Sectors

Science has made clear that we need wholesale transformations in technology, policy, business models, and behavior to address the climate crisis. We need to transform the world in many different ways, in many different sectors and areas of human activity.

In its 2018 special report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) calls for “rapid and far-reaching transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industrial systems.” The good news is that many of the means to achieve the necessary transfor­mation already exist.

Almost daily, there is promising evolution and acceleration of climate solutions, as seen in each of these sectors.

Aerial view of a city at night with glowing lights of buildings and streets
Reduce Sources

How can we generate electricity for the whole world without burning fossil fuels? How do the means of transmitting, storing, and using electricity need to evolve?

Aerial view of rice terraces
Reduce Sources

How can we reduce the pressures on ecosystems and land, while meeting the growing demand for food worldwide? How can we decrease emissions from agriculture and forestry?

A modern power plant
Reduce Sources

How can we improve industrial processes and materials produced? How can industry make use of waste and move toward flows of substances that are efficient and circular?

Large suspension bridge highway leading into a city, with a cargo ship passing below.
Reduce Sources

How can we support the social good of mobility, but end its dependence on petroleum? In what ways do vehicles, infrastructure, and operations need to change to eliminate transportation emissions?

Glowing city skyline with mix of building types from low-rise apartments to high-rise towers.
Reduce Sources

How can we retrofit existing buildings and create new buildings to minimize energy use? How can we stop other, on-site sources of emissions?

Densely packed young green pine trees covering multiple ridges of a hillside.
Support Sinks

How can we help sequester more carbon in biomass and soil? What can we do to support and enhance natural processes, including the capacity of land to renew?

Aerial view of a coastline with rocky shore and swirling blue green waves.
Support Sinks

What practices can be used to sequester carbon in coastal, marine, and open ocean environments? How can human activity support and enhance natural processes?

Production of biochar from bamboo.
Support Sinks

Beyond natural processes, how can we remove carbon from the atmosphere? In what ways can we use removed carbon, so that it remains stored?

Close up view of a young girl smiling while holding a pen.
Improve Society

What are the planetary ripple effects of efforts to advance equality and ensure fundamental human rights?