Drawdown^® Insights

When it comes to climate change, does individual action matter? Emphatically, yes. While it’s true that eating less meat, biking instead of driving, or planting a tree only does so much to reduce emissions, actions like these are just the beginning when it comes to the impact that you as an individual can have.

The planet is now more than 1.1°C warmer than before the Industrial Revolution – and it shows. This summer, we’ve experienced punishing heat waves, devastating floods, and toxic levels of wildfire smoke filling our skies. As temperatures climb, the risk of extreme weather rises, too. And we’re facing an even hotter, more dangerous future. Humans are conducting an unprecedented experiment on the entire planet, and no one is sure exactly how bad it will turn out.

The Biden Administration is backing industrial carbon capture schemes that overwhelmingly benefit Big Oil – bolstering their bottom lines and extending a PR lifeline that ensures they can continue polluting – all under the guise of climate action.

Editor’s note: Last month, Project Drawdown policy advisor Dan Jasper attended climate negotiations in Bonn to promote climate solutions that also improve human well-being. Hosted by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the negotiations in Bonn provided a space for technical conversations in the lead-up to COP28.

According to climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe, one of the most important things we can do when it comes to climate change is talk about it.

Few topics in the climate community are more charged than the capitalism vs. climate change debate. Is capitalism compatible with a world in the throes of climate change? Can endless economic growth persist on a finite planet? Is it even possible to dismantle our current economic system—and build a new one – in the next seven years? 

It’s Net Zero Buildings Week! Time to celebrate the progress we’ve made in making buildings better for people and for the rest of life on this planet. And time to get real about where the net zero concept is useful and where it’s not.

It’s time to elevate and expand corporate sustainability from the often siloed, underresourced work of small sustainability teams to the work of every team – harnessing the passion and expertise that every employee has to advance climate action.

Round after round of layoffs, deepest in the tech industry, have left over a quarter million workers wondering what’s next for their careers. I was one of them.

Earth Week, which takes place April 14–22, is an occasion inviting people everywhere to turn their attention to climate change and find their role in climate solutions. Do you know how you’ll help the world counter climate change this coming Earth Week?