Together, we can – and must – stand up for science, effective climate action, and a better future

In the coming months, we must find ways to overcome these challenges.

This is not a time to step back, lick our wounds, and fret about the future. It is a time for bold action and dogged determination. We must step up – together – to face the moment.

And I can assure you that Project Drawdown will help lead the way. We will stand taller than ever for science, effective climate action, and the better, more sustainable world within our reach.

First, we must stay grounded in science and advocate for evidence-based climate solutions.

Project Drawdown is relentlessly focused on finding the best solutions to the climate crisis. Mostly, that means finding the things that work – solutions with concrete evidence of effectiveness, scalability, competitive cost, and viable impact. Our team spends thousands of hours researching potential climate solutions, sifting and winnowing the available data to find the ones that actually make a difference.

And we go to great lengths to share these solutions freely with the world through accessible, easy-to-understand materials. We don’t bury our findings in bewildering jargon or lock them behind paywalls in obscure journals.

My motto is, “Do good science and share it well – so that science can do good.” That ethos permeates throughout the culture and work of Project Drawdown.

Unfortunately, being a staunch defender of science means we sometimes have to call out proposed solutions that don’t work.

Proposals for ineffective climate “solutions” are everywhere these days – in all sectors, in every community, and at both ends of the political spectrum. Too often, people fall prey to flash over substance, investing billions of dollars in unproven schemes while letting proven, ready-to-go solutions languish.

We have debunked misguided or overblown proposals to address climate change through industrial carbon capture, cattle feed supplements, vertical “farms”, and regenerative grazing, to name a few, despite the enormous push-back this can generate. We don’t do this to be subversive or generate engagement; we do it because every climate action comes with an opportunity cost, and we cannot afford to waste any more time, money, and human ingenuity.

While we focus most of our energy on studying and sharing the solutions that do work, science must also be fearless in pointing out those that don’t. And we will continue to do so.

We also use science to find strategies to rapidly scale these climate solutions, helping the world get back on track and avoid dangerous levels of warming.

Our work on the Drawdown Roadmap has shown how we can prioritize solutions by focusing on the largest, fastest, cheapest, and most geographically targeted actions. Most importantly, we have identified “emergency brake” solutions – primarily focused on methane, deforestation, contrails, and black carbon – which can rapidly bend the curve on greenhouse warming. We have also identified the tremendous co-benefits of climate solutions, which can dramatically improve human well-being and nature worldwide.

In short, science has helped us identify the low-hanging fruits of climate action, enabling people and organizations around the world to create better investment and policy strategies.

Given that the pace of climate action in Washington, D.C., is sure to slow over the next several years, we must work alongside other leaders. We must build bold new partnerships with cities, states, civil society groups, multi-laterals, businesses, start-ups, foundations, and investment firms to accelerate science-based climate action.

Importantly, we must uplift the unique voices of these leaders – especially those too often excluded from conversations about climate change – to amplify their reach and inspire others around the world to take action in their personal and professional communities. All of us have a role to play in advancing climate solutions, so all of us must be able to see ourselves represented in the stories we share. 

Achieving these aims will require powerful new tools, which is why we’ve been working hard to make our science even stronger. Harnessing the power of big data and machine learning, the Drawdown Explorer will be a quantum leap in advancing evidence-backed climate solutions worldwide.

This innovative platform will offer new insights and in-depth, regularly updated technical, scientific, and economic intelligence on nearly 100 climate solutions. By providing information about the cost, scalability, co-benefits, synergies, optimal timing, and detailed geographic information for each solution, the Drawdown Explorer will empower stakeholders to design powerful place-based strategies for effective climate action to maximize impact. Moreover, the platform highlights key levers of action needed to unlock and accelerate these solutions and bring them to scale.

The Drawdown Explorer will launch in Spring 2025, so stay tuned as we provide updates along the way.

Following rigorous science is absolutely essential to ending the climate crisis. Science helps us find the best climate solutions – solutions that Project Drawdown regularly analyzes and shares with the world. It also allows us to avoid flawed solutions, costly distractions, and pseudoscientific nonsense. Moreover, good science is essential for illuminating a powerful vision of the future, motivating people to come together, dream, and build a better world.

Looking forward, Project Drawdown will dig in, redouble our efforts, and focus on science-based climate action. We will work tirelessly to accelerate the adoption of solutions, celebrate the incredible progress of pivotal climate actions and the leaders who champion them, and continue to serve stakeholders across the globe.

We will not give up. We will not back down. And we will remain fearless in advocating for science and effective solutions.

But we can’t do this alone. This moment demands that we all stand up and stand together.

Together, we can change the world.

And, together, we will.

Jonathan Foley, PhD, is a climate scientist and the Executive Director of Project Drawdown, the world’s leading resource for climate solutions. These views are his own.

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.