Take action!

Below you find a list with tips on how you can take action to reduce your own carbon footprint, increase your positive handprint, how you can be an active consumer, some organisations you can get involved in, how you can change the politics and what you can do at your workplace. Note that these are just some examples - there are many other things which you can do! I only write briefly about the few examples here - but I will write several blog posts with more information about what you can do!

Take action as an individual:

1. Eat more plant based food - to have the lowest food footprint you eat only vegan food, but to stay within the carbon budget for 1.5°C, you can eat meat ca once per week. But then it should be organic and locally produced. I am myself eating fish or meat only at midsummer or Christmas, and my grandmothers' meatballs. Otherwise always vegetarian, and much of the time even vegan.

2. Do you fly sometimes? Don't do it. If you fly, these emissions are one of the largest emission categories. Instead, go by train or bus. I think this is much more exciting, more social and you get to see some beautiful landscapes! I have myself not flown for 2.5 years, and I see no reason taking the airplane within Europe. In 2019, I made 9 travels to Europe, all of them on the ground. The longest trip was 48 hours from Stockholm to COP25 in Madrid (!).

3. Where is your money invested? You can make a large difference through putting your money in climate or more sustainable funds, investing in companies installing solar PV cells in developing countries via Trine, or buy stocks directly in companies. Or simply donate money to organisations such as Greenpeace or the WWF.

Take action together with others:

1. Get active in a youth organisation!

   • In Sweden: PUSH Sweden (PUSH Sverige, a Swedish youth climate network); Fältbiologerna (a Swedish youth environmental organisation).
   • On a European level: Youth and Environment Europe (the largest independent European network of environmental youth organizations), Generation Climate Europe (largest coalition of youth-led networks at the European level).
   • On an international level/organisation in several countries: YOUNGO, Fridays for future (youth constituency of the UNFCCC), Climate Students

2. Get active in an environmental organisation!

   • In Sweden: Naturskyddsföreningen, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation; Klimataktion;
   • On an international level/organisations existing in several countries: Greenpeace; WWF; Extinction Rebellion.

3. Get active in a project or initiative!

   • Climate Reality Project
   • Climate Fresk (learn and hold workshops about the causes and effects of climate change!)
   • Hack for future
   • Hack for Earth
   • Climatalk

Take action as an employee:

1. Young and want to work with something climate related? Check out job postings and the communities of Youth Climate Leaders, and Sustainergies!
2. Are you ready to change to a more meaningful job/where you can work more with sustainability? We need people from all backgrounds! Are you a coach, check out Climate Change Coaches, are you a psychologist, you can join Klimatpsykologerna. Engineer? Ingenjörer för miljön. Artister för miljön.
3. Do something in your current role! Either what you are actually working with, or make sure your workplace is greener (more plants, recycle, organic food products, print less, etc.), or - even better - suggest to the management that the company shold calculate it's environmental impact/carbon footprint, set climate targets (preferably in line with science, see Science Based Targets initiative), and develop an emissions reduction strategy. If your company needs help with it, my company South Pole is providing these services.

Take action as a citizen:

1. Vote for a greener party!
2. Get engaged in a party - all parties need to become greener!
3. Put forward a suggestion - in Sweden you can put forward a citizens' suggestion (Medborgarförslag) or similar, for which you can gather votes and it can be brought up in the municipality.