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7 ways we can help slow climate change

Deutsche Welle

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Cyclists share the road with motorists in Makati’s central business district on Aug. 8, 2022. The Philippines" financial="" hub="" is="" looking="" at="" the="" scientific="" data="" of="" its="" impact="" on="" climate="" change="" and="" declared="" a="" state="" emergency="" to="" address="" studying="" how="" policies="" that="" it="" will="" adopt="" help="" rising="" temperatures.="" Jonathan="" ABS-CBN="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tvpatrol/09/23/20220808-makati-climate-emergency-jc-0293.jpg"/><figcaption>Cyclists share the road with motorists in Makati’s central business district on Aug. 8, 2022. The Philippines&#x27; financial hub is looking at the scientific data of its impact on climate change and declared a state of climate emergency to address on the ground, and is studying how policies that it will adopt will help address rising temperatures. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Many of us bemoan our inability to limit the wildfires, cyclones and flooding that are being experienced with more frequency and intensity due to climate change. There is a belief that polluting fossil fuel companies cannot be stopped, that governments will not regulate them, that emission reduction targets will never be met.</p><p>But individually — and in the end collectively — there are many things we can do to help limit the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that supercharge global heating.</p><div><strong>1. Ditch airplanes and petrol vehicles for buses, trains or bicycles </strong></div><p>Transport generates around one fifth of the world&#x27;s emissions, with road traffic as the worst offender.</p><p>One easy way we can cut emissions is to decarbonize our transport by ditching petrol cars for trains, bicycles, e-vehicles, and, whenever possible, walking — the ultimate zero-emission transport.</p><p>In cities, electrified transport options from e-scooters to e-buses are becoming a low-emission route from A to B. A petrol car pumps out over 10 times more carbon than an electric scooter — when also factoring in manufacturing and disposal emissions.</p><p>For the roughly 10% of the world&#x27;s population who has ever boarded a flight, favoring trains over planes can also have a big impact. A typical rail journey between European cities emits up to 90% less CO2 than an equivalent flight.</p><div><strong>2. Eat plants instead of animals </strong></div><p>Farming meat and dairy contributes around 15% of global GHG emissions — not to mention biodiversity loss, contamination of soils and pollution.</p><p>When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this year said that emissions need to be cut by half by 2030 to mitigate global heating, it stressed that a shift to &quot;diets high in plant protein and low in meat and dairy&quot; had the greatest potential to lower greenhouse gases.</p><p>So going vegetarian — or even better, vegan — seems like a no-brainer for those looking to mitigate their climate impact.</p><p>A boom in climate-friendly plant-based meats makes that choice even easier.</p><p>But so far plants only provide 2% of protein — though that&#x27;s set to rise to 11% by 2035 and could be accelerated if more of us reduce our demand for meat and dairy, according to the Boston Consulting Group.</p><div><strong>3. Pressure governments to take action </strong></div><p>School kids at the Fridays for Future protests showed it&#x27;s possible to take a collective stand for the climate. Politicians might not be doing enough, but they have had to listen as climate concerns drive voting intentions at elections around the world — including recently in Australia, with the new leader promising to significantly raise climate ambition (even if many believe the target remains inadequate).</p><p>And sometimes the courts also listen. In April 2021, young people from Fridays for Future successfully argued in a German higher court that a lack of climate action threatened their fundamental freedoms and was unconstitutional. As a result, the court forced the federal government to strengthen emission reduction targets — which it did a couple of months later.</p><p>With climate ranking as the top issue of concern among a rising generation of voters, many are pressuring politicians on climate via protests, social media campaigns, or writing to local representatives.</p><p>Demanding carbon neutrality by 2030 — the goal of a citizen initiative for a climate referendum in the German capital — is a good place to start.</p><div><strong>4. Switch to green energy providers and (when possible) install renewables</strong></div><p>Burning fossil fuels for energy is the largest source of global GHG emissions. This makes choosing green electricity from clean, renewable sources such as wind or solar a great way to cut a key source of climate wrecking carbon.</p><p>And consumers have already made a difference. By 2019 in the European Union, renewable electricity generation doubled from 2005, making up 34% of all electricity generation. This means that coal, the highest emitting fossil fuel, no longer supplies most of the EU&#x27;s electricity.</p><p>Those living in a house or even an apartment block can also try to install clean solar power on the roof, or electric heat pumps as a substitute for gas heating. Some communities are even getting together to run their neighborhoods almost exclusively on renewable energy.</p><div><strong>5. Turn off the lights, turn down the heating </strong></div><p>Something as simple as turning the heating down can save a lot of energy. That&#x27;s why the German government, faced with an energy crisis due to the nation&#x27;s reliance on Russian gas, will limit heating temperatures to 19 degrees Celsius this winter in public buildings.</p><p>Shutting down your computer at night and eliminating &quot;vampire&quot; power by unplugging idle electronics is another climate change busting action we can achieve today. Even easier is to simply turn off the lights when we aren&#x27;t in the room.</p><p>Using highly energy-efficient appliances — induction instead of gas stoves, for example — is another step forward. Better still, demand that your government switch off the night lights at monuments and buildings, a policy recently implemented in the German capital.</p><div><strong>6. Waste less food</strong></div><p>Meanwhile, around one third of food grown globally is thrown away. This food loss and waste is a massive carbon emitter when the production, transportation and handling of food is calculated — food that ends up in landfills also generates methane, a highly potent GHG over the short term.</p><p>In the US, annual food loss and waste creates 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent GHG emissions, and that&#x27;s excluding landfill emissions. It&#x27;s equivalent to the annual emissions of 42 coal-fired power plants.</p><p>So if we can&#x27;t eat everything in the fridge, at least compost the rest — to fertilize the garden or for biogas.</p><p>Meanwhile, pressure supermarkets to stop throwing away extra food, instead offering it to foodbanks or charities; or ask restaurants to offer &quot;doggy bags&quot; for uneaten food — both measures are included in a food waste law recently passed in Spain.</p><div><strong>7. Plant trees</strong></div><p>Trees are vital carbon sinks yet deforestation continues at alarming rates — logging of the Amazon forest, for example, rose by 20% in the last year.</p><p>More than ever, planting trees is one of the best thing we can do as individuals to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere.</p><p>While also cleaning the air, increasing biodiversity and maintaining healthy soils, trees too save energy — especially in cities where more plants on the street keep things cooler and reduce the need for air conditioning — according to non-profit Become Carbon Negative.</p><p>So too in the winter, trees can shelter homes from the wind, helping to reduce heating costs by up to 25%.</p><div><em>Edited by: Jennifer Collins</em></div><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/04/05/22/now-or-never-to-avoid-climate-catastrophe-warns-un">‘Now or never’ to avoid climate catastrophe, warns UN</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/21/22/big-economies-must-help-fight-climate-change-marcos">&#x27;Injustice must be corrected&#x27;: Marcos urges big economies to help fight climate change</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO: </strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2243219" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

Individuals can tackle the climate crisis and 'be the change we wish to see in the world.'