Climate Change Solutions 4
The 6 Sector Solution is one of the best resources for the upcoming 2030 goals (https://www.unep.org/interactive/six-sector-solution-climate-change), and is full of actionable tasks you can do for climate change (Project Drawdown is the #1 resource for the 2025, 2030 and 2050 goals because it quantifies the size of climate change reducers, but the 6 Sector Solution could easily be the second best climate resource).
However, the 6 Sector Solution is hard to digest and hard to start work on.
Doing 7+7 small climate change efforts per week (and potentially adding some of your development time and %s as well) is one of the best ways to get started with this. These small efforts could be focusing on something hard for at least 2 seconds (and any upward limit), because you can complete them all in 5-10 minutes, or take more time on them.
However, how do you approach the 6 Sector Solution? Project Drawdown is still the #1 resource, so, combining these two resources, you could find 10 high potential areas to focus your small efforts and/or %s on each week. Or you could find larger areas in Project Drawdown and the equivalents in the 6 Sector Solution. Or you could create lists in the 6 Sector Solution and cross items off. These could include:
Understanding each 6 Sector Solution item by adding a couple of sentences to a couple of paragraphs for what you understand
Practicing turning each 6 Sector Solution into a personal habit (or copying and pasting it for later years, if you expect to do it later)
Doing worldwide advocacy (via social media) for either the world to do the above, or to understand or apply specific categories or solutions
A good place to start is to re-organize the 6 Sector Solution so that it’s easier for you or the world to apply. Here is an example of a re-organization:
Personal Habits for Individuals
How do you advocate for the whole world of individuals to understand and apply these? These would be in the 7+7 small efforts or development %s. How do you add notes to parts that you don’t understand at first?
Tasks you need to measure first:
Understand how much energy you use and try to consume less of it (but Not in extreme temperatures)
Find out where your home loses energy and take steps to address it
This is an example of an explanatory note
This is an example of an explanatory note
You need to research organizations first:
Use energy that comes from renewable sources if possible
Divest from investments or pension funds investing in fossil fuels
If possible, choose utilities and operators committed to decarbonization and energy efficiency
Share excess with services who can distribute it to the needy
Whenever possible, neutralize your carbon footprint through investments in natural carbon sinks, such as forests
Support local government initiatives to introduce better mass transit and non-motorized mobility infrastructure
You need 7+7 small efforts to help understand what this is/ how to do this:
Join the United Nations Act Now campaign to take action on climate change.
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle what you consume
Ask companies and governments for information about how they produce and source both goods and services; read up on their commitments to sustainable production and practices
Ask companies and government bodies for sustainable options
Support companies that practice sustainable and circular practices; for example, patronize businesses that provide spare parts, offer take-back services to reclaim used goods and use recycled materials.
Compost food scraps
Adopt a diet that reduces forest habitat loss and degradation by shopping locally and in season and purchasing products with deforestation-free ingredients, when possible
Buy electric vehicles and cars that use cleaner fuels
Understand a home’s energy efficiency before you buy or rent
Seal windows and doors, stop thermal bridges through insulation, install double-glazed doors and invest in heat pumps
Regulate temperature by adding verandas, green roofs, high-inertia walls and bio-based insulation made from renewable or recyclable materials
Use curtains and blinds to keep homes cooler and reduce the need for air conditioning
Switch to LED lighting and understand efficiency performance when buying new appliances, especially air conditioners.
Easy for most people- you could save these for when you struggle to reach 10
Shift towards a more plant-rich diet
Plan meals, write shopping lists, use portion tools for rice and pasta, cook with leftovers
Buy only what you can eat or save
Embrace ugly fruit and vegetables
Store food to maximize freshness, including by freezing food when appropriate if possible
Ask grocery stores, restaurants and hotels to tackle food loss and champion those who lead the way
Eat seasonally and locally when possible
Choose rail over air and travel as little as possible
Reduce your commute by working from home
Hold meetings over videoconference
Walk and cycle
Use public and shared transport
Join bike-sharing, scooter-sharing or car-sharing services- if you want to
For Governments to do (but together with job social safety nets, and only if it’s safe enough)
How do you advocate for the whole world to understand and apply these? These would be in the 7+7 small efforts or development %s. How do you add notes to parts that you don’t understand at first?
The reason why this is so important is because climate change disasters increased 5 times with the last 1.5 degree increase (1970-2019) and increased 7 times financially, as well as all the human costs with each climate change disaster. Unfortunately, climate change disasters will increase another 5 times with the next 1.5 degrees . Beyond 1.5 degrees, a lot of Tipping Points start getting hit, increasing climate change further and making the number and severity of climate change disasters accelerate a lot.
While this is highly motivating, there is another side of the coin too… people’s jobs, businesses’ ability to keep operating at good profits, and governments’ wishes for re-election.
This is why a huge % of the problem solving is how to make social safety nets as thorough, cheap and effective as possible. For some people, this also involves figuring out change- they might need to change location, industry and job type/ get retraining. Other people are more conservative and don’t like change full stop. So the other part of the problem solving is, how to get a culture where the 5% who struggle with change the most can successfully cope with the changes… it’s all %s…
So the following are what the UNEP recommends to prevent the first set of tipping points over the next 2 and 7 years (2025 and 2030)-
Goals
Commit to more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions and energy transition strategies
Set national and sub-national decarbonization and net-zero carbon targets
Introduce policies that incentivize renewable energy and promote energy efficiency
Impose and strengthen energy efficiency standards
Price carbon — this will facilitate the drawdown of carbon-intensive technologies and promote more sustainable alternatives
Measure food loss, create waste baselines and implement strategies to reduce food waste
Align national diet recommendations with climate goals
Halve tropical deforestation by 2025 and stop net deforestation by 2030 globally
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a rallying call for the protection and revival of ecosystems all around the world, for the benefit of people and nature. It runs through 2030, which is also the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals and the timeline scientists have identified as the last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Restore 150 million hectares of forests and other landscapes by 2020 and 350 million hectares by 2030 – the two primary goals of the Bonn Challenge
Systematically monitor and evaluate the progress of conservation and restoration efforts
Stop these, although carefully with jobs and profits
Halt policies that support the fossil fuel industry, including excessive subsidies
Stop policies and subsidies that incentivize deforestation and peatlands degradation and promote their restoration
Solve and promote these
Promote the use of efficient and renewable heating and cooling
Set and promote science-based targets to increase the availability and uptake of plant-rich diets, increase sustainable production and minimize food waste
Inform consumers and producers about food choices and how to reduce food loss waste across the supply chain
Promote and support climate-smart and sustainable agriculture practices
Work with suppliers to find collaborative solutions to minimize ecosystem impacts across the supply chain
Invest in landscape conservation and restoration as part of net-zero emission efforts; investments must meet high social and environmental standards
Promote investments in deforestation and peatlands drainage-free supply chains.
Promote the significant public health benefits of low-carbon policies, including increased public transportation and non-motorized mobility
Promote the installation of heat pumps, solar cells and heat storage technology
Set carbon-neutral building standards for new construction
Mainstream sustainable building within urban and rural planning
Develop smart systems to integrate buildings, mobility and energy systems, including traffic management, distributed EV-charging and integrated planning processes
Personal activities
Join a local or national organization supporting forest and peatlands habitat conservation and restoration
Adopt a diet that reduces forest habitat loss, peatlands drainage and degradation by shopping locally and in season and purchasing products with deforestation-free and peatlands drainage-free ingredients, when possible.
Whenever possible, neutralize your carbon footprint through investments in natural carbon sinks, such as forests and peatlands.
Incentives
Incentivize and mandate less emissions of greenhouse gases, including cutting methane leaks
Incentivize a transition to zero-emission transportation, including for cars, taxis, buses, trucks and trains
Incentivize the installation of central cooling and heating and the use of energy efficient lighting and appliances
Incentivize mini-grid solutions, district heating and cooling and waste to energy systems
Infrastructure
Switch fleets to electric vehicles
Invest in and remove barriers to non-motorized mobility infrastructure, like protected bicycle lanes or paths for pedestrians
Retrofit public buildings
Plan cities for strategic density and mixed use of buildings and urban fabric, so that neighborhoods have the services they need at the local scale
Integrate grey, blue and green infrastructure to manage resources and runoff with minimal impact to the environment
Invest in physical and market infrastructure to better link rural and urban producers and consumers
For Businesses to do (but to be really careful with keeping your job and with safety)
How do you advocate for the whole world to understand and apply these? These would be in the 7+7 small efforts or development %s. How do you add notes to parts that you don’t understand at first?
The best way to do this could be to come up with 10 you would like to try first, and when you feel like a change, to pick another 10 you would like to try.
Goals
Join Race to Zero global campaign that is rallying support from business, cities, regions, and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery.
Set decarbonization and net-zero carbon targets
Embrace the opportunities associated with renewable energy and resource efficiency
Adopt a corporate commitment to halve food loss and waste by 2030
Integrate corporate food loss and waste strategies across your company, including by making it easier for consumers and employees to limit their food waste
Invest in landscape conservation and restoration as part of net-zero emission efforts; investments must meet high social and environmental standards
Make long-term sustainability a core facet of your business and investment practices
Capitalize on government incentives designed to lower carbon emissions
Be a leader in sustainable and low-carbon practices
Measure
Monitor and reduce your company’s energy usage and strive for energy efficiency
Audit the energy use and resource efficiency of your operations to identify cost-effective high-impact reductions
Measure and report company food loss and waste
Assess and reduce your energy use and carbon footprint
Could need 7+7 small efforts for understanding
>>>Understand your exposure to climate risk and take precautions
Divest holdings in fossil fuel companies
%s from Industry People
Read this and help to advocate for all the %s over recurring months- https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector
Scale up research and development to create new options for low-carbon industrial processes
Be a leader in sustainable industrial practices
Transport
Switch fleets to electric vehicles
Switch to rail for the transportation of raw materials
Arrange for flexible and staggered working arrangements
Embrace video conferencing for meetings and conferences
Suppliers
Embrace the opportunities that a transition to renewable energy will create across your supply chains
Work with suppliers and clients to find solutions that reduce food loss and waste across the supply chain, targeting waste hotspots like weak links in the cold chain
Work with suppliers to find collaborative solutions to minimize ecosystem impacts across the supply chain
Consider overlaps between making your supply chain climate resilient and restoring forests and ecosystems - and make it happen.
Educate your consumers and clients about sustainability
Food Suppliers
Review packaging, provide clear storage and freezing guidance, eliminate ‘display until’ dates and clarify best before/use-by dates
Avoid Buy One Get One Free food promotions if they are likely to cause customers to buy more than they can eat
Repurpose extra-ripe foods in-store
Set up processes for surplus food rescue to transfer healthy, uneaten food to services who can distribute it to those in need
Food at work
Review packaging, provide clear storage and freezing guidance, eliminate ‘display until’ dates and clarify best before/use-by dates
Avoid Buy One Get One Free food promotions if they are likely to cause customers to buy more than they can eat
Set up processes for surplus food rescue to transfer healthy, uneaten food to services who can distribute it to those in need
What are ways to interact with the information to the left?
The 7+7 small efforts described in Climate Change Article 2 are an excellent way to approach information like this (and the connected actions) is a gentle yet highly motivating way to do this.
A good starting point for interacting with this Article is finding 10 high potential climate change areas per week (within your 7+7 small efforts on something hard, or within your development time), and helping to advocate for these regularly (and safely) via social media, to understand these better, and potentially to apply some of these yourself.
For example, you could go to Project Drawdown’s 100 solutions page: https://drawdown.org/solutions/table-of-solutions, click on column 2 to sort the solutions from largest to smallest, and advocate for some of the 10 highest potential solutions worldwide/ for the 8 billion people.
You could also add 1-4 short paragraphs for areas you are considering, where your paragraphs start with the information available online and then summarize it into short overall paragraphs. If you scroll down to halfway down the page, you can find examples of this process: https://www.bettermindbodyhealthhappiness.com/detailed
Areas that also regularly need %s are
Persuading the 8 billion to do 7+7 small climate change efforts per week, plus any development %s if they choose to
Tipping points (which are prevented by specific knowledge of them and by applying the largest preventions as soon as achievable, % by % by %)
Persuading the world of tech people to regularly add %s to speed up climate change tech (to make up for the poorest 4 billion people increasing in wealth to 2050 and consuming a lot more- the main solution is rapidly increased climate change tech)
Regular social media ripples for any of the above to persuade the 8 billion, being mindful of safety and carefulness.
