Amid raging wildfires and record temperatures, many people are asking – what can I do about climate change? More than you think, perhaps
With scientists warning that 2023 could be the warmest ever, and devastating wildfires tearing through communities, the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat.
And this is within the supposedly ‘safe limit’ of warming: less than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. Without immediate emissions cuts, average global temperatures are on course to rise by nearly double that, unleashing chaos.
There has been fair warning. Consecutive reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that heating is accelerating and emissions not falling anywhere near fast enough.
The good news – if you can call it that – is there is still a small window in which we can act to keep warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. However, that window is closing. Such a rise in temperature would still not stop extreme weather events from becoming more severe and more common. But it would ensure that Earth is mostly habitable.
There is no time to lose, say scientists. Radical action – the kind we’ve seen from governments during the pandemic – is urgently required. Politicians, many of who are still approving fossil fuel projects, are being urged to change course and introduce radical legislation to slash emissions.
Ordinary people can also do their bit to mitigate warming. Listed below are 14 things you can do to shrink your carbon footprint, hold polluters to account and save yourself from climate despair.
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