What To Do About Climate Change?
Practical actions that individuals, businesses, policy-makers and governments can take today to help mitigate climate change.
The science is clear and the urgency is great. Humans must mitigate the climate change that we’re creating.
>>> Shortcut: the lists of actions can be found after this introduction!
There are a lot of good intentions to do this, but not much progress, especially by governments. There are many reasons for this. One big issue is that the ethics of taking action on climate change are not straightforward (see my discussion of this). The good news though, is that with some virtuous intentions, leaning into empathy for our fellow humans, we can find the motivation to take action.
Even if we have the motivation, however, an issue is that many people don’t know the best actions to take. This survey shows how people often prioritise actions with low impact (see figure three in that link). For example, recycling, buying fewer items and driving more fuel-efficiently which, while helpful, are less climate-effective than reducing car usage, switching to a renewable energy supply and eating less meat.
A lack of information is a barrier to action, and I’ve found that most media outlets (and indeed governments) aren’t doing a great job of communicating high quality guidance on effective climate actions. The IPCC reports have good information, but are rather dense to read.
Actions to take right now
I’ve reviewed the IPCC’s reports, along with some other academic sources (references at the end), to compile reliable lists of actions that we can take. Find the lists that are suitable for you, as an individual, an employee or business leader, or as a policy-maker. Also included is a set of resources for learning more about the different aspects of climate change.
For individuals
For business, industry and organisations
- Climate Actions For Businesses (Employees can read this too!)
For policy-makers and governments
Resources
Act and advocate to make a difference
You and I can make a difference by taking action today, and to complement that, we must also advocate. Talk about your actions in person, on social media, wherever, to inspire others (and our governments!) to do the same.
Please do share this content widely.
Follow me for more discussion, and if you have any suggestions for additions to these lists, please get in touch: https://twitter.com/DataDaveUK
