TAKE ACTION
What Can I do...?
Learn about the causes and effects of global warming. Contact your government representatives and ask for action. Spread the word.
There are local, national, and international advocacy groups that interested individuals can join or support to help the world reach net zero. These groups and others are demanding action on a global basis.
Be willing to personally accept cost increases for gasoline and other fuels and for restrictions that may be required to address global warming. Higher prices for fossil fuel use is probably the most obvious sacrifice we will all need to make. Increases will be temporary until fossil fuels are replaced by lower-cost renewable energy.
Each country needs to actively participate as a member of the Paris Agreement and take positive steps to achieve its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)—the measures it has promised to undertake to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Governments need to acknowledge that global warming is a real problem and take steps to address this problem. Setting up the organization needed and developing a national plan or guidelines would be good first steps.
Lawsuits won’t stop global warming, but may help by calling attention to its serious health risks and mitigation costs if we fail to take action. Citizens, cities, counties, and state governments are suing fossil fuel companies to recover public health and property damage costs caused by global warming.
While divestment might seem like a symbolic action, there is an underlying financial risk that justifies divestment. As renewables replace fossil fuels, the fossil fuel companies will be left with stranded assets and declining revenues. This could greatly reduce their stock prices. Litigation claims are another risk that could lead to financial problems.
Big energy companies can become renewable energy suppliers. They have the management, technical and financial resources, and experience to build renewable energy projects in the best locations and transport energy to where it is needed.
Make lifestyle changes. Pay attention to your energy use and carbon footprint and take appropriate actions. There are many practical things that can be done, such as retrofitting your home with solar energy, installing LED lighting and more efficient appliances, reducing optional travel, use telecommuting for meetings, buying an electric vehicle, etc. Besides reducing greenhouse gas emissions, these measures will save money.