Five Steps to Really Great Climate Action
and what we can do
"Climate action" is any activity that addresses climate change, including preparing for, adapting to, or reducing the impacts of climate change. "Really great climate action" is any activity that help get us where we really want to be - living a great life on a healthy planet.
That's what the blue climate arrow stands for: climate action that leads to a better future.
So how do we get there? Here are the five basic steps to get us on the path to really great climate action...
1. We acknowledge the crisis
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- Acknowledge the science and the risks; that we are the cause; and that we must change
Until we all acknowledge this is a climate emergency and that we are the cause, we won’t be prepared to act. This is Truth and Reconciliation for the planet, requiring both personal and system change.
2. We find our vision.
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- Define the future we all want
- Connect climate action with social goals
Without widespread social support, we won’t succeed. We all want a good life and a great planet.
3. We plan the transformation.
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- Break it down into manageable pieces
- Identify where we can lead and collaborate
Unless we are all part of the solution, each in our own way, we cannot succeed. We must all lead: people, business and government. We need a thousand climate plans, from communities to businesses, organizations, networks, and sectors - and with government plans leading the way.
Most plans will cover internal (what we will do) and and external (how we can help others); and they will cover both resilience (adapting to climate change) and mitigation (reducing future impacts).
4. We act.
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- Find opportunities to act, and to help others
- Keep moving forward
The journey to a climate-friendly future has to start now, with the tools we have. We can’t delay.
5. We adapt.
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- Review and improve our commitment
- Adapt to climate change
We must renew and redouble our commitment as we go, strengthen our plans, and deal with crises as they arise.
What can we do?
As individuals
- Challenge your governments to acknowledge the climate emergency
- Make a personal commitment to act
- Seek support to make the change easy and affordable
As organizations (NGO or business) or institutions
- Acknowledge the climate emergency, and the implications for your members
- Develop a vision for your organization and a plan to assist your members
- Seek support to implement your plan
As communities
- create a community network of organizations and businesses dedicated to helping the community
- Acknowledge the climate emergency, and the implications for your community
- Develop a common, proactive vision and an action plan or projects to tackle local priorities
- Seek allies to help implement your plan
- Help make climate action easy, affordable, and desirable
As businesses
- Acknowledge the climate emergency, and the implications for your company
- Develop a common, proactive vision and a transformation plan for your company
- Seek support to help implement your plan if necessary
- Make climate action easy, affordable, and desirable for your customers
As governments
- Lead the way
- Acknowledge the climate emergency, and the implications for your jurisdiction and constituency
- Develop a common, proactive vision and a transformation plans for key areas of your jurisdiction
- Seek allies to help implement your plan(s)
- Make climate action easy, affordable, and desirable