2024 was the hottest year on record. Average global temperatures rose to 1.6C above preindustrial levels, according to data from the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) – a rise that led to extreme weather events and “misery to millions of people”, as one of the group’s experts told the Guardian.
Less than a month into the new year, fires have torn through huge swaths of Los Angeles, upending the lives of thousands. Donald Trump, a climate denier, is pulling the country out of international climate agreements and setting back efforts to curb the rise of average global temperatures.
All of this has resulted in a growing sense of climate despair among experts and laypeople alike. Governments and corporations bear a huge portion of the responsibility. But what can individuals do in the face of such massive, global threats?
“Everyone has an impact,” says Darcy Hoover, senior resource specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). “Corporations are made up of individuals, states are made up of individuals. We need action at all levels.”
What are the most effective steps one can take to reduce one’s environmental footprint? And how does one influence others to take action? We asked experts.
Know that you can make a difference
The first step to taking climate action is knowing that your actions matter.
“I think people feel overwhelmed or like they have to be an expert to take some of this action, and you really, really don’t,” says Samantha Harrington, director of audience experience at Yale Climate Connections.
Experts also encourage people not to get bogged down by perfectionism. Many are limited in what actions they can take because of economic, geographic or personal circumstances.
“You’re not a bad person if you can’t afford right now to get a heat pump instead of using your gas furnace,” says Harrington. Even if all you can do right now is get a reusable water bottle, or bring reusable bags to the grocery store, that’s a start. “Everything you can do matters.”
Resources like the Nature Conservancy’s carbon footprint calculator can help you identify areas in your life where you expend the most energy and think about how to make changes.
Reduce, reuse, recycle
One of the most helpful refrains in environmental conservation is the classic “reduce, reuse, recycle”.
“That’s a hierarchy,” explains Hoover; reducing one’s consumption is the most important, followed by reusing goods, and then recycling them.
Extending the life of products and buying items that are well made and longer-lasting can go a long way to reducing the amount of waste one produces, Hoover says. And when it comes time to get rid of an item, try to donate it or recycle it so it doesn’t end up in a landfill.
“If there’s anything in your life that is designed to be used once and then thrown away, think about if there’s an alternative to that thing,” adds Hoover. For example, plastic water bottles can be replaced with reusable water bottles, and single-use cutlery can be avoided if one travels with reusable cutlery.
Check where your money is going
Reflect on what products, services and companies you have been supporting with your money, and what their impact is on the planet. Fast fashion, for example, is an environmental disaster – tons and tons of cheap clothes clog up landfills and beaches, and plastic from synthetic fabrics drains into waterways.
Buying higher-quality clothes that will last longer or shopping secondhand can reduce this kind of waste, says Katharine Hayhoe, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy.
“My resolution last year was that I decided to buy as much clothing as I could secondhand,” says Hayhoe. “I love them! They are so affordable and so unique.”
Also look closely at any investments you may have. Harrington suggests checking what your 401(k) or other funds are invested in and what financial institutions you bank with. “A lot of banks support and finance fossil fuel projects,” she says. If you are able, you might consider shifting your money into environmentally sustainable funds.
Look at what you’re eating
It is no secret that food production has a huge impact on the environment. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, agriculture accounts for 23% of greenhouse gas emissions. Of this, nearly 60% comes from meat production alone. What’s more, much of the food that gets produced is wasted.
“We may be wasting as much as 40% of the food supply in this country,” says Hoover. “That has a tremendous impact. That means an associated amount of those resources that go into food production are also wasted.”
This doesn’t mean everyone needs to immediately become vegan, experts say. While it’s true that meat has an extremely high resource impact on the environment, ultimately the most sustainable way to eat is the way that is sustainable to you.
“Say you go cold turkey vegan for a couple of weeks, and then you decide you can’t do it any more and you quit,” says Hayhoe. “It would be better to say, I’m going to do meatless Mondays, or I’m going to incorporate two vegan recipes into my regular rota of recipes.”
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In order to reduce one’s food waste, Hoover suggests checking out resources like the NRDC’s website savethefood.com, which can help you calculate exactly how much food you’ll need for weekly meal planning or for a party, without wasting any excess.
Unplug
One easy way to reduce energy use in your home is to unplug devices and turn off power strips when they’re not in use, says Saniya LeBlanc, a professor in the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering at George Washington University.
“Even when we’re not using them, electronic devices can still be consuming electricity,” says LeBlanc. Experts refer to this energy sapping as “vampire loads”, which can be “very substantial” in terms of one’s energy output, LeBlanc says.
“So just unplug things,” says LeBlanc. She doesn’t unplug, say, her toaster every time she leaves the house, she admits. But before long trips, she unplugs all the devices in her kitchen.
Be efficient
One of the key tenets of sustainability is efficiency – the less efficient you are, the more energy you are likely to use.
“If you are running errands and need to use your car, plan ahead so you can combine multiple small errands into one trip,” says Hoover.
And when you use your car, you can help it run more efficiently by ensuring your tire pressure is at the correct level, says LeBlanc. “With the right tire pressure, your car can move more efficiently and burn less gasoline,” she says.
And consider how much you’re flying. Air travel is a major source of carbon emissions. Some travel is obviously necessary, like trips for work or to see family. But think of ways to cut back. Can you do multiple events in one trip? Does a meeting really need to be in person, or can it be virtual? Can you take a train or car instead?
“Now, over 80% of the talks I give are virtual talks,” says Hayhoe. “And I only travel when I can bundle events into one trip to make the carbon and the time worth it.”
Speak up
While reducing one’s daily energy use is important, experts agree that far and away the most significant environmental action a person can take has nothing to do with their carbon footprint: it’s to use their voice.
“The majority of people in the US are alarmed about climate change,” says Harrington. “We don’t necessarily talk about it because we think it’s more taboo than it actually is.”
Talking to our family, friends and neighbors about our environmental concerns and the actions we’re taking can help motivate others to take action as well. Consider the “neighborhood effect” on solar panel use. A 2015 paper in the Journal of Economic Geography found that one of the strongest predictors of solar panels being installed in an area is whether another house in the neighborhood already has them. Hayhoe says she’s observed this in her own life.
“We got solar panels, and within a year we saw solar panels coming into our neighborhood,” she says. “It’s about showing people what you’re doing, and making it contagious.”
This can also be done at work. Ask whether meetings that require travel can be virtual instead, and if materials really need to be printed. These measures may seem small, but they can have a big effect. Hoover says that before the NRDC, she worked for an organization that worked to encourage large companies to use recycled paper. “I was surprised to see these large companies signing on, and I realized that in many cases, this was the result of one advocate at the company talking to the folks they needed to talk to,” she says.
Speaking up politically, by reaching out to your local and state representatives, is also important. Studies have shown that Congress and congressional staffers regularly underestimate how much their constituents care about climate change, because they don’t hear from their constituents about it.
Finally, Hoover says one of the most significant actions we can take for the climate is to vote in local and federal elections. “Vote for the policymakers who are going to make the kind of changes that you’re looking for,” she says. “Elect officials and support policies that promote environmental protection and progress.”
