Four climate solutions with surprising benefits for biodiversity and human well-being

Headshot of Paul West, Ph.D.
by Paul West, Ph.D.
A graphic with an orange background and black-and-white images of a light bulb, water pipe connection, basket of vegetables, and a rubbish bin with rotting food

There are a few things that are non-negotiable for all life on Earth, among them, water, food, and shelter. 

Unfortunately, human activities are driving widespread habitat loss and degradation, destroying all three of these prerequisites for life. To stave off further biodiversity loss, protecting and restoring nature is essential. 

Fortunately, policymakers, conservationists, activists, and more have an abundance of solutions at their fingertips that can curb our demands on the planet while simultaneously stopping climate change and improving people’s lives. Here are four maybe surprising areas to focus those efforts:

1. Reduce food waste

About one-third of all food produced ends up lost or wasted. This results in unnecessary land and water use, about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions (similar to the entire transportation sector), and lost household income. In high-income countries, much of the waste happens at the consumer level, either at the grocery store or after it’s brought into the home. In the United States, enough food is wasted to make up 16% of croplands (an area about the size of California and New York). This amount of food is equivalent to 120 billion meals, enough to feed a third of the US population for a year. By curbing food waste, that land could feed far more people or be restored to natural ecosystems, reducing land and water pollution that are significant drivers of biodiversity loss. 

2. Healthy diets

Agriculture makes up about 37% of Earth’s ice-free land and accounts for around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Yet the global food system isn’t meeting the needs of nearly two billion people. Roughly 1 in 11 people worldwide are food insecure, while 1 in 8 are obese. Obviously, switching to healthier diets isn’t the same for those two groups. For people who are overconsuming, healthier eating commonly means less meat (particularly beef), sugars, and fats, leading to healthier hearts and longer life expectancy. For those living with hunger, increased calories, protein, and micronutrients are essential for healthier lives. Those changes would lead to a global food system that requires a lot less land, providing more space and healthier ecosystems for people and other life on our planet.

3. Energy efficient buildings

Heating and cooling are the biggest energy consumers in homes and apartments. Making households more efficient through insulation, heat pumps, LED lighting, and smart thermostats reduces energy use and reduces your monthly energy bills. Using less energy also means less air pollution from dirty power plants, a leading cause of premature deaths worldwide. For biodiversity, lower energy demand also means less land is needed to generate wind and solar energy, which can be harmful for birds (though not nearly as lethal as cats, buildings, power lines, or cars) and create barriers for mammals needing to roam over large territories or migrate in a warming climate.

4. Water efficiency

Agriculture uses 70% of all water used by people, far more than we consume with our sinks and showers. This has a marked impact on nature and people, especially in arid areas where irrigation is used to grow crops, creating more water stress in regions that are already prone to water shortages. Lower water use for irrigation and our homes means more water is available for people, plants, and animals that depend on rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater to survive. Less water pumping also means lower greenhouse gas emissions and more savings for farmers and households.

Paul West, Ph.D., is an ecologist developing science-based solutions for sustaining a healthy planet for people and nature. As the Drawdown Nexus lead, Paul is assessing how climate solutions can create win-wins and trade-offs for conserving biodiversity, creating a sustainable food system, and otherwise improving planetary health and human well-being.

This work was published under a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. You are welcome to republish it following the license terms.

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