There is something everyone can do about the fight against climate change. Achieving net zero targets will be possible not only with the efforts of governments and businesses, but also with the contribution of individuals. The ActNow campaign, run by the United Nations, draws a very valuable 10-point roadmap on what individuals can do to combat climate change. So let’s take a look at what advice ActNow has to offer.
- Save energy at home: Considering that a significant part of the electricity used at home is obtained from fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal, the use of household appliances with high energy efficiency is one of the steps that can be taken as an individual.
- Walk, bike, or take public transport: Walking, cycling or using public transport as much as possible is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel vehicles.
- Eat more vegetables: “Eat your vegetables!” It is not just a slogan used by those who works out. It is a very important step for those who want to do something about combating climate change as individuals, considering how carbon-intensive animal products are. Vegetable products cause significantly less carbon emissions compared to animal products.
- Consider your travel: Every distance traveled means more carbon emissions. Therefore, reviewing the travels to be made and using trains as much as possible will reduce carbon emissions.
- Throw away less food: When food goes to waste, all the resources used in its production, packaging and transportation are also wasted. At the same time, one of the most dangerous greenhouse gases, methane, is released as the food that goes to the garbage decomposes. Therefore, it is important to buy only enough food to be consumed.
- Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle: Emission-intensive activities play a role in every stage of consumer goods such as electronic goods and clothing, from the extraction of raw materials to the presentation of the final product to the consumer. Therefore, it is an environmentally friendly approach to reduce the consumption of such products, to use second-hand whenever possible, and to have the products repaired instead of buying new ones when they break down.
- Change your home’s source of energy: ActNow recommends that individuals reach out to electricity distribution companies, learn the source of electricity used at home, and choose renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, if possible. However, In Turkey, electricity distribution companies do not offer such an option to consumers.
- Switch to an electric vehicle: If a new vehicle is to be purchased, electric vehicles should be preferred as much as possible.
- Choose eco-friendly products: As consumers, what and for whom we spend the money is our greatest power. For this reason, it is very important for our future to consume seasonal foods as much as possible, to prefer local products, to shop from environmentally sensitive businesses, in other words, to change our preferences.
- Speak up: In my opinion, here lies the most important advice on what we can do as individuals in the fight against climate change: to raise our voice and raise awareness about the fight against climate change! The more people become aware of climate change, the easier it is to take a common step towards our common future.
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