Each one of us can take steps to reduce the impact of climate change. From the time we climb out of bed in the morning until turning out the lights at night, we have the power to fight back against this powerful threat.
But individuals’ action “can only go so far,” said Dr Shobha Maharaj, a climate impacts scientist from Trinidad and Tobago. “Deep, rapid cuts in carbon emissions from oil and gas, as well as other sectors such as transport, are needed, which are outside the control of the average individual.” Maharaj is one of 380 who responded to a survey by The Guardian newspaper, which sought the views of every contactable lead author and review editor of reports by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 2018.
Seventy-six percent of these experts stressed the importance of voting for politicians who pledge strong climate measures. “I feel the reason behind the lack of response to date is the nervousness of politicians,” said Professor Bill Collins of the University of Reading in the UK. “Polls suggest voters are actually more willing for governments to take stronger climate action.”
And the most powerful action governments can take is to put a price on carbon emissions. That will speed the transition to clean energy–while reducing air pollution and other problems caused by the burning of fossil fuels. “The science is there, but the lack of will of politicians worldwide is retarding climate change [action],” said Alexander Milner, a professor at the UK’s University of Birmingham.
The second-most-effective individual action, the experts said, was reducing flying and fossil-fuel powered transport. Flying is the most polluting activity an individual can undertake. Frequent-flying “super emitters,” who represent just one percent of the world’s population, cause half of aviation’s carbon emissions.
Almost 30 percent of the experts said eating less meat was the most effective climate action, while a similar proportion backed cutting emissions from heating or cooling homes. In her new book Not the End of the World, Dr. Hannah Ritchie of the University of Oxford echoes those thoughts. In an extensive interview, she spoke with The New York Times Magazine’s David Marchese about ways people can make a difference: “Eating less meat, in particular beef. For most people in the world, reducing their meat consumption would have a big impact. Reducing food waste. How you travel: walking, cycling, public transport is always best. In terms of household energy, the big thing is heating or cooling. So insulation, installing a heat pump, if you can install solar panels. Those are big things.”
Trading in your gasoline-powered car for an electric car would pay significant dividends for the planet–and probably for your long-term finances–wrote The Washington Post’s Sarah Kaplan. She also noted the value of simply buying fewer things.
While each of us tries to contribute to the solution, can we expect our public officials to do their part? Ritchie tends to be optimistic about that. “[T]he potential is there, and with each year that passes, I think it’s harder for countries to find excuses not to.”