What can I do about climate change?

Words by Smiley Team

In the face of worsening impacts of climate change, there is some hope that we can mitigate against this human-driven challenge through climate action, the UN’s 13th Sustainable Development Goal.

On the whole, people’s hopes for change focus on areas of government policy such as the economy, energy, transport, food, farming, nature and protecting people.

While the changes we need most require national and international policy decisions, there are still actions individuals can take. A starting point might be to educate yourself on facts about climate change. The international body responsible for advancing knowledge on this subject is the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Their in-depth climate reports offer an authoritative, up-to-date source of information.

Once you’ve got the facts, you’ll probably want to act on them. Opinions on the best form of climate action vary greatly between environmental groups and organisations. While some pin their hopes on technological fixes and individual efforts, others, such as Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace say collective action will drive change at the scale and speed required.

Individual action

The World Wildlife Fund is among organisations that encourage individuals to reduce their own impact. As well as campaigning for wider changes within industries of government policy, they promote diet changes, more efficient energy use, less waste and more conscious consumption.

As David Attenborough has said, “Stop waste. Stop wasting energy, stop wasting food, stop wasting plastic and stop wasting time. This is a precious world and each of us can use our actions and our voice to save our planet.”

You can find out more ways to reduce our carbon footprint here.

The case for collective action

However, while 90 companies, largely comprised of fossil fuel players, are responsible for two-thirds of global carbon emissions, more is needed than simply individual efforts. Meanwhile, global leaders have failed to meet their own targets set out in meetings of the IPCC. Since the IPCC first met in 1988, emissions have rocketed higher than in humanity’s entire history preceding it.

Groups such as Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion call for direct action. A Greenpeace spokesperson tells Smiley News: “If you’re lucky enough to live in a democracy, then you can have much more impact through protest and campaigning than you can from any decisions you make as a consumer.” The kind of action you can take depends on your circumstances and the political climate of your country.

The spokesperson adds: "Arranging a face to face meeting with your MP is more powerful than a letter, which is itself more powerful than sending an email, which beats signing a petition."

Dealing with climate anxiety

Another benefit of collective action is that it helps reduce the mental toll and risk of burnout. Whatever steps you decide are most appropriate, climate anxiety is likely to affect you as you learn more about the extent of the crisis we are in. Nearly 60% of children and young people worldwide suggest they experience climate anxiety, according to one survey.

To work through this, Greenpeace suggest: “You should also consider talking to your friends, family and acquaintances about your concerns – most people are worried, but wrongly think that most other people aren’t.”

A diversity of opportunities for climate action

A selection of alternative environmental groups prefer to strengthen communities and create defences against increasingly frequent extreme weather events. These include Transition Network, Climate Emergency Centres and the Deep Adaptation movement.

Whoever you are, wherever you live, whatever your main interests, there is usually a kind of climate action that will most suit you.

As a last word of advice, Greenpeace says: “Coordinating with others will increase the impact of whatever you do - you may have skills that combine with those of other members of a group to make you more effective together than acting alone, and experienced activists can help you avoid wasting time on tactics that don’t work.

“So the first step is to look for campaign groups that are focused on the issues you care about, find out what they’re doing and join in where you can make the biggest contribution.”