![]() ![]() It doesn’t break down quickly in nature so a lot of plastic is burned, which contributes to emissions. Plastic is made from oil, and the process of extracting, refining and turning oil into plastic (or even polyester, for clothing) is surprisingly carbon-intense. Reducing overall consumption in more wealthy countries can help put less strain on the planet. But while reducing consumption of these products might be hard, it’s most certainly worth it. This is often by design – fashion and technology companies, for example, will release far more products than are realistically needed. Our tr ansport, fashion, food and other lifestyle choices all have different impacts on the climate. Protecting oceans and the life in them is ultimately a way to protect ourselves from climate change. But many are overfished, used for oil and gas drilling or threatened by deep sea mining. Oceans also absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which helps to keep our climate stable. Governments can stop them by making better laws. Yet companies destroy forests to make way for animal farming, soya or palm oil plantations. Cutting down forests on an industrial scale destroys giant trees which could be sucking up huge amounts of carbon. Forests are crucial in the fight against climate change, and protecting them is an important climate solution. This is because photosynthesising plants draw down carbon dioxide as they grow, locking it away in soils. Planting trees in the right places or giving land back to nature through ‘rewilding’ schemes is a good place to start. T he natural world is very good at cleaning up our emissions, but we need to look after it. Businesses and food retailers can improve farming practices and provide more plant-based products to help people make the shift. One of the best ways for individuals to help stop climate change is by reducing their meat and dairy consumption, or by going fully vegan. Improve farming and encourage vegan diets.The government can help households heat our homes in a green way – such as by insulating walls and roofs and switching away from oil or gas boilers to heat pumps. Homes shouldn’t be draughty and cold – it’s a waste of money, and miserable in the winter. Reducing car use, switching to electric vehicles and minimising plane travel will not only help stop climate change, it will reduce air pollution too. Petrol and diesel vehicles, planes and ships use fossil fuels. These include technologies like solar, wind, wave, tidal and geothermal power. Changing our main energy sources to clean and renewable energy is the best way to stop using fossil fuels. All countries need to move their economies away from fossil fuels as soon as possible. ![]() ![]() Fossil fuels include coal, oil and gas – and the more that are extracted and burned, the worse climate change will get. The main ways to stop climate change are to pressure government and business to: In 2015, world leaders signed a major treaty called the Paris agreement, to put these solutions into practice.Ĭore to all climate change solutions is reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which must get to zero as soon as possible.īecause both forests and oceans play vitally important roles in regulating our climate, increasing the natural ability of forests and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide can also help stop global warming. Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions to climate change, they are well-understood. Climate change is happening now, and it’s the most serious threat to life on our planet. ![]()
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