note: a small area can benefit far more than others within the same local authority boundary. For example, one small area in Oxford is modelled to reach the highest gains at £6.7m, but other small areas in Oxford may not even reach £1m.
Select a highlighted location from the list to zoom into areas with the highest modelled gain.
Air-quality gains build over time
The UK government analysis estimates air pollutants cost the NHS and social care system around £1.6 billion between 2017 and 2025.9
Climate action can help mitigate those costs: in the ECCI model, air quality improves in every location. The benefits can feel subtle at first, but around 62% of the total value arrives after 2040.
The average local authority contributes around 0.26% of UK gains. Birmingham has the largest share (about 1.7%), followed by Leeds (about 1.2%).
Use the filters to switch between total vs per-person gains, and to separate what’s driving the total (reduced mortality, society, or both together).
Caring for the environment takes care of us too.
The ECCI model highlights several co-benefits of climate action — including cleaner air and a better quality of life. Governments and businesses may provide greener alternatives, but real change is made through individual choices.
Online shopping and parcel logistics are a good example. It’s convenient — and when done thoughtfully, it can be a better option for the climate than making separate car journeys to the shops. Additionally, efforts have been made to reduce delivery impacts, such as collection points, smarter routing, and options that encourage consolidated shipping. Yet the delivery system still responds to what shoppers choose. Convenience drives demand, and demand shapes the delivery model.
So it is up to consumers to make better choices such as:
- Reading descriptions and reviews thoroughly before buying to reduce returns
- Consolidating shopping where possible, and choosing standard delivery over next-day
- Using collection points or picking a delivery time that avoids failed drop-offs
- Considering reselling, gifting or donating an unwanted item rather than returning (where appropriate)
Choices made to support climate action can improve the air we breathe now, and the results of what we do today will multiply over time.
Sources
Data: Sudmant, A., Higgins-Lavery, R. (2025). The Co-Benefits of Reaching Net-Zero in the UK. Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, University of Edinburgh. https://doi.org/10.7488/ds/7978 .
Climate Change Committee. Budgets and targets (carbon budgets and net zero advice) . 2020–2025.
The UK Co-benefits Atlas. The UK Co-benefits Atlas . 2020–2025.
[1] Ampersand / YouGov, summarised by FashionUnited. Online shoppers prefer next day delivery over other options . 2017.
[2] & [3] Earth.org The Truth About Online Shopping and Its Environmental Impact . 2024.
[4] Department for Transport. Vehicle licensing statistics (pght goods vehicles) . 2024.
[5] & [6] Committee on Climate Change - PDF download. Reducing UK emissions – 2018 Progress Report to Parliament, Chapter 5 Annex: Growth in Van Demand . 2018.
[7] Invesp. E-commerce Product Return Rate – Statistics and Trends . 2019.
[8] Stand.earth Research Group & Clean Mobility Collective. Revealing The Secret Emissions Of E Commerce Hint It's All In The Delivery . PDF . 2023.
[9] Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Air pollution: applying All Our Health . 2022.
All monetary values for “air-quality gains” (e.g. per small area, per local authority, cumulative to 2050) are expressed in 2019 pounds, as defined in the UK Co-Benefits Atlas documentation. Figures shown in the visualisations are rounded to improve readability.
