Climate Change Solutions
We’re all seeing the effects of climate change on our world today, with hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis and more in the news more frequently than they ever have been before. The climate emergency has reached dangerous proportions. As the earth’s temperature rises and climate catastrophes wreak havoc around the world, humanity must come together to defend our planet. We can reverse climate change only by coming together as a community to make a difference. We believe that local communities are the ones who suffer the most — which is why those communities are the ones who deserve to have their voices heard and join the fight.
Proactive climate change solutions require not just plausibility but the will for people to act on their passion for climate change reversal. At The Solutions Project, we believe that people united hold the power. By harnessing the strength of unity, we can force change at government, municipal, and even neighborhood levels.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by bad news and the seeming lack of solutions to climate change. But you are not too late to make a difference. Campaigning for a better world starts now.
The naysayers claim that figuring out how to reverse global warming is impossible, but we believe that there’s still hope and that the solution lies in our hands. While instant climate change solutions are impossible, what we can do is preserve our quality of life and build a better world for the generations to come.
Reversing climate change is a marathon, not a sprint. At The Solutions Project, we integrate our core values into community projects across the U.S. and throughout the world to make a lasting difference.
By reducing emissions now, we can slow the devastating effects of climate change. Only when humanity reaches the drawdown stage of emissions can the planet’s climate begin to stabilize.
Figuring out how to combat climate change must go further than making minor changes to your personal carbon footprint. Recycling and reusing can only go so far. Communities must join hands, support each other, and make a concerted effort to pursue effective solutions for climate changes.
Despite the avalanche of bad news, solutions for climate change represent a bright future for civilization. Revolutionary projects are transforming the playing field of our changing climate.
Here are a handful of examples of climate change solutions, as seen in some of the world’s most inspiring projects.
Three decades ago, a massive hole in the ozone layer led to a global agreement to phase out chlorofluorocarbons from air conditioners and refrigerators. Today, the ozone layer has begun to heal. Yet their replacements, such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, retain their ability to cause damage to the ozone layer. More importantly, they heat the atmosphere at a rate of 9,000 times more than carbon dioxide.
Switching from these dangerous substances to natural alternatives like propane and ammonia is a matter of priority. More than 170 countries have already signed up to a legally binding agreement to phase these chemicals out.
You can make a difference now by upgrading your home with appliances that use natural refrigerants. Talk to your friends and family, spread the word, and encourage others to phase out their outdated home setups.
Fossil fuels have suppressed viable solutions to climate change for a long time. Onshore wind turbines have fallen victim to this problem. Wind energy can be unreliable across the country, which is why we are committed to a tailored 100 percent renewable energy vision for every state.
The Solutions Project matches energy generation with the distinct advantages of every state. Did you know that Kansas, Texas, and North Dakota alone could power the entire country permanently using wind turbines?
Investment in energy storage and more advanced wind turbines help to overcome the flaws inherent in onshore wind turbines. From a policy perspective, it is up to avid campaigners like you to encourage lawmakers to overturn years of suppression from the fossil fuel industry.
Even as close to half the planet suffers from food insecurity, millions of tons of food go from farm to landfill every year. As the dangerous effects of climate change increase, protecting the world’s remaining food supply has never been more critical.
Wasted food contributes 4.4 gigatons of CO2 equivalents emitted into the atmosphere every year. Repairing poor rural infrastructure and empowering low-paid workers are all part of preventing supply chain problems, spoiled food, and food rotting unpicked in fields.
Addressing food waste can help to reverse climate change. Focus on buying only what you know you will eat. Encourage your community to be more mindful of the way it uses food. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals has already set a target for the world to halve its food waste by 2030.
Organizations are working to improve infrastructure, strengthen communication along the supply chain, and educate populations on the dangers of food waste.
The classic Western diet relies heavily on livestock and contributes approximately 15% of the world’s global greenhouse gas emissions every year. Some scientists say that combined direct and indirect greenhouse emissions could even surpass 50%.
Production of meat and dairy products must drop. Promoting the benefits of a plant-rich diet, reducing meat/dairy, and substituting meals with plant-based alternatives has the power to change the world for the better.
These solutions for climate change rely on so much more than individuals going vegetarian or vegan. New technologies to grow lab-based meat have taken the stage and shown promising results. Even some fast-food chains have tried meat-based products that taste the same but are made from crops like soybeans.
The case for a plant-based diet is robust, but with billions of meals consumed every year, change starts at home. Once consumers adopt plant-rich diets as individuals, the agriculture business will respond accordingly.
The Solutions Project believes in making the meat-heavy Western diet a thing of the past and that it could be an inspiring project leading to significant change sweeping the world.
Deforestation is no secret to climate change reversal. The tropical forest has decreased to just 6% of the earth’s surface, and that number is dropping fast. Trees in the tropics play an essential role in trapping carbon via soil, leaves, and vegetation. This is why restoration is a crucial climate change solution. According to the World Resources Institute reports, the “mosaic” forest blended approach would suit more than 75% of available land.
Reforestation as a method for how to fix climate change is not as simple as planting new trees. Local communities, particularly indigenous ones, are the keepers of the forest. Regulation of land usage and protection from illegal logging are all responsibilities of well-engaged communities.
Traditional views and cultural norms encourage many low and middle-income countries to say that a woman’s place is the home. Rather than reading and writing, girls are sent to tend to the laundry, get married, and have children.
Improving women’s education is an indirect way of solving the climate emergency. Women who are better-educated do not just have superior economic prospects but also fewer children. Growing populations are the single most significant contributor to climate change. Your carbon footprint grows with every new addition to your family. Education, investment, and challenging damaging gender-based views are all part of the multi-faceted strategy campaigners across the world are implementing.
Getting around urban areas is a challenge for the next generation of architects and engineers. Ensuring everyone gets where they need to be quickly and efficiently is an infrastructure headache existing cities must contend with.
The Solutions Project considers the personal transportation problem a significant barrier to tackling climate change in the U.S. Major cities like Houston, St. Louis, and Sacramento suffer from sub-par public transportation systems.
Reinforcing the idea of losing the car in favor of a bus, metro train, or cycling requires creativity and intelligence. Around the world, mayors have taken varying versions of the carrot-and-stick approach.
For example, many countries in Europe have outright banned new diesel cars from entering the market after 2030. Some mayors are going all-in and levying green taxes on polluting vehicles in downtown areas.
Redesigning existing roads in favor of enhanced cycling routes, improving public transport links, and making cities more pleasant to walk in are changing the communities we live in.
However, the success of these projects requires all of us to act in support of them. The funding needed to transform an aging, crumbling infrastructure is enormous, and only a concerted campaign will get the results humanity needs.
Family planning around the world has often been left to chance rather than choice. Governments worldwide have begun to recognize the impact good family planning services can have on the environment.
When the nearest school is miles away, or a family requires another set of hands to run the household, education tends to suffer. Access to quality, accessible education in close proximity plays a major role in giving girls the skills and knowledge to make their own choices.
Altering the social fabric of certain countries is required to transform the family unit and shift expectations regarding family sizes.
Kenya has seen how education can play a role in improving the lives of boys and girls across the country while contributing to reducing emissions. The Kenyan government pledged to increase the enrollment percentage at primary and secondary school levels.
Today, Kenya has been recognized as a success story. In less than ten years, enrollment in secondary school increased from 43% to 67%. With an East African government’s limited resources and infrastructure, it is incredible and inspiring to see what can be accomplished with so little.
Replicating Kenya’s successful strategy will become critical for how to fix climate change. Funding is currently the main problem, with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate acknowledging the world’s $5.3 billion shortfall for providing access to female reproductive healthcare services.
Fundraising and pressuring philanthropists to contribute to these causes will impact family planning and could subsequently remove tons of greenhouse emissions from the atmosphere every year.
No matter how much the fossil fuel industry refuses to admit it, the era of fossil fuels has come to an end. Overwhelming amounts of evidence and an increasingly enlightened population have forced energy companies to see the light.
Yet to reverse climate change, we must harness the power of the sun. Solar photovoltaics generate just 2% of the world’s energy. It is a shocking admission that presents an easy target for climate campaigners.
Large-scale solar farms with panels numbering in the millions can generate hundreds of megawatts of power every year. Since the first solar farms in the 1980s, the technology has changed, and now, many new houses come with solar panels already installed on the roof.
The cost of generating a single watt of electricity via solar power is now just 65 cents. A mixture of evolution, manufacturing, tax investments, and investment from the public and private sectors has made solar viable.
Hot, barren locations serve as a way for us to utilize every inch of the world’s available surface to reduce emissions and cool the planet. No matter how effective solar panels are, they remain vulnerable to weather variability and the peaks and troughs of energy storage and usage.
Market progress and more public investment are the only solutions for ensuring solar meets the targets of generating 20% of the world’s power by 2027.
Luckily, it all starts with you. Make your neighborhood into a solar haven and bang the drum for solar across your town and city.
Livestock will always need a place to exist. With livestock producing almost 20% of the world’s emissions and occupying nearly half of all arable land, industrial livestock takes up to 45% of the world’s arable land.
Silvopasture addresses the idea that forests must be destroyed to make way for cows. We are inspired by the idea of making the impossible possible. Most farmers would tell you that cows and trees cannot go together, but we disagree.
The practice of silvopasture took off in Europe, with ranchers in Sweden giving the idea a try to create a new way to farm. Balancing the market’s demands without harming nature is the goal and integrating the world’s forests, and grazing has been seen as a spectacular success.
Silvopasture has protected 351 million acres of land around the world. Trees are no longer seen as a weed to be removed but can contribute to more biodiversity and a greener world. This new livestock farming concept has taken hold in Central America, but there is still a long way to go.
Brazil, in particular, is a prime target for the silvopasture concept. Encouraging ranchers to change the way they farm will be vital in healing the lungs of the world.
Making American farmers aware of silvopasture, promoting the concept, and rewarding ranchers who adopt it is the multi-pronged strategy for success.
Tackling a major source of pollution in this manner already has changed the world, but campaigners must take this infant idea and make it the norm. Gaining the cooperation of both governments and farmers is paramount.
Presenting the business case for silvopasture could help reverse the climate emergency in the decades to come.
Policy, investment, and cooperation are what is needed to initiate change. We have the technology. All we need is the will to implement the solutions already in front of us.
Join our push for the 100% renewable energy vision and believe that a better world is possible. The Solutions Project believes in grassroots leadership that brings together all colors and creeds for a bigger purpose. Since 2013, our goal has been to achieve 100% renewable energy for 100% of people by organizing local communities to create connections between culture, business and science.
Are you looking for ways to get involved with local campaigns and help preserve our environment? Learn more about how people are already building a greener world and donate to the cause. If you’re looking to get involved and join the fight, contact us today to learn more.