How Can We Reverse Climate Change? Aim For Achieving Drawdown!
What You Need To Know & Why Carbon Drawdown Is The Best-Case-Scenario For Any Climate Change Solution:
Climate Change Is Real, Now What Can We DO About It?
The World Economic Forum confirmed this year that climate change poses an unparalleled risk to global society and that finding ways to reverse climate change should be a primary goal for business leaders and legislators alike . This — on top of the UN’s repeated affirmations that climate change is the single greatest threat to human life and human rights — means that anyone left believing that climate change isn’t real or doesn’t affect humans in a meaningful way doesn’t have much leg left to stand on . So there’s not much left to do but figure out whether and how we can reverse climate change via means that are not only fast, but plausible.
But what Is “Drawdown”?!
Drawdown (or carbon drawdown) is the theoretical point in time when we begin to reverse climate change. In practice, drawdown will happen when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases peaks and consistently decreases going forward . It’s also the subject of Paul Hawken’s critically acclaimed book (Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed To Reverse Global Warming), which provides the “nuts and bolts” for how we can reverse climate change .
The theory behind drawdown as Hawken outlines it — what makes his book’s vision so appealing — is that it posits that we can not just slow, but actually reverse climate change. What’s more, doing so may be possible before the “tipping point” of a 2°C rise in temperatures . That’s important because that’s when the damage to many of Earth’s systems will be irreparable, ecosystems will be irretrievably lost, and much of the planet will be permanently uninhabitable .
Is Carbon Drawdown Actually Achievable?
Yes and no. In the initial guidelines put forward in Drawdown, climate change experts identified 80 viable climate change solutions to achieve carbon drawdown . From an analytical point of view, the most recent climate change research compiled by drawdown analysts suggests that carbon drawdown could be achievable by 2050 . But none of the popular climate change solutions we’ve heard so much about recently — those that aim to achieve 80% reductions in carbon emissions by 2050 — will actually achieve drawdown . So while drawdown is possible, we all have a lot more work to do to get there than even the most progressive climate change solutions suggest.
What Climate Change Solutions Are Most Likely To Achieve Drawdown?
It’s important to recognise that the perfect climate change solution will actually be climate change solutions. There is no silver bullet that we just have to use to instantly reverse climate change. Rather, there is a huge need for global cooperation involving everyone from the highest levels of legislature to the least politically-active individual.
The most likely drawdown-causing climate change solutions reflect this, with the top 10 most effective climate change solutions ranging from major infrastructure investments in clean, renewable energy (like wind and solar power) to individual family planning, diet, and home-energy-use choices . Moreover, there’s evidence that the way we individual consumers leverage our purchasing power can influence the biggest power-holders in climate change conversations to make better investments in drawdown-causing climate change solutions . When people invest in sustainable lives, legislators and business leaders have to listen!
Thank you so much for reading this blog, I hope this will resonate with you! When we truly realise that our world is in our hands and we tackle climate issues together, amazing things will happen!
2. https://www.theguardian.com/law/2019/sep/09/climate-crisis-human-rights-un-michelle-b achelet-united-nations
3. https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/5/10/15589038/top-100-solutions-cli mate-change-ranked
4. https://cleantechnica.com/2017/07/29/drawdown-definitive-guide-combating-climate-cha nge/
5. https://www.leonardodicaprio.org/project-drawdown-100-solutions-to-reverse-global-war ming/
7. https://www.drawdown.org/solutions 8. https://www.adweek.com/retail/british-shoppers-want-sustainability-retailers-struggling-wi th-how/